Humor in marketing can be a VERY effective way to make sales. The fact of the matter is that people love to laugh and laughter brings people together. In sales, the key is to keep the humor simple and not to target individuals but rather situations and experiences. Here is an example of a YouTube video that’s gotten well over a million plays because of its humor.
Now that was funny! But 1.2 million viewers is nothing to laugh about. Think about this… What if this video displayed your URL at the bottom and only 1% of its viewers actually went to your site? Thats 12,000 unique new visitors to your site. Now what if only 1% of them purchased your $97 product? That would be a profit of $11,640.00 ! Are you laughing now? Read on…
Humor operates on an emotional level, driving home your message in a far more memorable way than words alone. Humor makes sensitive topics more approachable while summarizing and reinforcing points that would otherwise be lost.
In sales, there’s often a period of bargaining about the price of a product or service before the sale is completed. One study specifically looked at the value of humor in getting your client to pay a higher price. They found that when the seller used jokes and other verbal humor, the buyer was willing to pay a higher price. And this approach was effective for both male and female salespersons, and with both male and female buyers.3
President Reagen knew the power of humor in communication, and in bargaining. Prior to his first meeting with Michael Gorbachev in the SALT talks with the Soviet Union, there was a great deal of tension. There was considerable coolness in the initial stages of their meeting. This was no surprise, since Reagen had often referred to the Soviet Union as the “Evil Empire.” Reagen melted the chilly atmosphere of the meeting by telling Gorbachev this joke:
- Moscow has been having a terrible problem with people speeding, so the Moscow police were given strict orders to give anyone caught speeding a ticket. One day Gorbachev is late getting to the Kremlin, so he says to his driver, “You get in the back and let me drive. We’ll get there faster.”
They speed by a couple of motorcycle cops, and one of them takes off after the car. He comes back ten minutes later, and his buddy asks, “Well, did you give him a ticket?” “No, I didn’t.” “Why not? Who was it?” “I don’t know, but his driver was Gorbachev.”
Gorbachev loved the joke, and from that point on, tensions were eased and considerable progress was made in the bargaining. The shared laughter facilitated the bargaining process by creating a more positive climate for debate.
In conclusion, you should be creative and conjur up ways and methods of implimenting humor in your sales business. Like music and art, humor transcends many cultural barriers and brings people together. That closeness builds trust and gives rise to more sales!
To Your Sales Success,
Omar Martin
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