X-Message-Number: 10096
From: Olaf Henny <>
Subject: Re: CryoNet #10088 And The Need Of Emotion In Selling
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1998 11:22:44 -0700

Message #10088
From: Thomas Donaldson <>

>Hi to Olaf (and everyone else, of course):
>You're likely to be right when you say that most people want a future.
>On the other hand, I understood you to be giving a statement about
>why ANYONE would want to be suspended. I continue to believe that
>the desire to be suspended comes from a desire to continue living.
>That is not "rational" in the sense that no amount of logic can
>decide the question of whether or not to continue living, even for
>the next 5 minutes. Somehow, though, almost all people want to
>do that.

I think the confusion stems from the fact, that parameters of the 
definition of 'rational' and 'emotional' in your professional 
(mathematical) environment, i.e. anything, which cannot be 
expressed and proven in a rational formula may be considered 
'emotional', are somewhat different from the context in which it 
used in the selling profession.  As a matter of fact in the brief 
exposures I had to sales training, the word 'rational' never 
cropped up as far as I can remember.  As far as sales researchers 
have ascertained, by far the largest majority of prospects 
purchase goods based on their wants, rather than on their 
needs. The stimulating and nurturing of these wants or desires 
is what the sales professionals call 'selling on emotion'.

These want and desires are usually for things the prospects *do 
not yet have* or do not yet have to the same extend or value.

The problem with present day promotion of cryonics is, that in 
its rhetoric it offers nothing *new*, nothing we don't have yet, 
with the exception of permanent youth.  

Here is a summary of the message we have been putting out to 
date:

-  You buy life insurance or pay cash (costs money).
-  With luck you will be uneventfully, speedily and cleanly
   cryopreserved (an altogether rather disagreeable procedure).
-  With luck and an advanced technology you will be reanimated in 
   a century or two (you will have eternal youth and be disease 
   free, but...). 
-  You will arrive as a babe in the woods in an entirely new 
   society, which you will  have difficulty to grasp and 
   understand.
-  With luck you will have some (very few) of your friends and 
   loved ones with you (, but certainly a lot less than you have 
   now).

And here we stop.

This is the equivalent of stopping the explanation to the patient 
for the need and desirability of surgery the moment relatives are 
permitted in the recovery room.

Maybe I have left a thing or two out, but I believe, that this 
about wraps up our public relations in cryonics.

The only positive *new* we project to strive for is disease 
freedom and eternal youth.  To a person in his/her fifties the 
prospect of being again able to run the Marathon is not 
particularly enticing. S/he does not *want* to run the Marathon 
(mainly because s/he does not feel up to it in his/her present 
state and cannot imagine wishing to do so in a hundred years from 
now.)

Even Jim Halperin's fine novel does not go much further.  It 
describes a post re-animation world with fewer friends, even 
though he was very optimistic about the number of friends and 
relatives, which did follow the hero into the future, most of 
them did only complete their life's work or follow a academic 
career, which was indicated by their pre-suspension talents and 
inclinations.

This is why I maintain, that a sequel or independent novel, which 
opens up a new exiting future, preferably by Jim, is mandatory.

That is one facet, which I can think of, where 'selling on 
emotions' as promoted by George Smith comes in.  I am sure George 
had other samples in mind, and I hope he will follow up his 
excellent article with his ideas of implementation.

I think George is worth quoting again, and I would especially 
underline the first sentence in the second here quoted paragraph:

"The real starting point for this sequence on the flow chart 
seems to me to be what professional salespeople call "closing", 
getting the prospect to make the decision to buy.  And this, 
according to the experts in that field, remains an issue of 
emotional desire, not reason (as I have discussed before as 
well).

Successful selling requires a willingness to acknowledge the 
truth about why human beings act the way they do (and an equal 
willingness to drop our personal beliefs if these clash with what 
works).  People buy all kinds of expensive nonsense every day, 
every minute.  Why the hell do people need sports cars that can 
go 200 mph when there is no safe nor legal place to drive that 
fast?  But look at all those sports cars people keep buying!  And 
if you don't like my example, go find ten more out there in the 
next five minutes.  No, let's be fair.  Find at least twenty."

End of quote.


>I'll add that I find your 2 postings confusing when put together.
>First we are to give rational reasons for suspension, rather than
>emotional ones. 

I did never say, that we *should give rational reasons*. 
What I did say was:

"The rational we all have arrived at is of course the latter.  
Some of us at great struggle with our conventional barriers, 
because cryonics is just not "natural".  It is just not done!  
The reason why we *could* become cryonicists, is because we all 
have rational minds.  To appeal to the emotions of others would 
make most of us liars, because we do not feel these emotions 
ourselves.  If we would try it anyway, the insincerity of it 
would be printed on our foreheads in great neon letters.

What we need are salesmen who are also cryonicists and can appeal 
to the emotions of others.  You seem to be such a rare bird.  I 
have tried to sell on emotions, using the same words, gestures 
and closing techniques, as those who were successful and bombed 
out completely."

Meaning, that *we* have arrived at cryonics after entirely 
rational considerations.  This is how *we* function, however we 
are in a very small minority.  We are, I suspect as a group very 
poor prospects for salesmen, who are "closing on emotions"  We 
have very poor comprehension how the vast majority in this world 
works. I doubt, that you find anybody in this group, who has 
bought a car well beyond his/her means, just to impress those 
around him/her, or stored up on toys s/he will never use. - Too 
impractical for us.

This is why we need a man like George, who understands the rest 
of the world.

It is the nature of the scientist and the engineer to look for 
faults and errors.  This is how he improves his product.

It is the nature of the salesman to look for the positive, to be 
uncritical and enthusiastic.  This is how he sells his product.

They are people from different worlds.


>Second we are to provide a picture of the future
>for people, so that they will want to live in that future --- an
>appeal to the emotions, as I understand it. Perhaps you cut up the
>world into categories differently than I do, but rightly or wrongly
>I read one posting as contradicting the other.
>
>If you can find the time to explain I'd appreciate that. I'm serious
>here --- I can't work out what you are really saying.

I hope, I have done so above.  :)

>PS: And if you can get a miniaturized brain, so can I.

Hey, I was just kidding.  It will always be the skill of the 
captain, which will determine how the power of the chip is 
utilized. :)

Best,

Olaf

___________________________________

Tolerance is wisdom's finest fruit
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