In Part 1 of “Lessons from High Tech Hokum,” I pointed out three high tech product concepts that never fail to generate excitement and interest in the press, even though they contradict actual experience in the real world. I believe that the unfailing popularity of such concepts reveals a profound truth about B2B sales:
Products that embody cultural myths are pre-sold in the customer’s mind.
In this context, the definition of myth that I’m using is “a popular belief or story that has become associated with a person, institution, or occurrence, especially one considered to illustrate a cultural ideal.” Such myths have a powerful subconscious effect on business decision-making, all the more so because they’re almost universally shared.
For example, one “uber-myth” of our culture is the idea of progress, that things are constantly improving or “evolving” into the next higher level. In this myth, it is always assumed that, even if there are some difficult times, things will eventually get better. Products that seem like they’re going to be part of that future — that embody the myth — are easier to sell than products that don’t. That’s why software vendors always call their product “next-generation.”
Another “uber-myth” (which ironically is the exact opposite of the first “uber-myth”) is the idea that the “end of the world as we know it” is imminent. In this myth, some action that society takes (or fails to take) will result in worldwide disaster. Products that seem like they’re going to prevent that disaster are pre-sold in the customer’s mind. Right now, that myth is playing itself out in the furor over global warming, which is driving all kinds of business investment.
These myths are powerful business forces. Ten years ago, the “end of the world myth” took the form of fear of Y2K disasters. Most computer experts now concede that Y2K disasters were unlikely, but at the time the fear was driving major buying behavior as companies scrambled to replace and update their computer systems. The result was a sharp spike in sales, followed by an equally sharp decline which, when combined with the bursting of the dot-com bubble, collapsed the high tech sector and helped create a worldwide recession.
High tech hokum like the “paperless office”, the “hundred dollar computer,” and “generalized artificial intelligence” embody less exalted cultural myths. They’re all all three tied to what might be called the “science fiction” vision of the future. (Movies and television are HUGE creators and reflectors of cultural myths.) The only place that anyone has ever seen an office without paper, poverty eradicated by technology, and human-like robots is on shows like Star Trek and Star Wars.
In other words, the reason that high tech hokum “sells” (and gets investors) is that it reaches into our vision of how our society expects the future to appear. The exact same thing is true of real products that have real benefits, of course. The converse is also true. Selling a real product that has real benefit but which runs contrary to dominant cultural myths is always be an uphill fight. Example: the decline in demand for gas-guzzling SUVs, even among rich folk.
You can use this fact to your advantage in sales situations. Here’s how:
- Step 1. Discover what cultural myths are the strongest in the prospect’s personal worldview. A SciFi fan will resonate with a different set of cultural myths than a fundamentalist Christian or an environmental activist. You can usually discover the dominant myths simply by taking a quick glance at the collection of cultural knickknacks in the prospect’s office.
- Step 2. Craft your sales approach to position your offering as part of the unfolding (or avoiding) of that future. For example, emphasize the “green” aspects of your product only if the prospect is caught up in the global warming vision of the future. Similarly, use an “office of the future” approach for a SciFi fan, even if the prospect is in top management.
Comments and questions welcome, of course.
