You see: “ Instant relief from headaches,” “ quick relief for corns, “ prompt relief from heart burn,” and so on. These two words are making millions for drug manufacturers and for drugstore owners everywhere – QUICK RELIEF! It is the appeal to our self-preservation emotions; the desire to get our health back again, to be our “normal selves”; the fear of losing our heal th, our youth, of getting gray hair, wrinkles, or acid stomach. But don’t OVERDO this fear appeal! And be sure when you say it will give “quick relief,” that you are HONEST! Making Up Your Mind Several years ago, the Cunningham Drug Stores of Detroit, in the person of Mr. Nat Shapiro, came to our laboratory. His extensive chain of Midwestern stores was over- stocked with products for the feet. “How can we introduce these products to men and women?” he asked me. Fifty-five customer approaches were tabulated for his use. One after another of these sentences was tried, until this subtle, indirect, harmless, split-second attention-getter was successfully created: “Are you on your feet much?” Here was a leading question to which nine out of every twelve people would remark that they were. All of us feel we are on our feet more than we should be or wish to be. With this wonderful opening, then, the salespeople in this chain of stores would say: “This will ease your feet. It is made ESPECIALLY for peopl e who are on their feet a lot.” Customers would pick up the product. The appeal was directed to them. It was directed to their instinct of self-preservation. It shot by their natural resistances, and hit those tiny “mental pocketbooks” inside the emotion al part of their brains. Hundreds of packages were sold the first week! Again the right words – spoken at the right time! People WILL hit the sawdust trail for you if you motivate them by first appealing to them emotionally.
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