Neuromarketing

The authors tell us that most people buy from what they call their old brain. In short, the old brain is man's ancient way of thinking from the beginning of time --- the fight for survival. The authors argue that we make our buying decisions from this brain. So, if this is so, the way we sell must talk to that brain and not the logical brain or the brain we think is used to make decisions. I think that most people in advertising and marketing have known this but may not call it "the old brain." However, I found the book full of useful ideas that will help me write more effective sales messages. After all, if we can find the prospect's pain, we can address it and show the prospect how we have the solution. It's basically that simple. The book is mostly common sense marketing. But the slant is new and some of what we read is rather revolutionary. Some people say that neuromarketing could be used to manipulative people. Perhaps. But doesn't all advertising manipulate people, or attempt to do so? In neuromarketing, we learn that fear is the most basic and primal motivator. We make many --- perhaps most --- of our decisions based on fear. For example, IBM used fear in it's advertising to the point where we heard, "No one was ever fired for buying IBM." In other words, fear of losing our job caused us to "safely" buy Big Blue --- even if another solution might have actually been better. I find in the copywriting I do for my clients that using fear in the sales messages I write for them is very effective. No one is immune from fear. We don't all crave the same things. But we all have fears. And fear motivates. Researchers, for example, have demonstrated that we react faster to observing fearful faces than we do in seeing happy faces (Emotion, 2007). Which motivates you more? The message that you could earn more money or the fear of becoming homeless? The former matters. The latter is a hard-hitting motivator that works on our primitive emotions or, as the authors call it, the old brain. This is an excellent book. It's fast paced and well written. The authors believe that short sales messages work best. They also believe that people recall what's at the beginning and the very end of the message. I like that. It's always worked for me and it will work for you. Highly recommended.

Simply awesome! Every Product Marketing professional must read this book. This book really breaks it down to the basics. So refreshing! We often hear people say 'keep it simple stupid' and 'understand the right and left brains' (as if that really matters!). This book provides proven insights that really matter. I particularly found the new way to dissect the brain into three parts and the section on how the brain really works quite intriguing as well as applicable to consumer marketing to analyze and influence the well-informed customer of today. - Avinash (Avi) Jhangiani blog: h[...]

In keeping with what they counsel, the authors make a stark statment: this is the only book that marries the latest in cognitive research with sales techniques. Now that's an effective approach. Why? Because our brains were wired 10,000 years ago to survive by seeking out the simple and direct and it still does. So, use the power of contrast; have a powerful start and a powerful close(the "old brain" as they call it nods off in the middle); focus not on white noise that is filler but on what you have that will help the prospect( just used this in responding to an RFP by cutting the clutter of my company's history and bullet pointing the three things we have that will be assets(oh, they say to limit it to three, it is easier for the Old Brain to absorb things in threes). Book is short, with easy to read font and spacing.

I have read a few books on pitching and selling ideas and this one seems to explain things in the most concise and useful way possible. The book wastes no time in getting straight to the heart of the topic and gives many useful techniques for communicating your ideas to people in a way that really makes in impact. I highly recommend it.

Ever wonder how the human brain works when making purchasing decisions? This is a great resource for marketers that want to learn more about why people buy things and how their brain works. It is an easy read and very informative. I love the comparisons between how the old brain and new brain work together to compel people to buy or not to buy. Read it twice and take notes!

If it's news to you to you that "The latest breakthoughs in brain research suggest that people make EMOTIONAL decisions, which they later RATIONALIZE" you'll love the lightweight treatment of the art/science of persuasion put forth in "Neuromarketing". This book is derivative and lacks a bibliography. It refers to "studies" with phrases like "a study found" but doesn't tell us when, where, and who conducted the research and how to find out more about it. It claims to be based on the latest research yet in refering to source material mentions such dated sources as Dale Carnegie's book "How To Win Friends and Influence People," which was published in 1936. Dale Carnegie is great, but not "the latest breakthroughs in brain research". If you're familiar with some of the core literature on persuasion, marketing, selling, and especially direct-response marketing - ie: Cialdini, Hogan, Caples, Ogilvy, and so forth, I don't think you'll find anything here you're not aware of as relevant factors in successful marketing. You may, as I did, experience some "duh" moments. If you're unfamiliar with sales, nlp concepts, and persuasion you may enjoy this book and have some revelations. Mostly the authors reframe established stuff in terms of appealing to "the old brain". Since they offer no specific citations in the current editions, just a reading list at the end, the notion that this is somehow a scientific work is dubious. In science writing, sources are generally cited. Here we get a reading list at the back. No index. No bibliography. I don't feel this book lives up to it's book jacket promise: "Neuromarketing is the only book to combine the latest brain research with cutting-edge sales, marketing and communication techniques" If it's so up on the latest brain research, where are the citations? That said, it's not a lame book. It has some good information in it, but little in the way of new ideas. Not a waste of time but not something I'll likely read again.

Great Book. I took a lot of notes. The video/webinar training is great too. Love this model and what these guys do. I have started to incorporate the fear first/loss first model into my everyday selling. Great stuff. Even through email it has been working for me.

Quite nice, I liked the style of writing. However, more advanced people in this field may find it less impactful or useful.. in overall it’s a nice piece.

Not a seminal book, but you may read it if you have spare time - it only takes a week to read, a couple of hours per evening.

If I could I would give it 6 stars. I've been working on sales for a number of years and I may have found the answer to all those sales that I couldn't close, speak to the old brain!... Highly recommend it, a really good tool that can be monetized....

I learned the concepts and a concrete method to apply the principles of neuromarketing. However, mastering these concepts and their applications requires a lot of practice. But it is a fundamental book for those who work with neuromarketing.

Was fantastic, realistic, bombastic, lunatic, kunatic, supartic,fishartic & selopiloyiastic..... Thank for a great book.. It was awesome.. Showsome.. Handsome... Getsome

This is a very useful, clear book. It really keeps the essence of what matters and helps you through a sytematic approach.