4 ms·

Taking this a step further, when it comes to sales, the type of "mask" you use often is the phone. Over the phone, your presentation (your tone, speed, diction)

Taking this a step further, when it comes to sales, the type of "mask" you use often is the phone. Over the phone, your presentation (your tone, speed, diction) can change depending upon the person on the other end - as it should.

sahillavingia 16y ago
Very true. It applies to emails too. However, often the customer "forgets" that leading to mindless bashing, but I guess that's a compromise. :)
- gatsby 16y ago
  Great point about emails. At my last office, there was a guy named Robert who was a VP. He was usually a casual guy and signed his emails with "Rob" But, anytime he'd ask someone for a favor or give instructions in an email, he'd always sign with "Robert M. Lastname III, Vice President" Tacky, but material for countless inter-office jokes.
  - frossie 16y ago
    Hence the old joke about having a Ph.D. being most useful when you have to write a letter to your bank.
    - patio11 16y ago
      Speaking of which: a long time ago, I worked at an office supply company and had the privilege of attending a lecture by a guy who had made selling paper his life's work. I send maybe two or three paper letters a year, and if they're designed to go to a human being I always write them on paper which screams I Am The King Of Papers. (I didn't believe such a thing existed, but try putting one sheet of it on a table with 40 sheets of assorted office paper. Anybody can pick it out, instantly, from several feet away.) It costs about $15 for less than a ream and is usually sold as something like "resume paper" (300 sheets -- a ream is 500, a carton is 10 reams, and a carton of generic office paper should cost around $30 ~ $40). One pack will last you about a decade. For those of us in the Internet generation, if you have a call to send someone paper, that probably means you are doing Serious Business. The ROI on influencing Serious Business is just astounding.
      - aberkowitz 16y ago
        Resume paper sounds like the Monster Cable of paper.
        barrkel 16y ago
        I don't think that's an accurate analogy. It doesn't matter what your digital cables are made of, so long as noise doesn't go above the threshold. Cheap copier paper, on the other hand, looks and feels like crap. The only reason you print stuff on paper is to communicate with another human being, and the paper is part of the message. I wouldn't quite go as far as the business cards scene in American Psycho (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoIvd3zzu4Y http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoIvd3zzu4Y) though.
        jrockway 16y ago
        In the sense that Monster Cable is printing money, and cotton paper ("resume paper") is what the government prints money on?
        chc 16y ago
        Only if the intended recipient of your document is an HDMI port. HDMI ports don't care about what you give them as long as it fits and transmits the correct data. Humans are somewhat more subjective and have emotional responses to things, and it's in your interset to influence those responses to work in your favor.
        aberkowitz 16y ago
        In order to determine the value of resume paper over "regular" copy paper, I will go out and buy some this week to evaluate.
BRadmin 16y ago
Your comment reminded me of how a lot of sales training / pick-up artist gaming revolves around neuro-linguistic programming. Mirroring & matching, imitating the body language, tone, speed, diction of those you interact with, is an important facet of NLP and subsequently the art of persuasion - and as an aside, having preset rules to follow makes one feel as though they are playing a 'role' and acting, thereby increasing confidence as well.

sahillavingia 16y ago

Very true. It applies to emails too. However, often the customer "forgets" that leading to mindless bashing, but I guess that's a compromise. :)

gatsby 16y ago
Great point about emails. At my last office, there was a guy named Robert who was a VP. He was usually a casual guy and signed his emails with "Rob" But, anytime he'd ask someone for a favor or give instructions in an email, he'd always sign with "Robert M. Lastname III, Vice President" Tacky, but material for countless inter-office jokes.
- frossie 16y ago
  Hence the old joke about having a Ph.D. being most useful when you have to write a letter to your bank.
  - patio11 16y ago
    Speaking of which: a long time ago, I worked at an office supply company and had the privilege of attending a lecture by a guy who had made selling paper his life's work. I send maybe two or three paper letters a year, and if they're designed to go to a human being I always write them on paper which screams I Am The King Of Papers. (I didn't believe such a thing existed, but try putting one sheet of it on a table with 40 sheets of assorted office paper. Anybody can pick it out, instantly, from several feet away.) It costs about $15 for less than a ream and is usually sold as something like "resume paper" (300 sheets -- a ream is 500, a carton is 10 reams, and a carton of generic office paper should cost around $30 ~ $40). One pack will last you about a decade. For those of us in the Internet generation, if you have a call to send someone paper, that probably means you are doing Serious Business. The ROI on influencing Serious Business is just astounding.
    - aberkowitz 16y ago
      Resume paper sounds like the Monster Cable of paper.
      - barrkel 16y ago
        I don't think that's an accurate analogy. It doesn't matter what your digital cables are made of, so long as noise doesn't go above the threshold. Cheap copier paper, on the other hand, looks and feels like crap. The only reason you print stuff on paper is to communicate with another human being, and the paper is part of the message. I wouldn't quite go as far as the business cards scene in American Psycho (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoIvd3zzu4Y http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoIvd3zzu4Y) though.
      - jrockway 16y ago
        In the sense that Monster Cable is printing money, and cotton paper ("resume paper") is what the government prints money on?
      - chc 16y ago
        Only if the intended recipient of your document is an HDMI port. HDMI ports don't care about what you give them as long as it fits and transmits the correct data. Humans are somewhat more subjective and have emotional responses to things, and it's in your interset to influence those responses to work in your favor.
      - aberkowitz 16y ago
        In order to determine the value of resume paper over "regular" copy paper, I will go out and buy some this week to evaluate.

BRadmin 16y ago

Your comment reminded me of how a lot of sales training / pick-up artist gaming revolves around neuro-linguistic programming. Mirroring & matching, imitating the body language, tone, speed, diction of those you interact with, is an important facet of NLP and subsequently the art of persuasion - and as an aside, having preset rules to follow makes one feel as though they are playing a 'role' and acting, thereby increasing confidence as well.