As
soon as you move one step up from the bottom, your
effectiveness depends on your ability to reach
others through the spoken and written word." --
Peter Drucker
If
you have to get things done through influence or
persuasion--and who doesn't?--then Make
What You Say Pay! is written for you.
50+ stories from across the business and media
spectrum prove how you, too, can open minds,
close deals, clear up confusion, and inspire
others, all with a simple language tool as old
as Aristotle and as new as the Internet: the
metaphor. Tap into its power and revel in the
results.
"Anne Miller
unleashes the energy of metaphors to give light
and life to business conversations. She has
wonderful stories to tell and her take aways
make the point with clarity and brilliance.
Think of this book as your own power generator
in the vast brownout of business talk." Sandra Sollod Poster, Ph.D,
Communications Consultant, Emmy Award Winner
"A great salesperson knows that closing requires
faith, empathy, and a great yarn. That's also
the way Anne Miller teaches - and writes about -
the craft of selling. This is a book that will
create value for everyone who reads it." Randall Rothenberg, President &
CEO, Interactive Advertising Bureau
“While the ‘arts’ of speech, presentation and
meeting dynamics are well ploughed earth in the
business world, Anne Miller is a pioneer in the
‘science of being heard.’ In exploring the
communicative power of the metaphor, she gives
the gifts of impact and understanding to an
attention starved business world. Open them and
start using them today.” Doug Weaver, Founder & CEO,
Upstream Group
“In Make What You Say Pay, Anne Miller makes the
use of metaphors so simply brilliant that anyone
who reads this book will be able to improve
their content and communication effectiveness at
least ten fold. In a world where attention is
limited and informational noise is high, the
ability to catch attention and gain emotional
buy-in is critical. The stories in this book
will help you do exactly that.” Ardath Albee, CEO, Marketing
Interactions, Author, “eMarketing Strategies for
the Complex Sale”
“If you're struggling to capture the attention
of today's crazy-busy buyers, this book is
invaluable. It's filled with fresh ideas that
make your message memorable and your prospects
take action.” Jill Konrath, author, SNAP Selling
and Selling to Big Companies
“Metaphors work. In her first book,
Metaphorically Selling, Anne Miller showed us
the surprising and practical power behind the
thoughtful use of metaphors in business. Anne
has proven herself all over again in her latest
book, Make What You Say Pay! She serves up her
metaphorical wisdom through a fun collection of
success stories and business case examples and
shows us that the steel walls of
misunderstanding can (dare I say?) ‘melt like
butter’ when the right people can accurately
visualize the right concepts.” Bill Wreaks, Chief Analyst, The
Journal of Financial Advertising & Marketing
“In this book Anne shows you how to build
bridges that connect your ideas with those of
your client, allowing you to communicate on a
level that gets results.”
Mark Mayer, VP Sales & Marketing Aspen
Technology Solutions, LLC.
"In this super-handy book Anne Miller gives tons
of real world examples of how sales people can
paint pictures that help buyers understand what
they are all about. Net result: more money in
your the pocket" Nigel Edelsham, CEO, Sales2.com
“Anne knows how to ‘keep it simple’ with the
kinds of short stories of success and
brain-expanding insights that every successful
person has to have squirreled away, and that are
so much fun to read, reread and think, ‘I knew
that!’ A treasure trove of great reminders about
acting and thinking smart.” Jim Fishman, Senior Vice President,
AARP Media Sales
“Anne Miller takes the pitch out of persuading
and selling and shows you how to replace it with
that ‘aha’ communication that gets your point
across. Her metaphoric sidebars underscore how
you take the plain vanilla out of business
conversations and creatively make your
metaphorical example titillate and resonate.” Jay Berfas, Group Publisher,
Advanstar Communications
Introduction: The Power to Open Minds, Close
Deals, & Wow Crowds
Chapter One: Grab Attention Don’t Jump Without a Parachute
Catch 22
CSI: Angleton
Chapter Two: Overcome Resistance Landing on the Beaches
Take it to the Cleaners
The ATM Moment
Curtain Up!
The Longest Rivalry
Chapter Three: Pitch in Five Seconds School Daze
Rock On!
Bank On It
From Eskimos to Flying Buses
Chapter Four: Get Them on Board No One Wears Shoes Here
Snap! Crackle! Pop!
How to Get Your Ex Back
I Hear You
Chapter Five: Un-Numb the Numbers What’s in Your Pocket?
For the Price of a Latte
How Big is It?
Chapter Six: Stand Out From the Crowd Product Names That Pop
Website Wizardry
Titles That Tease
Chapter Seven: Explain New Concepts The Pause That Refreshes
Drive, She Said
All the World’s a (Web) Stage
Odd and Even Watering Days
Blast Off!
Puppet on a String
Chapter Eight: Avoid Information Overload High Five
Cascades of Wealth
The ABC’s of Economic Recovery
Chapter Nine: Deal with Drastic Situations Go for the Gold(fish)
How Sweet It Is!
Snip!
Happy Holidays
Got Lunch Money?
Chapter Ten: Handle Public Pressure Burning with Fever
The Home Run Judge
Mama’s Wisdom
My Fellow Americans...
Chapter Eleven: Motivate & Support On the Wrong Track
Walk a Mile...
Scale the Wall
Chapter Twelve: Shift the Paradigm Never Let a Barber Do Brain Surgery
Minnow or Moby Dick?
Pick-Up Sticks
Chapter Thirteen: Bridge the Generation Gap Speed Dating
Smash the Tomato!
Leave Out the Anchovies
Marathon Girl
Chapter Fourteen: Make the News
Extra! Extra!
Chapter Fifteen: Close the Deal Make Mine Bud
Rest in Peace
Success in Black and White
Reeling in the Big Ones
Author of Make
What You Say Pay! and
Metaphorically Selling:
1. What
made you decide to write a book about metaphors?
Anyone trying to make a
point or make a sale is being swamped in today's
market by the perfect storm of client/listener
resistance and too much information coming at
people too quickly about products, services, and
causes which all begin to sound alike and
ultimately blur in their minds -- which makes
getting a result or commitment incredibly
difficult. I saw my clients struggling to
survive in this business maelstrom and. knowing
the power of metaphors, I decided to write the
first book
Metaphorically Selling to
help them master use of this powerful
communication tool. I put the stories together
in Make What You Say Pay! to
show how anyone, with a little pre-thought,
could use metaphors to get results in all
business and public forum situations.
2. What
is it about metaphors that makes them such powerful communication
tools? Very simply, they drive home
a point with a short, memorable, and emotional punch that information and logic
alone do not have.
3.
How is Make What You Say Pay! different from
other business books on the market?
Think of MWYSP! as
“Chicken Soup for the Soul” meets
“Metaphorically Selling” Here are 50+ true
stories of how people across the business
spectrum from sales rep to CEO have used
metaphors to achieve a result –demonstrating my
belief that anyone can benefit from becoming a “Metaphorian.”
4. What
is the best use of metaphor you have heard and what results did it
yield? One of my favorites, which
has been used by many of my seminar participants to close business in many
situations is the following.
Problem: Someone
is resistant to changing their current suppliers and is fighting the suggestion
of testing your product, service, or idea.
Metaphoric Solution:
"Mr. Client, you know that you can play a reasonable game of tennis with a
strong forehand; you simply run around the backhand. But when you add a
strong backhand, you are much more powerful in the game. The same is true
with our (product, service, idea). Your current supplier is your
forehand; keep it. Add our (product, service, idea) to what you are doing
now and you will be much more powerful in your marketplace, your 'game,' as
well."
This metaphoric logic is
generally a winner!
5. What
advice do you have for people who don't think they're creative enough to come
up with winning metaphors?
Surprise! You are
already a regular metaphor maker. Every time you
say -- "My computer crashed." "We need a home
run here in this meeting." "That's a train wreck
waiting to happen." "Wish I could get a golden
parachute!" -- you are using metaphors. MWYSP!
will inspire you to use metaphors in all your
future h high stakes meetings.
6. If
you're not a salesperson or corporate executive, can you benefit learning how
to use metaphors? Absolutely.
Though people may not realize it, everyone sells: managers justifying requests
to senior management for people and resources; tech advisors explaining the
merits of a particular system; advocates and fundraisers for a cause seeking
support; parents arguing a point at a school board meeting; Presidents seeking
to bind a nation to their vision. All benefit from the magic of metaphors
to make their points and win others over to their side.
7. Why
is now the right time for a book such as Make
What You Say Pay! and Metaphorically Selling?
The flood of
information coming at everyone daily is
increasing, not decreasing. More information is
not the answer. In this environment, we need new
tools and strategies to get our messages heard
and remembered. Metaphors are those tools: they
are colorful, memorable shortcuts to
understanding. Metaphorically
Selling shows you step by
step how to become a Metaphorian. Make
What You Say Pay! shows you how
Metaphorians make the mundane magical, the dull
dazzling, and the ordinary unforgettable.
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