1: Guess what percentage of information people could remember 72 hours after hearing a verbal message.
10 percent.
Ouch.
Guess what percentage they could recall if you added a picture?
65 percent.
Wowza.
Another study showed that people could remember 2,500 pictures with more than 90 percent accuracy several days after seeing them.
Guess how long they were shown each picture.
Just 10 seconds.
“That’s incredible,” Erik Peterson and Tim Riesterer write in their terrific book Conversations That Win the Complex Sale.
John Medina cites the studies above in his book Brain Rules.
What does this mean for you?
The best salespeople understand that “the simple act of using a picture to help tell your story will dramatically increase your prospect’s memory of what it was you had to say,” Erik and Tim note.
The good news is that creating what the authors call a “Big Picture” is straightforward.
A Big Picture is a simple visual designed to “simplify a complex message and make abstract ideas concrete,” the authors note.
Let’s start with what a Big Picture is not. It is not a photograph.
“Photographs have their place in sales messaging, but that’s not what we’re talking about here,” Erik and Tim write.
Rather, it’s a visual you can draw on a napkin or a sheet of paper or a whiteboard or a flip chart.
You draw it while you are talking.
2: Here’s how.
Step 1. Start with your prospect’s pain or challenge.
“The first thing that separates a good Big Picture from a bad Big Picture is its starting point,” they write.
“A weak Big Picture is one that’s all about your company,” the authors observe. “You may have seen these before. The salesperson shows a visual of three or four columns or pillars and says, ‘We bring you service [column 1], people [column 2], and technology [column 3].’”
What’s the problem with this approach? The Big Picture is all about you.
“What you need is a Big Picture that’s all about your customer. The best Big Pictures,” the authors explain, “start by visualizing the customer’s world, pains, or challenges.”
Step 2. Show the contrast between pain and gain.
“Weak Big Pictures don’t show contrast,” they observe. “Strong Big Pictures contrast the prospect’s world today with what it will become if the prospect uses your solution.”
Today versus tomorrow. Pain versus gain.
Step 3. Use a metaphor to make it memorable.
“The best Big Pictures often, but not always, use a metaphor or analogy,” Erik and Tim observe.
One example is their term “The Hammock,” which refers to the lull in your prospect’s attention during a meeting.
“What the researchers have discovered is that at the beginning of anything, your brain is so awake, alive, and alert,” they note.
You want to capitalize on this reality by making your key points as soon as the meeting begins.
“And then, when you get to the close, you want to do the same thing. You want to make sure that you’ve built to a crescendo, orchestrating the biggest impact that you can with that prospect.”
They call it “the Hammock” because of its shape—and because the goal is to keep your prospect from falling asleep in the middle of your message.
3: Importantly, these three steps are ranked in order of importance.
“If all you can do is visualize the prospect’s pain,” Erik and Tim note, “that can be enough. And it should be your top priority.
“If you can then visualize the prospect’s gain from working with you, you’ll make your Big Picture stronger.
“If you can then layer onto that a metaphor or analogy that makes it more memorable,” they explain, “you’ll have the strongest Big Picture possible.”
One mistake salespeople make is mixing up the order.
“Don’t go for the metaphor first. Instead, first draw what your prospect’s world looks like today,” the authors recommend.
In other words, don’t start by trying to be clever. Start by trying to understand your prospect.
“Then draw how your prospect’s world will be different tomorrow with your solution.”
Then, look at the picture and ask yourself: “What does that look like?”
Draw their world today.
Draw their world tomorrow.
Then ask: “What does that look like?”
Pain. Gain. Metaphor. In that order.
More tomorrow.
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Reflection: What problem does your prospect experience today, and what would their world look like if that problem disappeared?
Action: Take a blank sheet of paper and draw your prospect’s world today. Then draw their world tomorrow with your solution. Finally, ask yourself: What does this picture look like?