1: A 5,000 percent return.
“A few years back, we did a survey of some of our top clients to see what type of return on investment (ROI) they were getting from working with us,” Erik Peterson and Tim Riesterer write in their excellent book Conversations That Win the Complex Sale.
The results were impressive.
“The ROI was 5,000 percent,” the authors report. “That’s not a typo.”
Super exciting. The sales team couldn’t wait to share the news with their prospects.
“Salespeople love numbers—the bigger, the better,” Erik and Tim write.
2: But there was a problem.
This week, we’ve looked at how the human brain responds more powerfully to concrete things than to abstract ideas.
Percentages are abstract.
“It’s not that percents are always bad. They are not,” they observe. “It’s that people just can’t wrap their minds around 5,000 percent.
“What does that really mean?” the authors ask.
“First, it just sounds unbelievable,” Erik and Tim explain. “Also, a lot of people can’t do the math needed to translate that into real numbers. They just get confused.”
5,000 percent sounds impressive. But it’s difficult to picture.
3: One of the company’s sales reps came up with a way to make the 5,000 percent figure more concrete.
“He gathered up numbers showing the different ROIs you would have received if you had put your money in different investments during the previous year,” the authors share.
If you had invested $1 in different options a year ago, here’s how much you’d have now:
- $1.02 — Savings account
- $1.04 — Money market fund
- $1.12 — Stock index fund
- $3.23 — Hottest stock of the last 12 months
- $50.00 — Power Messaging training for your sales team
Bam.
5000 percent or $50?
“It’s the exact same thing,” the authors write.
And yet, it’s much easier to understand that your $1 is now worth $50 than to picture 5,000 percent.
That’s the power of making an abstract idea concrete. You don’t change the information. You change how easily someone can picture it.
Bonus points: What else is at play?
Seeing a $50 return is powerful. Seeing it next to $1.02, $1.04, $1.12, and even $3.23 makes it even more powerful.
More tomorrow!
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Reflection: What number or statistic do you regularly share that sounds impressive but may be difficult for others to picture?
Action: Take one important number and translate it into something concrete—a dollar amount, comparison, object, distance, or everyday experience your audience can immediately understand.
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