Jerk-O-Meter

One of the Rules of Attraction is: Who you are is more important than what you do. However I think the geeks at MIT have taken enforcing BEING NICE a little too far! Jerk-O-Meter monitors friends, associates or co-worker on the other end of the phone to discover if that really are paying attention to what you are saying. The software will be used for cell phones that would analyze speech patterns and voice tones to rate people -- on a scale of 0 to 100 percent -- on how engaged people are in a conversation.

The program, which developers said is nearing completion, uses mathematical algorithms to measure levels of stress and empathy in a person's voice. It also keeps track of how often someone is speaking. The Jerk-O-Meter is set up to monitor the user's end of the conversation. If his attention is straying, a message pops up on the phone that warns, "Don't be a jerk!" or "Be a little nicer now." A score closer to 100 percent would prompt, "Wow, you're a smooth talker."

Check it out at http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/ptech/08/12/jerk.o.meter.ap/index.html

Remove Yourself from the Solution

This is the step which most marketers miss. They are so anxious to get the business, that they scare the customer away. We identify the problem and we immediately move to the solution. It is for this reason that most marketing is ineffective. Web sites, brochures, ads, commercials, even business presentations which quickly identify the problem then dedicate the majority of time, space and priority to “why and how” the marketer solves this problem.

What if we could propose solutions in a way that does not overtly promote our company, product or service? Now wait a minute, you’re thinking, isn’t that the purpose of marketing - to promote our products, get new clients, increase market share, and ultimately sell more? Yes, however that is precisely why I am advising that we first promote the “generic” solutions BEFORE giving our exclusive solution. If we REMOVE ourselves from those solutions we have the ability to motivate the prospect to align their thinking with ours. They are more apt to do this because our approach is selfless. Our proposition is then communicated with the best interest of the prospect in mind. When this happens, customers begin to realize of their own volition that our solution is not just better when compared to the generic solutions, in many cases they realize that it very well might be their ONLY solution!

Interested in learning more about this? Check out our upcoming seminars in Long Beach, Monrovia and San Francisco.