A Dancer and an Elephant

This is a thought-provoking lesson in buyer behaviour and decision making, that will change your membership consultations forever!

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The next few pages contain two short articles that will probably make you think differently about every sales conversation you will ever have after this point.

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The first one, is a fictional story, involving Chris the Membership Manager, Sim the secret sales

guru, Debbie The Dancer, and Leon the Alpha husband. The second, is a well known analogy of

human behaviour, involving an elephant, a rider, and a path.

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Debbie and Leon walk into a fitness studio looking to start a new fitness journey together. They are greeted at the door by Chris, the membership manager, along with one of the trainers, Sim, who is setting up for the next class. 

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Leon: “Hi, we just moved here and looking for a new place to work out together.” 

Chris: “Great, I’m Chris, let me show you around.” As Chris begins chatting to Leon, Sim notices Debbie has been examining one of the pictures on the ‘member of the month’ wall. 

Sim: “Ah that’s a couple of our girls at a regional dance comp last month.” Chris: “Ah yeah, we have a few dancers who come here, these guys are part of the national team and they use our workouts to supplement their training. They won this competition and Vanessa on the right said she wouldn’t be able to maintain her elite level of fitness without us. Pretty cool huh?”

Debbie: “Yeah really cool. I used to dance when I was their age.”

Chris: “Ah no way, well you never know, stick with us and you’ll be dancing again in no time haha. Anyway, let me run you through our classes…”

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While Chris begins talking through the week's class schedule, Sim’s curiosity gets the better of her.

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Sim: “So, how long did you dance for, Debbie?”

Debbie: “Literally from being a kid until I was in my late twenties. It was amazing, some of the happiest times of my life, I had such a tight group of friends. We did all sorts together. Not to mention being half the size I am now haha.”

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Meanwhile, Chris and Dan are in a discussion about parking. One of the gyms across town has it’s own car park so Chris is explaining the closest spots where Leon can park for free.

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Sim: “Haha yeah it’s something we hear often. Some of our members used to play netball or hockey, a few dancers of course, gymnasts. They say the close community here gives them that same feeling of team spirit. It’s amazing how motivating it is when you’re all there for each other!”

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Sim and Debbie catch up with the guys in the changing rooms

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Chris: “… and free towels and secure lockers and plenty of showers and everything you need to get freshened up and out of the door within 10 minutes of the class finishing.”

Sim: “Maybe for you guys, us girls spend as much time in there chatting as in the class.”

Leon: “I noticed your morning class is at 7:30, the other place we looked at has a class at 8 which works a bit better for us.”

Sim: “The 7:30 class is such a friendly group though. We all go for a coffee together after class before everyone heads to work. It’s such a laugh. It’s our morning crew ritual!”

Chris: “We do have really good coffee here as well! Come with me I’ll make you one…”

Sim: “So, what made you stop dancing, Debbie?”

Debbie: “Ah you know, we all gradually moved away and then I had kids and the rest was history.”

Leon: “Yeah, kids we have to feed! I just went through the prices with Chris and it’s 3 times more expensive than the other place and they have free parking. Cheers guys, the place is great but it might be out of budget for us.”

Chris: “Bye guys, I will call you tomorrow in case there’s anything I’ve missed.”

Sim: “Nice to meet you Debbie, whatever you decide, there’s a group of us meeting to go hiking on Friday and you’re welcome to join us.”

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The next day, Chris followed up with Leon and the couple signed up to a 6 month membership.This story about Debbie The Dancer is fictitious, but will probably resemble a number of situations you have encountered in the past, whether it’s the type of interaction between Chris and Leon, or the one between Sim and Debbie. As you will notice, this illustrates the difference between logic and emotion when it comes to decision making.

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This is one of the most fundamental concepts to master in order to affect behaviour change in any situation. Whether it's motivating your PT clients to hit their goals, convincing your partner or kids to do something they might not want to, or of course, helping your prospects make the right decision to join your gym or studio. In the story of Debbie the Dancer and her husband Leon, the main take-away is that when logic and emotion go head to head, there's usually only one winner. The seemingly important features of the studio such as the class times, parking, changing rooms and even price, were soon overruled when a strong emotional connection was made to one of Debbie's deepest desires.

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THE ELEPHANT AND THE RIDER

There have been many different metaphors and analogies used to explain this concept: Left Brain vs Right Brain, Mouse Brain vs Monkey Brain, System One vs System Two (we have dropped a few recommended reads at the end of this article). Scientifically, we're talking about the Limbic System, responsible for regulating emotions and desires, and the Cortex, responsible for higher processes in the human brain, including conscious thinking, learning, reasoning and problem- solving. Our favourite, however, is a well-known analogy involving an elephant and a rider, originally introduced by Psychologist Jonathan Haidt in his book The Happiness Hypothesis, but made widely popular in the amazing book 'Switch' by Chip and Dan Heath, to help us understand how these two different aspects of human psychology work in parallel to one another in the process of behaviour change and decision making. Here's what Chip and Dan say: "Perched atop the Elephant, the Rider holds the reins and seems to be the leader. But the Rider’s control is precarious because the Rider is so small relative to the Elephant. Anytime the six-ton Elephant and the Rider disagree about which direction to go, the Rider is going to lose. He’s completely overmatched." The point is, we think that we, as Riders, are in charge. Most of the time we do lead the way. But we are all familiar with situations where the elephant takes over against our conscious intentions.

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For instance, if you've ever over-eaten, slept in, bought something you can't afford, stayed out late when you have work the next day etc etc. We have all also encountered situations where something seems to tick every box, but we haven’t done it because it doesn’t feel right, or we’re held back by fear.

BUT, when Elephants and Riders move together, decisions come easily.

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Great! You now understand more about how humans make decisions, but how are you actually supposed to put this into practice when you come face to face with a prospect? Here’s what you can do…

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1. DIRECT THE RIDER

Establish Buying Criteria - If you can present your product in a way that meets your customers logical criteria as well as emotional needs, then decisions are easy. Learn what’s most important to them before you launch into ‘pitch mode’ and drown them in information. Unearth and handle objections – Overcoming objections and buyer resistance properly will build trust and confidence in you and your product. Trust is very important for Riders! Justify your price with VALUE! Price is only ‘expensive’ if it’s perceived as higher than the value your prospect will get, over and above the other options. Someone who ‘can’t afford’ your monthly membership fee will probably spend the same amount on one night out or a couple of take-away’s every month. Make the price make sense! “Reason and emotion must work together to create intelligent behaviour, but emotion (the elephant) does most of the work.”

Jonathan Haidt, Psychologist

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2. MOTIVATE THE ELEPHANT

Be curious and pay attention – Clues can be missed because you’re too caught up in trying to ‘sell’ everything about your gym. Probe deeper – The emotional gold is often just one level deeper. Questions like “what makes you say that?” or “why is that important?” will help you scratch beneath the surface. Strike when the Elephant is awake – There are times when emotions are more accessible than others. For example, when it’s new and exciting or when they are feeling relaxed or energised, you’re more likely to be dealing with the Elephant. Whereas, if you’re speaking when they are at their desk at work, or when the excitement has subsided, the Rider is probably back in control. Practice! – Once you get to the root of your prospects desires and fears, the skill is to then naturally help them see your product and service as the solution. This takes skill and practice.

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3. SHAPE THE PATH

Present a clear and simple process – When the Elephant and Rider are moving together, make sure they have a clear and simple set of next steps to follow. Remove obstacles – Make it easy for them to commit. Remove or reduce anything that could get in the way. Downloading apps, signing waivers, learning booking systems, can all come later.

Lay the path to results! – Beyond the initial commitment, laying out a clear and realistic route to fulfilling their hopes and dreams can be the most motivating exercise of all. If you can help them believe in themselves, they will believe in you!
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