The persuaders

A. We have long lived in an age where powerful images, catchy soundbites and too-good-to miss offers
bombard us from every quarter. All around us the persuaders are at work. Occasionally their methods
are unsubtle the planting kiss on a babys head by a winnable political leader, or a liquidation sale in a
shop that has been closing down for well over a year, but generally the persuaders know what they are
about an are highly capable. Be they politicians, supermarket chains, salespeople or advertisers, they
know exactly what to do to sell us their images, ideas or produce. When it comes to persuasion, these
giants rule supreme. They employ the most skilled image-makers and use the best psychological tricks
to guarantee that ev3n the most cautious among us are open to manipulation.
B. We spend more time in them than we mean to, we buy 75 per cent of our food from them and end up
with products that we did not realize we wanted. Right from the start, supermarkets have been ahead of
the game. For example, when Sainsbury introduced shopping baskets into its 1950s stores, it was a
stroke of marketing genius. Now shoppers could browse and pick up items they previously would have
ignored. Soon after came trolleys, and just as new roads attract more traffic, the same applied to trolley
space. Pro Merlin Store, IBM Professor of Relationship Marketing at Bristol Business School, says
aisles are laid out to maximize profits. Stores pander to our money-rich, time-poor lifestyle. Low
turnover products clothes and electrical goods are stocked at the back while high turnover items
command position at the front.
C. Stone believes supermarkets work hard to stall us because the more time we spend in them, the
more we buy. Thus, great efforts are made to make the environment pleasant. Stores play music to relax
us and some even pipe air from the in-store bakery around the shop. In the USA, fake aromas are
sometimes used. Smell is both the most evocative and subliminal sense. In experiments, pleasant smells
are effective in increasing our spending. A casino that fragranced only half its premise saw profit soar in
the aroma filled areas. The other success story from the supermarkets perspective is the loyalty card.
Punters may assume that they are being rewarded for their fidelity, but all the while they are trading
information about their shopping habits. Loyal shoppers could be pay 30% more by sticking to their
favorite shops for essential cosmetics.
D. Research has shown that 75 per cent of profit comes from just 30 per cent of customers. Ultimately,
reward cards could be used to identify and better accommodate these elite shoppers. It could also be
used to make adverts more relevant to individual consumers rather like Spielbergs futuristic thriller
Minority Report, in which Tom Cruises character is bombarded with interactive personalized ads. If
this sounds far-fetched, the data-gathering revolution has already seen the introduction of radio
frequency

identification away to electronically tag products to see who is buying what, FRID means they can
follow the product into people homes.
E. No matter how savvy we think we are to their ploys, the ad industry still wins. Adverts focus on what
products do or on how they make us feel. Researcher Laurette Dube, in the Journal of Advertising
Research, says when attitudes are based on cognitive foundations (logical reasoning), advertisers use
informative appeals. This works for products with little emotional draw but high functionality, such as
bleach. Where attitude are based on effect (i.e., emotions), ad teams try to tap into our feelings.
Researchers at the University of Florida recently concluded that our emotional responses to adverts
dominate over cognition.
F. Advertisers play on our need to be safe (commercials for insurance), to belong (make customer feel
they are in the group in fashion ads) and for self-esteem (aspirational adverts). With time and space at a
premium, celebrities are often used as a quick way of meeting these needs either because the celeb
epitomizes success or because they seem familiar and so make the product seem safe. A survey of
4,000 campaigns found ads with celebs were 10 per cent more effective than without. Humor also
stimulates a rapid emotional response. Hwiman Chung, writing in the International Journal of
Advertising, found that funny ads were remembered for longer than straight ones. Combine humor with
sexual imagery as Wonderbras Hello Boys ads and you are on to a winner.
G. Slice-of-life ads are another tried and tested method they paint a picture of life as you would like it,
but still one that feels familiar. Abhilasha Mehta, in the Journal of Advertising Research, noted that the
more ones self-image tallies with the brand being advertised, the stronger the commercial. Ad makers
also use behaviorist theories, recognizing that the more sensation we receive from an object, the better
we know it. If an advert for a chocolate bar fails to cause salivation, it has probably failed. No wonder
advertisements have been dubbed the nervous system of the business world.
H. Probably all of us could make a sale if the product was something we truly believed in, but
professional salespeople are in a different league the best of them can always sell different items to
suitable customers in a best time. They do this by using very basic psychological techniques. Stripped to
its simplest level, selling works by heightening the buyers perception of how much they need a product
or service. Buyers normally have certain requirements by which they will judge the suitability of a
product. The seller therefore attempts to tease out what these conditions are and then explains how their
products benefit can meet these requirements.

I. Richard Hession, author of Be a Great Salesperson says it is human nature to prefer to speak rather to
listen, and good salespeople pander to this. They ask punters about their needs and offer to work with
them to achieve their objectives. As a result, the buyer feels they are receiving a consultation rather
than a sales pitch. All the while, the salesperson presents with a demeanor that takes it for granted that
the sale will be made. Never will the words if you buy be use, but rather when you buy.
J. Dr Rob Yeung, a senior consultant at business psychologists Kiddy and Partner, says most salespeople
will build up a level of rapport by asking questions about hobbies, family and lifestyle. This has the
double benefit of making the salesperson likeable while furnishing him or her with more information
about the clients wants. Yeung says effective salespeople try as far as possible to match their style of
presenting themselves to how the buyer comes across. If the buyer cracks jokes, the salespeople will
respond in kind. If the buyer wants details, the seller provides it. If they are more interested in the feel of
the product, the seller will focus on this. At its most extreme, appearing empathetic can even include the
salesperson attempting to mirror the hobby language of the buyer.
K. Whatever the method used, all salespeople work towards one aim: closing the deal. In fact, they
will be looking for closing signals through their dealing with the potential clients. Once again the
process works by assuming success. The buyer is not asked are you interested? as this can invite a
negative response. Instead the seller takes it for granted that the deal is effectively done: when the
salesman asks you for a convenient delivery date or asks what color you want, you will probably
respond accordingly. Only afterwards might you wonder why you proved such a pushover.

Questions 1-4 Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

1. What is the supermarkets purpose of using basket in paragraph B?
A. Create a convenient atmosphere of supermarket
B. Make customers spend more time on shopping
C. Relieve pressure on supermarkets traffic
D. More than half items bought need carried
2. What approach do ads employ when it comes to products effect?
A. Advertisers often lay their effort on cognitive reasoning
B. They emphasize on functions instead of appearance
C. Advertisers use emotions to touch customers
D. They spend a lot of money on one specific item
3. Whats the quality of a best salesman possessed according to this passage?
A. Show great interpersonal skills
B. Clearly state the instruction of a product
C. Show professional background of one product
D. Sell the right product to the right person
4. What is the final goal that salesman pursue at the end of this article?
A. They try to consult customers preference
B. They try to finish conversation as quickly as possible
C. They try to terminate a deal
D. They try to ask if customers are interested
Questions 5-9 Summary Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage, using
no more than two words from the Reading Passage for each answer.
After the invention of basket in supermarket, (5) ___________ are also born due to increasing traffic.
Different good are laid differently along (6) ___________ in order to generate the most profits. Except
the effort of creating a comfortable surroundings, (7) ___________ is another card that supermarkets
play to reward their regular customers. For example, loyal customers spend 30% more in their loved
shops for everyday necessary (8) ___________. Advertisers also produce a sense of safety and
belonging to costumers, for instance, they make those who want to buy clothes feel like that they are in
the (9) ___________.