From Time Magazine: How Hillary Turned it Around
Hillary Clinton's victory in New Hampshire is a clear illustration of two of the key principles of sales.
Make no mistake, politics is the ultimate in personal sales because you are trying to persuade people to "buy" you and the plans for the government you will subject them to.
The two key principles illustrated here are that
(1) People don't buy for your reasons. They buy for their reasons. Hillary's campaign in Iowa was about her reasons.
(2) Telling is not selling. That means listening to people tell you their reasons for buying. It's as old as what you find in How to Win Friends and Influence People. Hence Hillary's statement last night that she, ". . .started listening to you and in the process found my voice."
Emotion clearly played a part in her victory. This is another key aspect of sales applied to politics. People make buying decisions emotionally and justify them logically. People need just enough logic to be able to justify their purchase to their friends.
The victory is also a clear illustration (along with McCain's on the Republican side) of what we wrote about last night. The parties have become focused on choosing candidates who appeal to the base membership instead of appealing to the centrist masses. This is why centrists must vote in the primaries for those candidates who are willing to appeal to the centrists. Otherwise they will have no choice at all in the general election.
Here is a link to the Time article.
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1701640,00.html?xid=site-cnn-partner
Make no mistake, politics is the ultimate in personal sales because you are trying to persuade people to "buy" you and the plans for the government you will subject them to.
The two key principles illustrated here are that
(1) People don't buy for your reasons. They buy for their reasons. Hillary's campaign in Iowa was about her reasons.
(2) Telling is not selling. That means listening to people tell you their reasons for buying. It's as old as what you find in How to Win Friends and Influence People. Hence Hillary's statement last night that she, ". . .started listening to you and in the process found my voice."
Emotion clearly played a part in her victory. This is another key aspect of sales applied to politics. People make buying decisions emotionally and justify them logically. People need just enough logic to be able to justify their purchase to their friends.
The victory is also a clear illustration (along with McCain's on the Republican side) of what we wrote about last night. The parties have become focused on choosing candidates who appeal to the base membership instead of appealing to the centrist masses. This is why centrists must vote in the primaries for those candidates who are willing to appeal to the centrists. Otherwise they will have no choice at all in the general election.
Here is a link to the Time article.
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1701640,00.html?xid=site-cnn-partner
I do not see Hillary as a centrist. I see her as a Clintonista who stands for nothing in particular other than her own sense of self-entitlement to the office her husband held, and will ruthlessly attack anyone, even potential allies in her own party, to get there. She won by a barely statistically significant 3% and cannot even achieve 40% of the votes in her own party. Seems to me that Brack Obama's message is a lot closer to this blog's philosophy of moving beyond the politics of polarization.
Reply to this
We do not necessarily see Hillary as a centrist, either. But you cannot defeat your opposition unless you understand your opposition. We post items about individuals on both sides in order to provide perspective. We are on record as opposing Senator Clinton as the Democratic nominee. We feel this election needs to be about where this country is going from 2009 onward. That discussion requires open minds that will fully consider the choices available. Too many people have a closed mind when it comes to Senator Clinton. With Governor Richardson's departure and the lack of excitement for Kucinich or Gravel, voters who want a change from President Bush's policies are now down to a choice between Edwards or Obama for a candidate who can possibly win in November.
Thanks very much for your comment. Please subscribe to the blog if you haven't already and continue to comment. Reasoned debate is one of the ways we're going to overcome polarized politics.
By the way, you are not the first to comment to me that Senator Obama's message is very close to the philosophy in this blog and my book.
Reply to this