Weekly Ezine Number 33

1. Interview with Dan Hill
2. McCain & Palin vs. Obama: Socialism and Pie
3. Appearance in Des Moines, IA October 29

1. Interview with Dan Hill

Dan Hill is President of Sensory Logic. Sensory Logic is an international marketing firm based out of Minneapolis, MN. (www.sensorylogic.com) I recently (Oct 10, 2008) had the honor of interviewing Dan. Before I go into the particulars of the interview, allow me to tell you a bit about Dan.

As a sales professional and now as an author studying politics and how people make their voting choices, I have long been aware of the role of emotion in decision making. Dan Hill and Sensory Logic have taken awareness of that role to a whole new level. Business success today goes beyond having the most desired benefit at the lowest price. To quote from his web site:

“Only one company per category, by definition, can offer the cheapest price.

"What solution is the equivalent of not fighting with one hand behind your back?

"It consists of making not only the rational argument, but also a robust, compelling emotional connection with your key audiences - whether they be customers, prospects, employees, regulators, business partners or the media. After all, breakthroughs in brain science have confirmed what we all instinctively know.  People are primarily emotional decision-makers, who evaluate matters quickly and intuitively, and communicate their truest responses non-verbally.

"That’s where we come into the picture. For a decade now, Sensory Logic, Inc., has been the market leader in helping major, global companies measure and manage emotions in strategic as well as tactical terms. We do so through combining unique research tools like eye tracking and facial coding with traditional ratings and verbal input. And the insights we’ve gleaned over time are now available to companies … thanks to our consulting, and training and seminar services.”

Dan has expanded the application of his techniques to politics, appearing on a number of national television shows. Naturally, when he appeared at a conference held in Omaha I wanted to talk with him.

Larry: Dan, thanks for taking a few minutes to speak with me. Your presentation today really spoke to me and my experience in sales and marketing. I learned from reading D. Forbes Ley’s The Best Seller that all buying decisions are emotional and backed up afterwards with just enough logic for people to justify their decision to their friends.

Dan: Absolutely. The way I make that point is this. The feeling you get from laying down in a nice, comfortable bed is the emotion you feel. The covers or blankets you pull up over yourself after you lay down are the rationale for that decision.

Larry: Wow, that’s terrific. I have always worked on the premise that emotion falls into one of two categories—fear of loss and desire for gain. Of the two, I think fear is the more powerful. Would you comment on that from the perspective of your own research?

Dan: Fear is the predominant emotion. In 2004, Republicans used fear very effectively, particularly national defense issues. In 2008, Republicans are seeing a blowback in two ways. First, they have overplayed the fear card. They have used it one too many times and now people are resistant to reacting to the Republican message. Second, this collapse of Wall Street has created a kind of fear Republicans can’t control and it’s very difficult for them to control the discourse on this topic. As a result, they are suffering in the polls as the election comes closer.

Larry: One of the other phenomenons I’m interested in is labeling. What I have observed is one Party in particular trying to get voters to think of people with opposing points of view as things rather than as people. That attitude enables people to reject opposition as an impersonal thing. Thinking of people as people means having to examine your own beliefs and doing so would threaten the self esteem of some people.

Dan: Values are emotionally based, so if you have to question your values, then you do have to have emotional resilience. People have a lot of pride in their values and that pride is a combination of happiness and anger. People therefore see opposition to their values as a barrier to what they want to achieve.

To Lenin, people were tools, not individuals, so he may be one of the best examples of organizing people as things.

This election is very much about anger. Obama has stood out because he wasn’t angry. Some degree of anger in a political campaign is beneficial, but not too much. McCain, on the other hand, has already shown so much indignation that for him to show anger now will require him to go from indignation to white hot.

Speaking of values, I think another psychological or emotional aspect to this election is how both men are, to a certain degree, competing against their fathers. Obama’s father, based on what has been written about him, had a problem with contempt and frustration. He was arrogant and attempted to impose his solutions on others. Obama’s approach seems to be a rejection of his father’s approach and an attempt to prove he can do it better.

With McCain you have a man whose parent and grandparents were both US Navy Admirals. To a certain degree, McCain’s pursuit of the Presidency is an attempt by him to surpass their achievements.

Larry: One of my goals is to educate people to be more effective and efficient voters. I want them to be focused on principles and outcomes, not issues and personalities. I want them to be resistant to issue spinning. What would your advice to voters on that topic?

Dan: The use of marketing techniques to win Presidential elections dates back to The Selling of the President in 1968. Roger Ailes got there first. To a certain degree, voters expect to be spun today and they just need to be on guard.

One thing I think is interesting about this campaign is McCain fails to understand he’s up against a Brand, rather than an individual. His lack of business experience is keeping him from making that recognition and the necessary adjustments. McCain talks about irrelevant events and the nature of the economy undercuts his own arguments as he makes them.

Obama, on the other hand, is conducting a tremendous campaign. “Erratic” is an excellent charge by Obama about McCain.

Larry: Who do you think will win the election?

Dan: Let me say first that I am not overtly supporting either candidate. That said, I think momentum is on Obama’s side and McCain will find it very difficult to catch him.

Larry: Dan, thanks again for giving me this time today. I look forward to seeing you on TV again. Before you go, I want to recommend people buy your book Emotionomics and to visit your web site. I think you are absolutely on target that just having the best product or the lowest price will not be enough. To succeed, you must be able to harness emotion.

Dan: Thanks, Larry. People need to take advantage of what you’re offering, too.

2. McCain & Palin vs. Obama: Socialism and Pie

One of the key contentions McCain and Palin have been making about Obama is Obama’s economic plan amounts to socialism. Obama, they say, is not interested in growing the economic pie, but rather in redistributing the pie.

This is one of three topics I wanted to cover before the election. Given this week’s length, I could not do both the interview and this topic, so I put it in my Blog instead. See it at this link: http://thecenterstrikesback.com/2008/10/22/mccain--palin-socialism-and-pie.aspx  What I have there is some factual data about how income is distributed with the policies we have now. I think you’ll be surprised by what you find.

While you’re on my Blog, (if you haven’t done so already) you’ll also want to look at my White Paper Top Ten Tips for Independent Nonpartisan Voters excerpt. That has a link to my entry discussing the definitions of socialism and the like. The full version of the White Paper is available on my website.

Vote early if you can. Make sure your vote counts.

3. Appearance in Des Moines, IA October 29

Wednesday, Oct 29, at 7:00 p.m. I will be doing a presentation at the Des Moines, IA Library at 1000 Grand Avenue. Once again, this is free and open to the public. My topic at the libraries is Why Bad Politics Leads to Billion Dollar Bailouts—And What to Do About It. The events of the last few weeks have validated everything I’ve predicted publically for the last two years. Contact me to speak to your group where you are.