by Sean D'Souza
The Brain Audit: Why Customers Buy
(And Why They Don’t)
Sean D’Souza
Copyright ©2009 Sean D’Souza
This book is published by Psychotactics Ltd.
Notice of Rights:
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by photostat, microfilm, xerography, or any other means, or incorporated into any information retrieval system, either electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the copy owner. For information on getting permission for reprints and excerpts, contact [email protected] or go online to www.psychotactics.com to send a message via the website.
Notice of Liability:
The information contained in this book and on the accompanying website is distributed on an “as Is” basis, without warranty. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of the book, neither the author nor Psychotactics Ltd. shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book or by the computer software and hardware products described in it.
Training Programs:
Training. Yes, we do train staff. And we have trained staff. And we do have workshops and we do have online as well as live, in-person workshops.
If you’re reading this, and are interested, there’s an address below. And a phone number. If you email us, expect to get a response in less than 24 hours. If you don’t get a response, it’s because your email has been lost somewhere in the great email graveyard. If so, pick up the phone and call.
For information on Psychotactics and The Brain Audit Training Programs, contact:
Online: www.psychotactics.com
Snail Mail: PO Box 36461, Northcote, Auckland 0748, New Zealand.
+64 9 449 0009
+64 21 2361415
Email: [email protected]
Secondary: [email protected]
Published in New Zealand (Where else?)
(Any person flouting these rules will be sent to serve time, picking up sheep poo on some farm in New Zealand)
National Library of New Zealand Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
D’Souza, Sean, 1968-
The brain audit : why customers buy (and why they don’t)
Sean D’Souza.
ISBN 978-0-473-21300-8
1. Consumer behavior. 2. Marketing. I. Title.
658.8342—dc 22
Testimonials
“In Jan 2006 we took £3500 in sales (before The Brain Audit). In Jan 2007 we took £15,000.”
“When we set out on our own, we knew we had a great product, and we knew our target audience. But our business was eating money. We were drowning; we could not take a wage.
So I (Debbie) had to do a second job to make ends meet. Our sales were coming in dribs and drabs and the previous year ended in a large loss. We knew nothing about marketing, and just placed ads in magazines and thought customers would come flooding in. How wrong we were!
And then we ran into The Brain Audit and used the principles mentioned in the book. We started with our website and methodically worked our way through every bag on the conveyor belt, not moving onto the next until the one before was done.
As a result, we have halved our advertising costs. Magazines now print our articles and we have customers writing to editors of magazines about us and our products—it’s just amazing—the turnaround. We have to pinch ourselves to know that what is happening is real.
To give you an example, in Jan 2006 we took £3500 in sales (before The Brain Audit). In Jan 2007 we took £15,000 in sales. We now both take a salary, and I have given up my other job, so life is looking real good for us. We ignite classic bikes, and The Brain Audit and Sean have ignited us.”
Debbie Perkins. Partner, Pazon Ignitions,
Tauranga, New Zealand (originally from the UK)
“Before I purchased The Brain Audit, I thought this is just crazy, I’ve got so much marketing material that I still haven’t implemented.”
“But right from Sean’s first story and metaphor, I could see this was different. I was hooked. The Brain Audit challenged virtually every principle of marketing I’d grown up with. And it’s this refreshing, innovative approach that makes The Brain Audit a “must buy” for anyone who is really serious about challenging the status quo and taking their business to new heights.
Already we’ve applied the principles to one of our workshops and the response has been fantastic. The Brain Audit and our ongoing association with Sean has been one of the best business decisions we’ve every made.”
Paul Mitchell, Managing Director, The Human Enterprise,
Sydney, Australia
“My attendance would sometimes double just by arranging my class flyers using The Brain Audit principles.”
“Before The Brain Audit, I used to put on workshops where I would have as many as 45 people show up. Sometimes 10 people. Sometimes I had no one show up. I had no idea how to attract people to the training classes that I offered.
Upon the recommendation of a friend, I learned about The Brain Audit and I decided to buy it. As I began to think like my customers, I would employ the concepts in the marketing for my classes. My attendance would sometimes double just by arranging my class flyers using The Brain Audit principles. I feel much more confident and clear in communicating my value through The Brain Audit.”
Gregory Lee, LionHeart Leadership Center,
Frederick, Maryland, USA
“I received more response from my direct mail and email advertising than I have in the past.”
“Before I bought the Brain Audit, I was wondering how this guy so off the beaten track in New Zealand could possibly know how I could be successful marketing myself in the US. Sean’s approach *feels* right on to me. I’ve decided that it must work if he can sit in NZ and reach into my brain, so successfully, in the US!
For me, the biggest benefit of Sean’s work, in addition to understanding how to write copy, was to understand that you can’t expect people to buy from you right away. I have applied The Brain Audit to direct mail pieces, and email advertising, and am in the process of overhauling my website. I received more response from my direct mail and email advertising than I have in the past.
I would recommend The Brain Audit, because it lays out a successful approach that I was immediately able to apply, unlike all the other “systems” I’ve invested in in the past.”
Becky DeGrossa, City, Centre For Healthy Divorce,
Boulder, Colorado, USA
“My copywriting before The Brain Audit was good, but it was like a tree house.”
“I remember sitting down with the freshly printed The Brain Audit in one hand, a hot chocolate with marshmallows in the other, and preparing for a nice reading - but I got way more than that. There are two very specific extra “weapons” that The Brain Audit gave me, that I never got from the many copywriting courses that are out there (and if you’re like me, you’ve got them all, too).
Most courses and books teach you WHAT works. The Brain Audit explains very simply WHY it works, HOW it works. This is master-level applied psychology, necessary for any self-respecting marketer.
The second extra thing that The Brain Audit gave was not just success elements and explanations, but a STRUCTURE. A checklist for the necessary ingredients, a blueprint for your copy. My copywriting before The Brain Audit was good, but it was like a tree house. After The Brain Audit your copywriting will be like a glass and steel superstructure your customers just can’t take their eyes off.
I would’ve liked to cite specific results, but I’ve been using The Brain Audit for so long I can’t keep score any more. I used it in my sales copy for selling
manuals, trainings, seminars, memberships or to help my customers sell maps, wine, even electricity.
I’d recommend The Brain Audit to any business owner or marketer who wants to understand the mind of his customer and be able to use this structure, this checklist to write copy more confidently.”
Gabor Wolf, Marketing Consultant,
Budapest, Hungary
“I’m not a psychologist. I’m an engineer.”
“I used The Brain Audit on my website (which is unfortunately only for German speaking people). And all The Brain Audit principles are still not implemented in the correct way (A new revision is on the way). But what’s interesting is the use of especially the first three red bags in my consulting work, e.g. with start-up companies or during my work as a quality management representative and trainer. To see how the brains of people begin to work when they think about the questions, and to hear the quality of the answers, is really amazing.
I recommend The Brain Audit to people to clarify the focus of their work, because it is a simple and sound step-by-step system easy to implement.”
Dr. Richard Schieferdecker, Consultant/Trainer,
Aachen, Germany.
Dedication
I really should dedicate this book to my wife, Renuka, but for whom doing anything around Psychotactics would be close to impossible. Or perhaps I should dedicate it to my parents, Winnie and Edmund, who gave me infinite freedom to read, write and draw. Without the solid grounding they gave me, my life would have been a lot tougher.
And then again, this book would never have seen the light of day, if I hadn’t read Good to Great by Jim Collins. That book made me drop a flourishing cartooning career to go into an even more satisfying career in marketing.
So as you can see, dedicating the book to one entity is going to be more than a little tough. But hey, I do have someone in mind.
I really, really, really want to dedicate this book to that customer who asked me for notes. You see, The Brain Audit wasn’t really a book. It was just a speech I gave. And after I gave the speech way back in the year 2002, I walked away after the applause—as you do.
Well, this person in the audience wanted notes. Sure, she’d scribbled furiously during the presentation itself. But could I, perhaps, give her notes as well? I was aghast at the thought of having to write those notes, but I did. And those notes became our first e-book. That e-book formed the bedrock of the Psychotactics business and has generated tens of thousands of customers, not to speak of dollars.
Those notes formed the launching pad for Brain Audit speeches, training programs, two-three day courses, audio, video, website, blog, and yes, this book itself. Those notes have helped build strategic alliances, clients and friends across the world. Yes, those notes have gone from a skinny 16 pages to a chunky 150 odd pages, but it all started with those notes.
So I guess I’ll dedicate this book to that person who asked for the notes. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Whoever you are. :-)
Contents
Blatant Praise
Too Busy?
No Entiendo
Is the Brain a ‘Conveyor Belt’?
Bag 1: The Problem
Are We Being Too Negative?
How to Isolate the Problem
Summary: The Problem
Bag 2: The Solution
Summary: The Solution
Bag 3: The Target Profile
Creating a Profile
The Profiling Journey
Case Study
Summary: The Target Profile
Pop Goes The Trigger!
Summary: The Trigger
Bag 4: The Objections
Summary: The Objections
Bag 5: The Testimonials
Summary: The Testimonial
Bag 6: The Risk Reversal
Butter Chicken Recipe
Summary: The Risk Reversal
Bag 7: The Uniqueness
Steps to The Uniqueness
Summary: The Uniqueness
Checklists
Checklist: The Problem
Checklist: The Solution
Checklist: The Target Profile
Checklist: The Trigger
Checklist: Biggest Objection
Checklist: Testimonials
Checklist: Testimonials
Checklist: Risk Reversal
Checklist: Your Uniqueness
Epilogue
The Next Step?
Blatant Praise
Every time I leave an airport, I remember Sean D’Souza.
And if you’re a return visitor to the powerful little ‘conveyor belt’ metaphor that kicks off The Brain Audit, you know exactly what I mean.
And if you’re not, you’re about to find out.
The ‘conveyor belt’ metaphor sticks of course, because it works. And because it’s an original, just like so many of the other tools that Sean uses to teach. And it’s why I believe you’ll get so much out of ‘The Brain Audit’.
Sean can’t say what I’m about to say, because he’s too humble. But after a few years of reading his stuff, I’ve come to a conclusion. Sean is a master of pointed, heaven-sent metaphors and stories.
I don’t know if this ability to write metaphorically stems from his background with the Leo Burnett Advertising Agency; or because he comes from a long family of professional teachers. What I do know is that you’re going to enjoy the experience that lies ahead in this book.
I should, in an introduction to a book, tell you more about the book itself.
But honestly, I’d rather let Sean do that.
Instead, I’ll spend my couple of inches of ink telling you a little more about Sean, if you don’t mind. For instance, you might not know Sean is ‘that guy.’ You know the kind. He’s the guy who actually does get up every morning at 4 am And then oozes energy all day long. When I first met Sean, it was via email—with a torrent of ideas of how to increase my income—unsolicited. Just because he liked what I was doing.
His generosity is astounding. To tell you the truth, I doubt he could have held back even if he wanted to. I think you’ll find that he’s been just as generous in this book. The Brain Audit isn’t long, and yet the ideas are densely packed. No fluff, no fake analysis just to fill the pages or appear fancy, just unvarnished marketing truth. And the core of customer psychology as only Sean could draw it into plain view.
People halfway around the world are already talking and using Sean’s principles to boost their business success. And as this book gets into more hands, the conversation around these ideas is only likely to increase.
Read on, even if you’ve read this before. I think you’ll see what I mean. And then when you’re done, read this book again. There’s that much to absorb.
And that’s my official directive to you.
Even after sixteen years of working in the writing field on my own, I’ve learned plenty from Sean. And I learn more with every additional reading.
I’m certain you will too.
John Forde
Paris, France
Too Busy?
Writers often forget that readers are busy.
Readers have little time to go through three hundred pages of material. When faced with daunting prose, readers put it aside, never to see it again.
This information is too important to put aside.
Therefore I have kept this book as concise as possible. And to make sure you absorb the information, you’ll find this book is peppered with cartoons. And summaries. And checklists. And then some more cartoons.
These aren’t space fillers.
They’re learning tools. The brain struggles with new information, or even information put in a new way. That’s because the brain is trying so very hard to understand the concepts, and at the same time, put the concepts into some practical application. The cartoons, checklists and summaries are tools that help you not only refresh your learning, but give you multiple layers as well. And they help the brain absorb the information mor
e efficiently.
As you’re reading this book, you’ll run into concepts that you’ll be able to apply right away. And you’d do well to make notes, or mind maps as you go along, so you quickly assimilate the information. If you’re reading the book for the second or third time, it would help to have your website, brochure, email or any business communication ready while you read it. It will help you audit the communication as you go along. It will make the experience more interactive. And more effective.
And finally...
As simple as the concepts are, I would recommend you read this book no fewer than three times. Why? Simply because each reading will bring a new understanding which can then be applied with far greater potency.
You may think I’m joking. Surely one reading is enough, you’d think. Who has the time to read a book three times over, you wonder? Well, it’s a recommendation. Read it again. And again. And again. And find out for yourself.
However there’s one little thing before we get cracking.
This isn’t the first version of The Brain Audit. So if you’ve read this book before, you’ll want to know what’s new. And this brief section is meant to specifically drive you to concepts that are important, but weren’t in earlier versions.
Therefore, if you’ve read the book before[1], I’d recommend you first go to the newly added concepts and read them in great detail. When you’ve read them a couple of times, then read the entire book from start to finish.
This technique of isolating the sections and then reading the entire book may seem tedious, but in fact it’s very efficient. You’ll remember the concepts better than before, and you’ll instantly spot where you’re going wrong with your current sales letters, your website, etc. In short, you’ll become a better auditor than ever before. Okay, time to isolate the new stuff!