Stick Out From the Crowd: Be Remembered in a Good Way

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of talking to Dr. Keith Jones, the Pure Fishing scientist and bass sensory guru. He also happens to be the author of one of my favorite bass fishing books, Knowing Bass. As one can imagine I was pretty psyched to be talking to such an expert.

We discussed bass' feeding habits and their sensory systems, but one of the most fascinating things I learned was that bass have really good memories!

According to Dr. Jones bass will remember certain types of baits/lures if they have had a bad experience with them and begin to avoid similar looking baits. How long will this avoidance last? "If the bass gets a good look and creates a good memory trace it could remember at least three months, if not longer... [bass memories are] similar to mammals. To some degree they may remember for the rest of their life," Jones said.

It's actually beginning to scare me how similar bass fishing is to selling! All this time I thought it was just a metaphor, and now I learn that bass remember negative experiences and avoid certain baits!

Memo to all salespeople: Quit creating negative experiences for my prospects which create avoidance behaviors and roadblocks to my sale!

The fact that bass and prospects pattern their avoidance behaviors after negative experiences is only natural. It doesn't matter what you sell- I'm sure at some point one of your prospects has had a bad experience with someone, or something, in your industry. In my industry the top two negative experiences my prospects have had with salespeople are 1) being over-sold or promised that something could be accomplished when it couldn't and 2) experiencing a rocky transition to their current service provider. If a bass can hold a negative memory for life, imagine how long those prospects will hold on to that feeling of being burned by a salesman!

Obviously these experiences can have a negative impact on me as I'm trying to get in the door to make a sale.

The impact may not be great in a huge market, but if you're selling in a small territory or community it could be detrimental. Dr. Jones cites that "in a closed system, like a farm pond... [the bass] eventually stop responding to that type of lure."

So what can the salesman and the bass pro do? Distinguish yourself. If you look like and act like every other salesman you're just going to be another salesman... and people hate salesmen! (Usually). If you're throwing the same pumpkin colored jig at them that every other angler is, you're not going to get the strike response you want.

This is where you can make your money on and off the boat. If you can reach into your tackle box and determine which color will be different-enough to draw attention on that particular day, on that particular body of water. And it will vary. If you, the salesman, can determine which angle to use on a given prospect in a particular region. The key here is being in tune with market trends and knowing what you can do that's different and better.

If you can effectively do this and then go on to create a positive experience for your prospects and clients you will be remembered in a good way! This goes back to the age old philosophy that it takes a lifetime to build trust but only one moment to loose it. Bass and prospects may be willing to forgive, but they may never forget!

Thanks to Dr. Jones... stay tuned for more posts from our conversation. If you wish to buy his book you can find it online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Borders... OR he will send you an autographed copy (signed any way you like) if you send a check for $16.95 to:

Dr. Keith Jones

Pure Fishing

1900 18th Street

Spirit Lake, IA 51360