How To: Empathy Selling—Stir of Echoes

Why does a nine foot Steinway Concert Grand Piano sound so amazing in a concert hall, compared with that old upright in the spare bedroom? Resonance, Baby. A stir of echoes, a complex, yet harmonious amplification of a felt hammer striking a taut metal string, reflected off a nine foot hardwood surface into a room specifically designed to redirect the frequencies back into the room at precise times, enhancing the initial tone.

The soundboard on the piano, the elevated stage, the wood floor, the shape and materials of the walls and ceiling, the amount of drapery, upholstery for damping harsh sounds all combine to make that Steinway Concert Grand sound Grander.

How does a Master Salesman benefit from this info? Resonance, Baby. A stir of echoes using the entire sales process as your concert hall; buyer/influencers as your soundboard, to amplify and articulate your message in a concert hall, not in a spare bedroom.

Create a buzz: Your initial stir of echoes.

People are easier led when they’ve heard ‘a buzz’ about something before they’re confronted with it directly. It’s flattering to already ‘be in the know’ about something new. With every communication, every e-mail, fax, conversation, create the resonance of your expected outcome. As each Buyer/Influencer, user, CFO gets involved, it’s likely their 1st impression was ‘the buzz’ surrounding your desired outcome.

“Hey bob, this is Gary, the guy that’s going to save us $__ over the next two years, by outsourcing our ______.”

What just happened here? First, I haven’t said a word. The influencer or buyer that just introduced me to Bob, the CFO, just sent the stir of echoes ahead of my message. Bob already expects that I’m going to save him X dollars, before I’ve even said ‘Hi’. Was I lucky or good?

Why did my guy say exactly what he said to Bob? Resonance, Baby. A stir of echoes. He internalized my desired outcome because I’ve programmed every communiqué to reinforce why he and I even know each other. After he understood why I’m the one playing the concert, I found his win and tied his win to my solution. Now, he’s sounding my message through the whole concert hall, creating resonance. Chances are, every person in the value chain will hear about how I’m going to make rain, before they ever meet me. Create a stir of echoes and your buyers will set the stage by selling your solution for you. It’s all about Resonance, Baby.



1. Introduction, Empathy Selling
2. Adjustments
3. Break down the transaction
4. Focus Power, Daniel-san!
5. Sell an Asteroid to Captain Kirk
6. Can’t build a bridge? Build a pipeline--Can’t tear down a wall? Build a ramp.
7. Employ Empathy Marketing for Biz Dev
8. Empathy Selling, Mastery is Transparency
9. Empathy Selling, Stir of Echoes
10. Empathy Selling – Why Empathy Works
11. Empathy Selling: How Do The Other Guy’s Shoes Fit?