I recently watched the HBO documentary on Scientology titled “Going Clear.”

It was a fascinating, disturbing and thought provoking. Most of all, it was a master-class on mass influence.

Think about it: Scientology’s found, L. Ron Hubbard was a pulp science fiction writer who decided the best way to make money was to start a religion. So he did and turned it into a worldwide movement.

I took pages of notes in my journal and here are a few of the ideas you can incorporate into your sales presentations and business.

(Oh, and if you’re offended by the idea of using “cult-building” tactics in sales, then so be it. I’m not here to teach you namby-pampy, nice sounding stuff that doesn’t work. This is advanced material for people who are serious about selling. You’ve gotta get out of the first grade at some point.)

• Give everything you do a proprietary, cool sounding name. For example, there’s a famous online marketing guru who coined the phrase, “tripwire” in reference to the idea of selling a really low-priced product on the front end. This strategy was developed in the early 1900’s. It is OLD but folks think he invented it because he gave it a cool sounding name. Even better, is if you can give your processes and scientific sounding name.
• Related to the previous point is to create your own language. This is language insiders use and if you want to be an insider, then this is how you talk. You can train your audiences to use your language right from your initial presentation. (See the Tom Cruise video below for an example of insider language.)
• Create social aspect to what you’re selling. Can you create a Facebook group that only people who buy from you can get into? How about having an annual get together with your clients? How about putting an a big event in your community? How can you add the social element to what you do?

And if you are thinking, “But my business is different”, you need to think a wee bit harder because each one of the above strategies has been used by business owners in the most diverse businesses you can imagine. From dentists to industrial repair.

The laziest form of thinking is to immediately think, this doesn’t apply to me. Successful people ask, how can I make this for work me?

Kick butt, make mucho “DEEnero!”

Dave “NOT a Scientologist” Dee

P.S. Here is a video of Tom Cruise talking about Scientology. Yikes.