“Would you like to buy some Girl Scout Cookies?” I don’t eat cookies. My answer is easy. It’s “No.” (Well, “No thanks.”)
But Seth Godin recommends a different phrase. He suggests they ask:
- What is your favorite kind of Girl Scout Cookie?
Mine is mint chocolate, although the peanut-butter ones have their appeal. I was a Camp Fire Girl, and I liked the mint chocolate candies.
See how it starts a conversation?
However, PowerPhraser beware! This PowerPhrase is a manipulative Poison Phrase if you’re not really interested in the answer. The power is in the rapport, shared experience and the conversation. That’s true of pretty much every pre-pared phrase you can use. Put your heart in it and make it your own, and it can be mutually beneficial.
Use it to “work” someone, and you may sell cookies, but you lose a bit of your soul.