May 23 2023 8 mins
Research shows that top producing salespeople talk about their products and services and features and specs 63% less than the average sales person.
Features and specs don’t win the day. You can’t reason your way to a sale. That’s not how our brains are wired.
Every buying decision we make is an emotional one. And as the movie Air illustrates, if Nike's Sonny Vacaro, as played by Matt Damon, hadn’t made an immediate emotional connection with Michael Jordan’s mom in their backyard at the family home in Wilmington, North Carolina, there never would have been an Air Jordan. Hard to imagine huh?!
It’s also hard to imagine Nike as an underdog, but they were during the time this film is set.
And because they earned the time and attention of Michael Jordan’s mother, piqued her curiosity, and created unique, memorable and authentic interactions they put themselves on the path to becoming people the Jordan's felt like they knew, liked and trusted. And had sales success with a legendary partnership worth billions of dollars.