Why does belief beat logic?

The role of a marketing executive in any organisation is challenging.I know, I was one.

They arrive on the scene, determined to make their mark and have a tendency to disrupt organisations sometimes to good effect, but more often not.

The cynicism most salesforce personnel show towards the marketing department is well established.

So much so that my most successful introduction to any presentation I was giving to the salesforce took the following form;

I will tell them the three things they should never believe;

1. Of course I will respect you in the morning.

2. Your cheque is in the post.

3. I’m from the marketing department and I’m here to help you.

The last claim usually produced spontaneous laughter , and knowing nods of agreement.

Reflecting on my many years career in the world of marketing, I reached a conclusion that the thing that I really enjoyed most was looking at an organisation, seeking to define the biggest problem it faced and coming up with thoughts on how to tackle it. However, I realised that I alone could not tackle it and had to be done through the offices of the organisation and the other employees, so they had to be inspired to deliver the solution.

The key to inspiration is “belief“. If one can make colleagues believe in this solution, they will find the own way to make it happen.

In my most recent incarnation, The Restaurant Guru, the issue of belief, stands out prominently.

Why on earth would anybody in their right mind decide to open a restaurant?

The proportion of UK people, who decide to do this represents only 0.0013% of the population. A tiny fraction.

Of this group, some 60% will fail in the first year and 80% don’t make it beyond five years.

A tinier fraction.

But yet, people continue to open restaurants in the belief they can succeed, despite the odds been stacked so dramatically against them.

The curious thing about “belief” is that this sensation is generated by the limbic brain, which governs all of our emotions, but is not capable of easily translating those emotions into rational expression.

It’s like “love“.

One can experience the emotion of love towards a person, but when asked to explain the reasoning behind it will use terminology like “great company“, “gorgeous”, “loving mother“, “great cook“ etc

These words are rational and we know they do not go to the core of that feeling of love that we experience.

Language is controlled by the relatively new Homo sapiens, neocortex part of the brain, and there is a disconnect between that and the limbic brain. so we have trouble vocalising emotional feelings into rational language.

But back to the restaurant business.

Why do people choose to give up well paid, steady work to replace it with a risky enterprise?

People want to go into it to be their own boss, find a way to support their family, create a concept that has been slowly evolving in their brain, be independent, channel their culinary talents, apply the leadership skills – the list goes on.

However, at the core of all this is “belief“.

Belief that they can succeed against all the odds.

An emotional stance.

The reality, however, is that it is a business and the primary objective of any business is survival.

A rational outcome.

Like all restaurant coaches/marketing consultants. I’ve had a lot of experience in dealing with restaurants that are in trouble and I can provide a comprehensive set of actions which my clients should take to improve the condition of their business.

I can help them analyse their costs of sale to deliver an improvement in gross margin, I can help them reschedule staffing to get their labour percentage below the average, I can help them manage variable cost to keep them tight.

Using well developed marketing techniques, I can help with attracting new customers, improve guest loyalty, boost average spend and reputation.

All good rational steps.

But I’ve come to the conclusion that this is not enough.

People who want to engage my services, want to believe that I can help them achieve their dream and that they can trust me to help them get there.

So, I’ve come to recognise that their decision is based on emotion and I’ve got to find a way to create a bridge of trust between their vision and my contribution.

This means that I have to respect their vision and formulate my approach to inspire them to apply solutions which are consistent with their vision and which will deliver the desired outcome.

In the past, my communication campaigns have dealt with promises of rational outcomes, such as improved sales, reduced costs and better profits.

These campaigns have focused on “HOW” I can help, but not “WHY“ I can help.

Hence the essence of my pitch to prospective clients;

“Do you believe you can succeed? I believe I can help you - so let’s work together to make it happen“.

My mission is to help restaurateurs succeed because the joy and satisfaction I experience by giving them inspiration is what turns me on and gets me out of bed in the morning.

That’s WHY I do it.

The HOW is easy.