The Fed-Up! Formula® is taking off as the most dynamic and accurate sales formula in the history of sales. Those who are familiar with the formula know that three types of buyer exist: the Frustrated buyer, the Ego buyer, and the Desire buyer. Critistiano Ronaldo in the recent Pier Morgan interview, is the ultimate Ego buyer.
Deep within us is a desire to be liked, to be loved and, for some, to be revered. This desire is in all of us to different degrees. Some say that it allows for oxytocin, the trust chemical, to be released in us to make us more socially connected and stronger as a group, team or, in the old days, a tribe. The desire to be liked was key to human evolution and survival. For some this extends to an irrational degree, to be revered to such an extent so as to be deified. Napoleon created the image of being a god. Ronaldo has sought something similar. He once complained that the Ballon D’or committee deliberately, consistently, and prejudicially ignored him for Messi. There is a touch of insecurity in this that makes him demand not to be ignored. Ronaldo’ s ego is such that he can be moulded by Piers to release exactly the type of responses that will elevate the interest in the ‘Piers Morgan’ brand. For there was only one winner in this interview, the man that brilliantly procured, or bought, Ronaldo’s services as a guest.
Here is the video, and below are some comments for those interested in accelerating their sales techniques with the Fed-Up! Formula®.
Firstly, look at Ronaldo’s ostentatious watch. He occasionally moves his arm in the interview to point it out. That’s illustrative of the Ego buyer.
The conversation begins with empathy, with the Ego buyer being comforted by the masterful Morgan that the person he speaking with is on his side. This empathy allows Ronaldo’s psyche the justification it needs to open up. Ego buyers don’t open up without empathy, as they see empathy as deference to their superior social position. Piers must defer to the superior position, he must make Ronaldo to feel like a mega star to allow Ronaldo to say things that he shouldn’t. The language of empathy is there right at the start: “you’ve endured a lot of criticism”. It’s a clever soft cue, that defers to Ronaldo. So Ronaldo speaks. These soft cues are also very important at the start of a sales discussion to get the buyer to open up. Piers is giving us plenty to learn from.
One of the most fascinating things about the interview is the way Ronaldo is led by Piers into saying exactly what Piers wants. And these cues, these soft cues, slowly playing on the ego are very important. Look how many times in the interview Piers mentions these sorts of phrases, "In my view, you are the greatest player of all time. How could they leave you on the bench? The inconsistencies, how many things you've won, the fact that you were brought in three minutes at the end of a game."
And these are all rubbing into Ronaldo's sense of self-esteem and prestige. They are calming Ronaldo’s insecurities so he proffers more than he should give away. They allow Ronaldo to then psychologically justify his disgust of Manchester United, and thus give out the information that Piers needs to elevate and spread his brand. That information allows massive media interaction with the whole interview to spread the word that the content is both illicit and provocative.
As Morgan plugs away at his customer, his customer starts to think: if I am so good this treatment of me cannot be justified by my club. My club is therefore in the wrong. Piers constantly feeds the Ego, to bring home the lack of fairness out of Ronaldo’s mouth. In the same way your Ego buyer can be encouraged to think, with the right cues, that I am so good any other product is not good enough for me. Manchester United is not good enough for Ronaldo, is what Ronaldo is really saying. He is led into this train of thought by Piers. Piers gets him to say that the club’s infrastructure has not moved on, that Manchester United is declining force thus Ronaldo, the genius, now elevated by Piers’ praise, cannot stoop to be at a declining club. Look at the Ragnick appointment, Ronaldo says its a joke. But this comes after an expectation, cleverly manipulated by Piers in the conversation, that Ronaldo deserves a great tutelage from a top coach. How can the great Ronaldo work with Ragnick, even if other players, evidently lessor mortals, at the club accepted that person?
And, of course that classic mind trick that Piers plays is to use the insecurities of the Ego buyer against the Ego buyer. This is later done with a killer blow by bringing up the difference between Messi and Ronaldo. Piers Morgan effectively says "For me, you are obviously far greater". Morgan has to say this. Not just because it is likely that Piers Morgan was likely to find it difficult to get an interview with Messi, whose services on TV are much harder to get hold of. It is the thing that puts Ronaldo's ego at peace. The one thing, said in a few seconds, that justifies Ronaldo being there for over an hour. So when you're a second fiddle player, even though Ronaldo is a great player, to Messi, that conduct and security can be really played with by Piers Morgan. It's a real masterclass actually, what he does. Piers keeps the conversation going to get what he wants, more fame and building of the Piers Morgan brand. That’s great selling to the Ego, by understanding what the buyer wants. The core disciplines that come from understanding the Fed-Up! Formula® for successful sales.
Dr Abhijit Pandya PhD.
21 November 2022.