AntiManipulation is all about exposing the tools, trick, and techniques which the unscrupulous use to manipulate us into buying their stuff.
The reason for creating this is so that you can be aware of these approaches, so that you can start to spot them when you encounter them, Which means you can protect yourself against them. Which in turn enables you to make an informed decision.
So that when you do buy, you are buying because you want to and not because they wanted you to.
Putting the purchasing decision back into the consumer’s hands – where it belongs!
Which all seems pretty reasonable, and hardly something which could be argued against, I’d say.
And yet…
When I talk about it, I often get comments from some people along the lines of –
“Don’t put me out of business haha!”
“Why are you against sales?”
AntiManipulation is NOT about stopping people from selling or buying!
It is not about attacking advertising, nor marketing.
There is nothing wrong with selling per se. Given I will be selling the book upon its launch, to be arguing against selling would be a tad hypocritical!
If you have something which can solve someone else’s problem, relieve their pain, bring them pleasure, or fill their need, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with you offering to sell it to them.
After all, if nobody sold anything, how would we be able to buy our weekly groceries. Or let alone our fuel, our means of travel, our entertainment…
So no, AntiManipulation is NOT against selling.
Rather, it is all about pointing out the nasty manipulative things which some, by no means all, indulge in. It does this so that we can all be more aware of these when it happens to us. So that we can be better able to make truly informed decisions, rather than be manipulated into buying.
So, if you are someone who sells for a living (and let’s face it, in one way or another we ALL sell), carry on doing what you do. Carry on offering excellent value. Carry on serving those who need what you offer. I am certainly not aiming to “put you out of business” – whether you are a seller or a sales trainer, it’s all good!
Provided, of course, that you are not one of those unscrupulous ones who use or teach the nasty, underhand, manipulative techniques…
