In the search for resources that provide different perspectives on ‘Trigger Events’ I discovered the the work of R.J. Rummel. In chapter 15 of “Understanding Conflict and War Vol. 1: The Dynamic Psychological Field“, R.J. Rummel does a great job explaining some of the science behind ‘Trigger Events’. See section 15.4 for the details on ‘Trigger Events’.
In this work R.J. understands and discusses the significance of routine. Consider RJ’s perspective of a routine as the buying pattern that customers and prospects are already in - buying from their current supplier.
In Figure 15.1 you can see how ‘Trigger Events’ cause expectations continuously rise. Notice how a rise in expectations change a person’s routine. Consider this change in routine as a potential change in suppliers.
RJ’s work relates to the sales of products or services in the following ways:
- A seemingly small ‘Trigger Event’ can lead to a large selling opportunity
- Buyers can change routines when expectations grow beyond performance
- Even though a ‘Trigger Event’ creates a compelling reason to change routines the perceived risk of tipping the apple cart can prevent people from changing their routine.
Please contact me when you have ideas, resources, or success stories about leveraging ‘Trigger Events‘ - aka selling triggers - that you want to share.
Have an eventful week!
Craig
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Another valuable tool that discusses about this is Robert B. Cialdini PhD (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Cialdini) in a book he has called Influence Science and Practice.
If you identify a moment of insatisfaction and combine it with all the elements discussed in this superb book, you can score in most of the cases. As most people will react to one or more of the conditions discussed by Cialdini.
Craig and earroyo:
I really enjoy books that, at first look, don’t have anything to do with business, but then after reading them you can see how the content might apply in a business application. I’m not familiar with the Rummel book or the Cialdini book, so I’m going to put them both on my “to read” list. Thanks for the tips.
This is a great lesson on our natural instincts. How often have sales teams studied why they lost something? Who cares, I would much rather know how I won something and do it again. Craig I agree wholeheartedly.