SELLING SENSES

Avanessian offers an overview of sensory marketing with an evangelical twist.

In this business book, the author looks at successful approaches to sensory marketing—appeals to touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight—while also exploring the spiritual dimensions of selling. The book opens with an overview of sales theory before going into detail about sensory selling, with chapters addressing each of the major senses. Avanessian discusses Apple’s minimalist packaging, the jingles of Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, Sony’s use of haptic feedback, Westin’s signature hotel scent, and Blue Apron’s use of flavor profiles as examples of companies that have seen sales increases, spurred by their catering to the senses. After covering the five conventional human senses, the author explores a sixth: intuition, also characterized as inner wisdom, spiritual intelligence, or faith. Avanessian also encourages readers to incorporate Christian spirituality into their selling practices. (“Research has shown that engaging in regular spiritual practices can have a positive effect on an individual’s productivity and overall well-being.”) Throughout the book, the author intersperses discussions of sensory selling techniques with questions and activities designed to guide readers in applying the concepts to their own work. Avanessian takes a clear interest in his subject, and readers will appreciate his enthusiasm throughout the text, as well as the many citations that demonstrate his arguments’ grounding in research. However, the book is frequently repetitive, repeatedly returning to the same examples, including Apple, Lush, and Coca-Cola. The author sometimes reiterates specific examples of sales and marketing techniques within a single chapter, often in near-identical wording (like “soothing music”), so the work’s scope is less extensive than it initially appears. Still, some specific cases, such as Avanessian’s account of using his own techniques to allow him to schedule a meeting with a high-level potential customer, will prove valuable to readers. The author’s evangelical outreach is somewhat unexpected, and readers may be divided as to whether assessing biblical miracles through a sensory marketing lens is an effective explication of the concept.

A thorough albeit somewhat repetitive look at sensory techniques for sales professionals.