Leaked Apple Genius manual reveals seductive sales tactics

A leaked copy of the training manual used to prepare Apple employees to work in Genius Bars in Apple Stores has revealed the seductive techniques used to sell products such as the iPhone and iPad.

The Genius Training Student Workbook, leaked to Gizmodo, reveals the ways Apple staff are encouraged to empathise with customers to guide them towards making a purchase.

As the manual tellingly puts it: "Everyone in the Apple Store is in the business of selling."



Before putting on the blue T-shirt and lanyard of the Genius Bar worker, all employees must go through a 14-day training course teaching them the tips and tricks behind encouraging people to buy Macs, iPods, iPhones and other Apple products.

The leaked manual lifts the lid on Apple's own sales technique, which, rather than focusing on drawing in consumer interest or frantically dropping prices, instead involves making a connection with the customer's feelings.

Apple has created its own dedicated sales acronym - APPLE (Approach, Probe, Present, Listen, End) - that encapsulates the seemingly laid-back approach that is a world away from the often high-pressured environment of other technology shops.

The manual urges staff to empathise with the customer's needs across the 'Three Fs' - "feel", "felt" and "found". A role-playing example reveals how this is used to form a bond with consumers and then earn their trust.

Customer: "This Mac is just too expensive."

Genius employee: "I can see how you'd feel this way. I felt the price was a little high, but I found it's a real value because of all the built-in software and capabilities."

Staff are urged to look for non-verbal cues in customers, such as rubbing their nose to indicate suspicion, or tilting their head to the side indicating that they are receptive to what is being said.

But employees are also warned against using certain negative phrases, such as saying hardware could "bomb", "crash" or "freeze", rather than it "unexpectedly quits", "does not respond" or "stops responding".

According to Apple, there is also no such thing as a "bug" or "problem", it is just a "condition" or "situation".

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But considering that Apple has racked up quarter-on-quarter increases in sales at its worldwide network of stores, the APPLE approach is clearly a blueprint that works.

As Gizmodo notes: "The Genius system, as detached from reality, astoundingly ambitious, sprawling and rigorous as it is, works. It works better than anything that's ever come before it, and every Apple Store has the sales figures to back that up.

"Maybe it's because the products sell themselves. Maybe it's the zealot fan base. Or maybe the blue-clad agents really are inside our heads when we walk away from the Bar."