Program on Persuasion

Congruency Is the Easiest Path to Persuasion

People see things differently.  This image, to the right, was used by Stephen Covey in a keynote   
address to approximately 200 attendees.  Prior to showing this image half the room was shown an image of a young, attractive, sophisticated lady & the other half  shown an older, unattractive woman.  Both the younger lady and the older woman are clearly captured in this image . . . can you see them both? 

We are all consistent to our values and beliefs.  We will always act and behave in alignment to our beliefs . . . and the more public we are with our declaration; the less likely we are to change our position.  If we have yet to take a position, we conform to the groups we most identify with. 

When Covey’s entire audience was shown this image and asked to describe what they saw, the controversy was comical.  Based on what each half was conditioned to see . . . they saw.  Half saw the young lady and the other half saw the older woman.  Finally, when they were shown how the other paradigm was also correct, they reluctantly agreed.   It was hard for people to change their minds and see the other’s perspective.  By the way, those that did not see either of the conditioned responses were able to quickly see that which their group saw.  They were heavily influenced by their peer group.

Our challenge in persuasion is to recognize our client’s paradigm, align it to your own, and then create a joint solution.  The key is to seek first to understand their paradigm.  Encourage them to show you how they see things.  Once you can see it from their perspective, you can move forward seeking to be understood from the same, congruent perspective.  Even if you are right, but inconsistent with your client’s paradigm . . . you will not convince your client.  “A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still.”

The Baby Steps of Closing The Sale

Some of the best sales people, those considered trusted advisers by the client, are insecure with asking for the commitment.  And usually, those salespeople that think they are great closers are considered abrasive and pushy by the client.  So how do we advance the sale yet not come across as too salesy or desperate? 

First, we have to really understand where the issue lies.  We tend to ask for the customer to make too big a leap for their comfort level.  The move from not having our solution to having our solution can look like a huge chasm for many clients . . . and that is where the sale peters out.

We obviously need the client's perception of how well our solution meets their needs and the urgency of the problem.  However, once we have their perception of our solution, we advocate the next step, we do not ask them what they think the next step should be.  This is the sales professional's space of expertise.  The next step, is a small step of action that does not require a financial commitment but does involve taking physical action.  With each subsequent step of action, the client bridges the gap of the chasm.  With each physical action, the client is making a psychological commitment to your solution.

Differentiation: Pete Rose vs. Ty Cobb

Baseball’s all-time hits leader, Pete Rose, was once asked how he thought the legendary Ty Cobb  (who retired in 1928 with a lifetime batting average of  .367, baseball’s highest ever), with whom Rose was regularly compared,  would fare against the great pitching of Rose’s era.  Charlie Hustle, who knew that Cobb battled below .320 only once in his career, stated that he thought Ty Cobb would only hit slightly over .300!  The reporter, thinking he had stumbled upon a story that would surely be polarizing, asked Rose to explain why he thought Ty Cobb would perform so poorly in today’s environment.  Rose asserted “well, I don’t think that’s all that bad considering he would be 85 years old.”

Our perception has everything to do with how we compare.  We judge by comparison.  What we compare against is the key.  Once you understand this simple principle it can be a very powerful persuasion tool.  Customers are constantly comparing choices in order to decide.

In order to help your customers evaluate your product or service it is critical to establish their frame of reference.  Scientists refer to this frame of reference as the “adaptation level”.   Ty Cobb, himself, understood this principle.  In the offseason he would hunt all daylong in weighted boots to improve his leg strength for the upcoming campaign.  Because the brain psychologically responds to the relativity of the stimuli and not the objective value, it is critical that we deliberately establish how our product should be evaluated.  Establish the adaptive level before you differentiate with the benefits of your product. Sequence is essential.

Ty Cobb is considered by many to be the best player that ever played the game.  He still holds many records including batting over .320 in 23 of his 24 seasons and being inducted into the Hall of Fame with a 98% ballet approval.  Other than his statistics, Cobb was best known for his intimidating and harsh playing style.  He was never afraid to go to extremes to win a game.  He was quoted as saying “baseball was one-hundred percent of my life” and “I had to fight all my life to survive.   They were all against me . . . but I beat them and left them in ditch.”  Jimmy Cannon, who competed against Cobb said “He was the strangest of all our national sports idols.  But not even his disagreeable character could destroy the image of his greatness as a ballplayer.  Ty Cobb was the best.  That seemed to be all he wanted.”

Ever wonder what drives a man like Ty Cobb?  What do you think he was comparing himself against?  His father, who was a schoolteacher, principal, newspaper publisher, Georgia state senator, and county school commissioner urged Ty to study.  When Ty went off to play professional baseball, his father sternly warned him, “Don’t come home a failure.” 

Ty Cobb held the record for most hits with 4,191 for nearly 60 years.  It was broken in the mid 1980’s . . . by Pete Rose.

Customers Utilize Emotion over Logic When Selecting Suppliers

Study after study reaffirms that a customer’s emotion trumps their logic in the decision-making process.  One of the most persuasive emotions is that of congruency, or being consistent with your values, rhetoric, and actions.  Some may say that we are mentally lazy, others that we are just being consistent to a personal declaration or value.  Regardless of the reason, the fact is that it is human nature to retain our personal credibility by remaining consistent to word and deed.  Facts and logic just don’t have the same power over us that emotions do.

This is the primary reason it so important to understand others before we attempt to be understood.  When we genuinely see things from the other’s perspective, we are better suited to speak to their paradigm. 

In many cases people have yet to form a position on a specific issue.  Rather than immerse ourselves in every issue, most of give credibility to another person or group in which we believe we share general interest and beliefs . . . this is referred to as social proof.  Just think of the TV sitcoms, the producers figured out a long time ago that laugh tracks are a heavy influence on whether we think something is funny or not.  Still not convinced?  Marketers have proven that the number one indicator that consumers utilize in determining the highest quality product (assuming they have not yet used the product) of similar products on the retailer’s shelf is  . . . the highest price brand.

So, if you are trying to persuade people to trust and believe you, then you would be better off to speak to the beliefs they already hold rather than trying to sway them with facts and figures.  And the key is to know what and who they believe in . . . you discover that when you take the time to truly understand them.

Get Your Mind Right

I was fortunate, as a Little Leaguer, I had a baseball coach that communicated the importance of thinking right.  He would have us envision making the perfect play before the play ever happened . . . every play.  “See yourself making the play, ever detail, and never allow the thought of booting the ball enter your mind”.  He said that if we could learn how create it in our mind, we could realize it in the physical world.  It became a habit, maybe because we were kids and believed our coach.  As a child, I thought everyone understood this concept because all the kids on the Hampton Hawks did.

Today, I realize that the great philosophers and religious principals are founded in this natural law.  All things are created twice, once in your mind and a 2^nd time in real space.  That which we believe is planted into our minds to be cultivated and it will be revealed in proper time.

Whether you are playing shortstop or preparing to make the biggest presentation of your sales career – you must have the proper mindset.  There are some great methods for developing your ability to improve your thought process including:  affirmation (the way that your talk to yourself is perhaps the biggest indicator of your outcome), visualization, meditation and prayer. 

I just want to share one simple principal with you . . . Coach called it getting your mind right and it works like this.  Focus on the outcome you desire and play it through your mind like watching a great movie and you are the star.  Next, when you are engaging someone as you would in a sales call, you must first look at the situation from their perspective.  When you shift your intent from trying to sell somebody something to simply seeing things from their perspective, they feel it.  What they feel is being understood.  And when people feel understood they connect with the person doing the understanding.

So the next time you have to make the play, make sure to get your mind right . . . it’s so easy a Little Leaguer can do it.