Program on Persuasion

Would You Invest 3 Minutes Of Learning To Improve Your Close Rate? Why?

There exists a natural principle to remain consistent to how we see ourselves and to commitments that we have made.  Science has proven that the more public the commitment, the higher the probability that we will keep the commitment.  Promises that we silently make to ourselves are not nearly as powerful as those in which we write down.  Those commitments we write down are not as powerful as those we verbally make to others . . . the more public the commitment, the higher the probability that we will follow through.

When we are asked to predict whether we will engage in a socially desirable behavior, such as scheduling a specific time to talk, we feel compelled to say yes.  Once the question is framed in a manner that the responsible thing to say is “yes”, and then gaining the public, verbal commitment is essential . . . “would you please call if you have to cancel”?

The key to success is that your initial inquiry is voluntary action from the one you are asking.  The second element is that you gain verbal commitment.  To further cement the commitment, you can ask them to briefly describe “why” they think scheduling the call is important?

Studies have demonstrated a 25% improvement in commitments when using this technique.  Would it work on someone like you?  I don’t know . . . “would you invest 3 minutes of learning to improve your close rate?  Why?

How Consistency Increases Your Persuasiveness

Rodney Whaley was our youth football coach.  He had an uncanny ability to find the best in every  player and describe it in a way that we all could see it.  Most importantly, the individual began to believe it.  What a great trait, to be able to find the best in others, to cull out the skill that could be honed into something truly exceptional.

We believed so much in Coach Whaley that when he told us we were very good at something, we took on the role.  He once told one of my teammates that he was a bull, a fearless hitter . . . and he was OR at least he became one. 

I later learned that this is strategy used by master motivators called labeling.  It involves assigning a trait, attitude or other label to someone, and then making a request of that person consistent with the label.  Clients that are labeled as early adopters or open to new ideas, tend to live up to the expectation.  Of course, it has to be sincere and true or the labeler will lose whatever influence he once possessed.

Imagine, if you will, if you began to look for the best quality in every client, employee, or family member you have?  Not only would be in a much better position to have your request accepted, but more importantly, can you imagine positive influence you would have on others?  Well, I can tell you, I know about 12 other guys my age that would do anything for Coach Whaley.

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.

How to Engage Others in Riveting Conversations

Professional conversationalist like talk-show host and world-class salespeople can teach us all something about getting great information from key people.  The best salespeople don’t even realize that they are repeating a proven system to gather the information.  They just know after a very natural, free flowing dialogue they leave the person they were talking to feeling better about themselves and the salesperson . . .  and the sales person has established strong rapport and gathered critical information.  How do they do it?

The first step is to get your mind right.  Set your intent to fully understand the person.  Begin by giving them the benefit of doubt that they are person you like and enjoy speaking with.  Next take a genuine interest in what makes them tick.  When your intent is to understand you will instinctively begin to ask questions.  The key is the quality of the inquiry.  You reveal your intent by the questions you ask.

Begin by finding out what they are passionate about? Or simply what are their goals?

Once you understand their goal, how do they measure their success against the goal?  Next, how are they doing in pursuit of it?  Are they on track?  If so, what was the key?  And if not, what’s the problem and how do they intend on fixing it.

People want to feel understood.  By focusing on another’s passion, their goal, they feel understood.  When your intent is to find out someone’s goal & you are keenly interested in how they are progressing . . . you will engage in riveting conversations.

Don’t Hide Behind Your Perceived Weakness

The high school football coach had to make special arrangements for the two brothers that were hearing impaired.  While it did not seem to affect the boys on the field, the coach had to make sure he spoke up and faced the brothers when giving direction.  He soon learned that both boys had an uncanny ability to predict the opposing team’s plays just prior running the play.  It seems that it was quite easy for them to read lips.

 

Don’t hide what you are or what some think are your weak points.  Find out what the upside is and become excellent at articulating it.  Don’t let others define you by harping on your shortcomings when you can point out the positives.  During his presidential campaign, at the age of 73, Ronald Reagan was asked about “the age differential between him and his opponent”.   To which he responded “I will not make age an issue of this campaign.  I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.” 

What makes you unique and different will be noticed whether you want it to or not.  Don’t passively let others define you, do it yourself . . . deliberately.

How to Ask For Commitment Using Differentiation

Baseball hitters drop a weighted ring from the handle of the bat to the barrel when warming up in the on-deck circle to make the bat seem lighter when they take the donut off.  It’s more of a psychological preparation than physical.  World-class sales professionals use similar methods that have the same psychological results on the buyer . . . they seem to make the commitment lighter, easier to agree with.

The technique is called differentiation and it’s grounded in its ability to establish a standard of comparison.  The real purpose is to educate the buyer on her different options.  It seems as if she is making an objective decision but she is not.  The key is the relative difference between the options.  The sequence in which the options are offered makes a dramatic psychological difference.   Have you ever noticed a realtor showing the most expensive homes first?  They are setting a standard that you will compare against . . . now that $300k home does not seem so expensive as compared to the others in the neighborhood.

How can you use this technique in an honest manner?  Before sharing your price with the client, first educate her on the cost of your competitor’s products.  Then show your price prior to any volume discounts and with all the options.  By educating them in this fashion you are establishing a standard for comparison.  Finally, you provide the options that you think will best suit her needs . . . and relatively speaking it will seem a little lighter.