There is a common question when it comes to influence and persuasion and that is what is the difference between the two categories or are they the same thing?

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When it comes to influence that would be the master category above all else. Another way [...]]]> Influence vs persuasion:

There is a common question when it comes to influence and persuasion and that is what is the difference between the two categories or are they the same thing?

Click here to view the embedded video.

When it comes to influence that would be the master category above all else. Another way to explain the difference between the two could be explained as persuasion would be a title in the series of encyclopedias while influence would be the domain over all of the encyclopedias. Each element would build up to the progression of influence.  

So how does all of this help you in your daily life?

When you have a meeting or a sales call it is good to know what persuasion tactic or strategy that you will use to help influence the person or the people that you are meeting.

In some instances when you are limited on time or even space in copy it becomes even more important to design out your message so that it is effective. This means you must take the time to design a proper message that will help you win the position or the business that you are looking for.

How to use persuasion ineffectively

A common mistake that people make when it comes to gaining attention from a person or a group is to use too many persuasive messages in the allotted time and the brain becomes suspicious about what is being said and starts saying “no” to the message. The thought of overloading the message is that the time used to influence the person or group will need as many elements as possible to get to yes. Another way to explain this is that more is not always necessarily better when it comes to getting to a “yes” victory.

If you have a common place or time in your meeting where people start to reject the message it may mean that you have overloaded the message or used too many strategies or tactics to try and get to a “yes”. It may also mean that your message that is being delivered is not well thought out and could be confusing.

A person of influence knows how to use the message, idea, strategy or tactic when needed and when not to use the same type of message.  

The influencer’s toolbox

If the total knowledge of your ability to persuade people were tools in a toolbox there would be plenty to list. Just like a mechanic does not use every tool in his toolbox to work on every process or item when people have their car fixed you will not want to use everything that you know in one sitting to get the people or person to your way of thinking.

The processes, strategies and tactics take a little time to learn so it is best to start slow.  If you are new to influencing others use one persuasion tactic or strategy and get good at it and then add another one in.

One of the best ways to learn how to use your new abilities is role playing them out with someone who understands your industry or buyer while they are being videotaped. Now this process may be painful in the beginning because you may not be used to seeing yourself on film. There is however an added bonus from watching yourself and criticizing your message while watching it and that is you will find your “holes” in your message. You may also find that you have issues with your body language and or that you are using too many filler words like “um, and or you know what I mean”.

Learning how to craft a persuasive message that will influence others to get them to see your way of thinking does take time to learn .

As always I would like to thank you in advance for your questions and or comments.

Now go implement!

Scott S. Bell

Connect on twitter:

@scottsbell

There may be something in your sales presentations whether live or by video that you have never thought of that is costing you sales or even conversions. When you take a look at how people operate in their daily lives they have certain fears, wants and or desires. When [...]]]> Techniques for sales to be increased:

There may be something in your sales presentations whether live or by video that you have never thought of that is costing you sales or even conversions. When you take a look at how people operate in their daily lives they have certain fears, wants and or desires. When you use these to help them the seductive power of your process makes it easy for them to buy.

Your job as a persuader is to make it as easy as possible for your client to buy. That means that you will want to influence them ethically first and foremost. One of the most overlooked strategies is to make sure that they as a buyer do not have to do anything that will embarrass them or make them feel awkward.

Now this may seem silly but just reflect for a moment and it may not seem like a sales technique…

When was the last time that you were ok with looking silly in front of strangers or even people that you are close to? You may be one of those zany extroverts but for most people out there the fear of looking dumb or being embarrassed is too much to handle.

Chances are if you are like most people the idea of looking dumb is too much to handle.

In some instances people will announce “I have a dumb question” to soften up the probability of looking bad.

So how does awkwardness in your presentation keep you from persuading others to your way of thinking?

• ·         The buyer doesn’t want to ask an important question because they will look dumb.
• ·         The buyer may decide that they don’t want to tell you a fear or even open up about an issue because it will make them not look smart.
• ·         You may have said something that caught them off-guard about how the product or service works and they don’t want to ask how it will help them or for clarification.
• ·         You may have just pushed them too far out of a comfort zone that you do not know how to deal with to get them back engaged.

Now it is a good idea to get your potential client to open up and ask questions but not to make to force them into a question where they may feel like they look silly or dumb.

If the buyer looks like they have the deer in the headlights look going on you may need to work on your techniques for sales to be increased.

There are a few questions that you can use alternating to see where they are at:

• ·         Are we on the same page?
• ·         What type of questions do you have right now?
• ·         What is your biggest concern at this point?
• ·         If you had a question right now what would it be?

There may be a fine line where they have questions and they may be on the edge of looking silly it is when they get embarrassed over a question or an idea where you lose the sale.

So you don’t believe it’s possible to lose a sale overlooking silly or being embarrassed?

How many times has someone been about to walk away from an offer only for you to find out through some persuasive questioning techniques that the buyer was scared to ask for a discount or to change the terms of an agreement. That happens every day and sales and or clients are lost because of it. 

How many times have you been in a store and needed help and once asked by an associate of the store if you need help the answer is “no”.

Embarrassment dangers in reverse

Now on the opposite side of the coin is the potential persuader who has the client on the hook and decides to correct them on items or ideas that have no bearing on the product or service being offered? Embarrassment doesn’t always come from questions the problems may come from the corrective statements that are made during the course of the meeting.

So you know all about left handed shovels and your potential client starts a story and has a tough time about getting the facts right. It is so easy to want to correct the person especially when you know more about the situation than they do but it does have the possibility to kill your deal really fast.

In a situation where it may hurt the buyer pointing out the corrective issue in a way that doesn’t not make them look bad is a good idea so they understand what they get what they are buying or investing in. Your voice inflection may destroy your ability to make a sale because it comes across condescending.

By the way demanding an answer is not a sales technique. It just comes across as needy or rude.

If you have a set sales presentation or script that you use consistently you will find that you will get the same types of questions over and over again in the same or similar spots. If you are dealing with people who may be a bit more submissive it may be a good idea to have an altered presentation that allows them to not have to ask a tough question that they may feel dumb about.

For some this may seem like bad advice or over the top and that is ok. Salespeople have sales personalities and that is why you can use the same script or process as someone else and get completely different results.

So it’s not about you?

Buyers react and respond to your personality and persona just like you do with theirs. Making sure that you do not put your client or potential client in a bad position allows you to have conversations with them and be engaged instead of thinking how they can ask a question and not look silly. 

As always I would like to thank you in advance for your commitments and or questions.

Now go implement

Scott Sylvan Bell

Connect on twitter:

@scottsbell

Persuading others or using the influence process using video is not a new process even if you are on Facebook. If you watch anything on the television or internet that is in video format you are wacthing video marketing at work. Some examples of video marketing are: 

Rapport and [...]]]> Persuasion and the first rule of rapport: Every effective persuader looks for any advantage that they can get their hands on that will work. The broken or bad strategies and tactics of old are known by buyers and they even will tell them to you as they are being rolled out.

Rapport and mirroring are misunderstood elements of NLP that cause many problems from persuaders because they are done wrong. Mirroring men or women is effective when done the right way. Building rapport can be effective but when the other person has issues with you rapport can only go so far.

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The first rule of rapport

The first rule of rapport is really two items and that is a mirroring action of the other person and then the use of voice. Similarities in not just a mirroring action but also the voice will help you gain rapport with the person that you are meeting with and in the end may help your persuasive abilities.

On the phone the first rule of rapport does help and that is to talk at about the same volume and or speed as the person that you are on the phone with since that is really the only way that you can mirror them. Just remember that your actions for nonverbal and vocal mirroring should be similar but not exactly the same.

You may be wondering if people will think you are a fraud but the reality is that most people are so caught up in their own world they will not even pay attention.

Rapport gone wrong

Now you may do everything that you can to mirror the man or the woman that you want to persuade but if you do something wrong such as talking too fast or too loud you may have that person walk away.

New salespeople have this issue when they get too excited about the product or service that they sell and this creates a mismatch. Over excitement about selling a product and uneasiness of the buyer will cause a “no” or an “I wanna think about it”.

The same problems with rapport may happen if the hopeful persuader talks too low or too slow compared to the person who that are hoping to influence.

Persuasion, rapport and similarities

Nonverbally you know when a man or woman is in rapport with you through pacing and leading. When you are leading the person will do similar actions that you do like folding your arms or shaking heads in a similar action, when you are pacing they are the one who sets the tone for you. You can do the same with you voice if you slowly start building the speed or slowing how fast you are talking or even with the volume.

You have the most amount of persuasive power as the leader instead of the pacer so it’s important to remember that you should keep “time” on your pacing and leading so that you spend more time in “charge”.

Remember that the persuasion doesn’t always happen instantly and in most instances it takes time and patience.

Learning how to influence others is a great skill to learn not just for business but also for personal life.

As always I would like to thank you in advance for your comments and or questions about persuasion and the first rule of rapport.

Now go implement!

Scott Sylvan Bell

Persuasion expert Scott Sylvan Bell explains persuasion and the first rule of rapport: Video credit

Persuasion fails when these issues happen

Its applied knowledge that helps…

All too often salespeople [...]]]> Expert persuasion advice: Persuasion experts can teach you many things that can help improve your life and or your sales career. Knowing what works and does not work or is not effective while persuading others happens when you live what you have learned.

Its applied knowledge that helps…

All too often salespeople who are learning to persuade take things too far and end up costing the outcome of the event and they lose.

When too many principals of persuasion are combined the person who they are used on can feel that something is wrong but they don’t quite know why.

New sales people live through the persuaders paradox and what that really means is that with all of the techniques and strategies that they have as tools that they can use it may not be clear to them the time when to introduce them or how many to use.

The persuaders paradox is not knowing what strategy or tactic to use or it may even be that what they have learned is not adapted to what they are persuading for. In essence either the sales person uses too much of their persuasive material or they do not use it the right way. It may very well be that they do both by using too much combined with not adapting it.

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Persuasion experts understand timing

Give a rookie persuader enough time out in the field and they will develop a sense of timing for what needs to be said or even the questions that need to be asked and they also know when to do so.

Sometimes it isn’t even about saying something it’s about knowing when to ignore a statement or even knowing when to be quiet. Silence may be one of the best persuasion tools that the experts use because it allows the mind of the perspective client to catch up or the silence puts weight on them to answer a question.

New or rookie persuaders have a tough time knowing what technique or strategy to introduce and they may use something out of order and then confuse the potential client. The new persuader also has a difficult time keeping their mouth shut and knowing when to be quiet.  

Persuasion experts expose common mistakes

There is a time to be an overachiever and there is a time to not be one. Now for some people when they are in the learning stages of persuasion they read every book , listen to every cd, attend persuasion seminars, watch dvd’s on influence. Now it’s a cool thing to learn as much as possible but there is also a point where there is too much confusion on how what they have learned works in the real world.

Rolling out a persuasion strategy and or tactic may not look like what was taught by the coach or the expert persuader, it may take some modifications and some massaging to make it effective for the industry or the type of client that the salesperson or the persuader is in.  

Now this is where role play comes in. You would want to decide what strategy or tactic that you would use to deal with a given set of circumstances. The best way to work these issues out is to video tape them and no matter how painful it is to watch take notes and determine what you think would work and what you think would not.

The more that you just freestyle and relax while you role play persuasion techniques and strategies the more of what you are doing will be effective. This is the best point to let your creative juices flow. There is no wrong answer, if you feel like something is working just go with it. If you feel like something is not working keep going until you feel like you get traction and are moving in a positive direction.

Your videotaped session will rewarding no matter how good or bad you may have thought that you were. Many times some of the best ideas for implementation will come from the biggest train wrecks while presenting. This type of role play gets easier over time and after a while may get addictive.

Persuaders paradox unwrapped:

The more that you make the persuasion patterns your own the easier they are to use in real life. Role play will not be enough you will have to use what you have come up with out in the field. There are two ways to go about this:

1. 1.      Implement everything – this is a surefire recipe for disaster
2. 2.      Implement slowly – When you start with just one idea you will know when to use it and how it works. Best of all you have the chance to learn how to time it instead of having too much material.

Be patient as you learn to expertly persuade others as it is a skill that is not something you “get” overnight.

Learning how to persuade others can be fun and informative but you must learn the basics first:

As Always I would like to thank you in advance for your comments and or questions about the persuaders paradox.

Now go implement!

Scott Sylvan Bell

Persuasion expert Scott Sylvan Bell explains the persuasion paradox: Video credit

When it comes to persuasion, sales training or even marketing there are times where the most simple statement  or statements can change the way you think about what you do.

Persuasion and or sales training sometimes is complicated just for the confusion that it creates so that coaching [...]]]> Persuasion, marketing and sales training:

When it comes to persuasion, sales training or even marketing there are times where the most simple statement  or statements can change the way you think about what you do.

Persuasion and or sales training sometimes is complicated just for the confusion that it creates so that coaching can be charged for.

Sometimes the training works and sometimes it doesn’t

Marketing can sometimes be the same way in the fact that there is all sorts of jargon or technical terms.

“There is no second place in persuasion, sales or marketing”

If you were to hear: “There is no second place in persuasion”, “There is no second place in sales” or even “There is no second place in marketing” how does that change your perspective, strategies and or tactics when dealing with potential clients, planning or the story that you are going to tell or how hard you are going to work.

If you are a persuader or in sales what do you have to do to ensure that every call that you run or attempt has 100% of your attention or in other words are you going with your job with passion and purpose?

If you have marketing that needs to be done are you really doing the research or are you just guessing? Did you run split tests or add the promotional code to your literature? Is there are way to look at the marketing piece and give it just a bunch more power of even a little more?

Persuasion, sales training and marketing costs plenty as it is, why not do everything that you can to do it the right way?

The question or statement of  “there is no second place in….” should really put into perspective what you and your sales team is up against. If you are in marketing the same goes for you.

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Persuasion, sales and marketing supercharged!

• ·         What is it that you are or are not doing when it comes to your business?

• ·         There are plenty of things that you know that should be done?

• ·         Did you take time to write out the story and get the elements of persuasion down to be effective

• ·         What do you not know how to do, or what do you not know how to do well?

• ·         Who do you need to get in contact with to make the changes necessary to increase your sales or even the effectiveness of your marketing?

• ·         How will you know if you have made the changes, how often will you check to make sure you are on the right path?

• ·         What changes will you make when you are off path?

• ·         For sales have you taped your role plays, asking your questions or even practicing rolling prices on your prices.

• ·         For your marketing piece did you show it to people who may or may not be in your target market or did it just look good for you?

• ·         Is the atmosphere around you relaxed while you are working with the person or people that you need to work with.

How to increase persuasive power and sales with practicing

Learning how to persuade or sell more requires dedication in order to get to the top. Have you practiced like you were supposed to do?

Whether you have been out in the field for years or not do you know what it will take to just get a few more people closed or sold out of 100? Have you had people watch your presentation from outside your industry? So you don’t have people pay someone to listen and ask questions about what you do. If your practicing doesn’t cost you now it will cost you plenty in the future.

Are you asking the tough questions?

How to increase marketing with asking questions

Most people in business think that they are a legend in their own minds and because they came up with the idea it means that it is perfect. The reality is most marketing pieces suck and reason is that most people look for beauty in the ad or the marketing piece and all too often the piece is poorly written or the ad is too perfect.

The same goes for sales scripts…

Most ads were written by people who went to college and really have not ever had to sell to figure out the words that flow well for the buyer. The elements of persuasion just are not there. Sure they win awards and are a thing of beauty but that doesn’t matter unless they convert and most of the time they do not. Most times plain is better. It’s not that a college education in marketing is bad it’s just that there is a difference between real world and what is taught in theory…

Those are two separate things…

Once you write an ad take it to a few people and let them tear it apart best off show the piece to kids and they will tell you if they understand what is going on. The average person in the United States reads and comprehends at less than an 8^Th grade education. So what that means to you is your message must be very specific and understandable because you have once change and the market is very unforgiving when it comes to saying “yes” or “no” to what you do.

So how does all of this relate to what you do if you have to sell or persuade?

Everything because many times people get caught up in what they think work because its got glitz and glam…

How to persuade and increase sales with others opinions

People love to be asked for their opinion, just ask the question and let them rip..

The more that you react and try to defend your position the more that you will lose..

Just let them talk even if you don’t like what they have to say…

If you are defending what you have done you are wasting your time..

Ask plenty of questions that will help you clarify the wrongness of what you have done.

Its ok to also ask what they liked about what you did, if they say nothing thank them because if you pay for the spot or the ad and it doesn’t pull or convert you would be mad and out money. Be an adult and take what they have said and use it to get better. This advice works for marketing or even sales.

If you do not let the person know you wrote the ad they will be harder on you and that is what you want. If you want to take it one step further let the viewer know you paid plenty of money and you want to just “test” the piece they will tear it apart even more.

There is no second place only first loser in business you must do what you can to get better and either be ahead of the market or give up. The same for sales, for every good salesman or woman there is 10 people trying to learn what they can do to take your clients and the bad thing is for the most part the only thing they have is lower price…

That will kill their business over time…

The good news for you is that you have practiced and have taken the “lumps” that go along with figuring out what it takes to not be the guy or girl who loses through bad marketing or horrible persuasion techniques.

Persuasion and selling require patience

The great equalizer in persuasion of any kind whether spoken or even written is being calm and relaxed. When people feel rushed the answer is normally “no”. When people are relaxed they are easier to persuade because time in essence slows down. Make sure that what you do is really cool really easy..

Have a little fun and laugh more often.

Persuasion can be fun to learn and it easy to do is it not?

As always I would like to thank you in advance for your comments and or questions about persuasion for first place.

Now go implement!

Scott Sylvan Bell

Persuasion expert Scott Sylvan Bell shares Expert persuasion skills and being first :Video credit