Tag Archive for: principles of persuasion

Humans Think When Habit Won’t Do

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Last week I had the pleasure of sitting through the Principles of Persuasion (POP) Workshop in Phoenix, Arizona once again. Even though I’ve taught this workshop more than 50 times it was a great refresher and exposed me to the new look, feel, and studies for the workshop upgrade.

Greg Neidert, Ph.D., led this POP for people from across the globe. Like Dr. Robert Cialdini, Dr. Neidert was a psychology professor at Arizona State University for many decades. He let attendees know the workshop distills more than 50 hours of classroom teaching into the most essential elements of persuasion in a two-day format. To say that trying to absorb that much information makes your brain tired would be an understatement!

Speaking of your tired brain, Dr. Neidert made a comment that caught my attention. He told us, “Humans think when habit won’t do.” Consider that for a moment – we think when habit won’t do.

Thinking is hard work. You don’t have to be a bricklayer to come home exhausted from work. Many of you reading this have office jobs but you can still feel wiped out at the end of a long day. Why? Henry Ford put it best when he said, “Thinking is some of the hardest work there is and that’s why so few people do it.”

Why is “thinking” so hard? You may not know it but the human brain is about 2% of the average person’s body weight and yet it consumes about 20% of your caloric intake. If your brain were a car we’d call it a gas hog.

One more interesting fact about your brain’s energy use – when you’re engaged in active, logical thinking your brain’s energy consumption rises by about 300%! You won’t feel short of breath but you’ll feel tired after long stretches of focused thought.

When you’re engaged in active thinking it’s hard work and most of us would prefer to not work too hard if we don’t have to. That’s where habits come in. If you consider some of your daily rituals (what you eat for breakfast, how you drive to work, how you start your day in the office, etc.) you’ll see there are very distinct patterns you follow almost automatically. You could say they are habit.

Here’s a personal example. I’m up every day by 4 AM and by 4:15 AM I’m in my basement lifting weights then running on the treadmill. It takes me an hour and a half to complete my workout. Most of the time I find myself falling into patterns doing the same exercises the same way. I could change things up in the moment but 4 AM is awfully early and working out is tiring so I don’t want to think about it! It’s only when I’m away from my gym, when I feel refreshed and relaxed that I even think about how I might change my workout regimen.

Our habits usually serve us well and that’s why we rely on them so much. But that doesn’t mean they’re perfect. Just like I take time to reassess my workouts you should take time to consider your habits (routines) because things change over time. Working out as 20 year-old was very different than what I do now because in addition to my body changing now that I’m over 50, my priorities have changed too. You may find that to be the case in your life if you take time to reassess your habits.

I’ve been considering writing a series of posts on how you can use the principles of persuasion to influence your own behavior. When Lydia, a POP attendee from China, asked me how the principles could be used to influence her own behavior it was confirmation that I need to address this topic because others have asked me that same question in the past.

So consider this the first post in the series that will focus on how you can make positive changes – habits – in your life using the principles of influence. Like working out, making changes will require effort because thinking is hard work but I have no doubt you’ll find it very worthwhile professionally and personally.

What’s Your Goal?

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I work with lots of people in different roles when it comes to teaching ethical influence. Over the years I’ve worked with senior leaders, middle managers, supervisors, claim reps, underwriters, field sales reps, insurance agents, business owners, financial reps and many others. I’m always amazed at how often people try to persuade without a clear goal in mind.

You may think a salesperson always has a clear goal; i.e., to make the sale. True enough, but that’s still a little vague in my book. Let me share an example to help you see what I mean.

During the Principles of Persuasion Workshop© we have an activity where participants work in teams to come up with a persuasive argument to get a high school student, Jimmy, back in school after he’s been expelled for foul language and insubordination. Participants generally do a good job at applying the principles of influence to persuade the school board to let Jimmy back in but very few clearly state when they want Jimmy back in school. That leaves the final decision up to the school board, which could opt for another week or two out of school.

Participants would do much better to say something like this at the conclusion, “It’s our sincere hope that you’ll let Jimmy back in school tomorrow.” Why is this so important? Because if the board says no there is a moment of power the teams can leverage.

Studies show when someone says “No” to you, if you make a concession and ask for a smaller request immediately your odds of hearing “Yes” are much better. This is an application of the principle of reciprocity because when we give a little, people often feel compelled to give a little in return.

Robert Cialdini had his research assistants run an experiment that shows how powerful this concept can be in real life.  These students randomly asked people around the Arizona State University campus if they would be willing to be a chaperone on a day trip to the zoo for a group of juvenile delinquents. As you might expect, very few people wanted to spend a day at the zoo with those kids so only 17% said they would be willing to help.

At a later date the research assistants roamed the campus and started with a bigger initial request. They randomly asked people if they would be willing to be a big brother or sister to some juvenile delinquents. They made sure people knew this was a weekly commitment of two hours and they were looking for people to sign up for two years. No one was willing to give up that much time. As soon as people said no the research assistants would ask, “If you can’t do that, would be willing to be a chaperone on a day trip to the zoo for a group of juvenile delinquents?” So basically they were asking for the exact some thing they’d asked for earlier but this time 50% said yes – triple the initial response rate!

Two things were at play during the second scenario. First, the contrast phenomenon came into play. By comparison, a day at the zoo is nothing compared to a two-year commitment so it’s much easier to say yes to the zoo after thinking about being a big brother/sister. The second thing was the principle of reciprocity was engaged by way of concessions. When the research assistants counter-offered immediately, many people felt compelled to do the same.

Let’s go back to the scenario with Jimmy. By clearly stating what the team wants – to have Jimmy back in school tomorrow – they will be more effective persuaders. They might hear a “Yes” to the initial request but if they don’t they can make a counter offer that’s very likely to be accepted. This is a far better approach than leaving the timing up to the board.

How does this work for you? Two ways.

  • Clearly state what you want. Think about the times when you’ve not clearly stated what you wanted and left if to someone else to decide the outcome. Perhaps you interviewed for a job but didn’t clearly state the salary or benefits you wanted. Or maybe you were trying to make a sale but didn’t make the first offer.
  • Don’t censure yourself. For example, you want a job and would like to earn $95,000 but inside you’re thinking they might say no so you ask for $85,000. If you hear no then you might end up at $80,000 or less. Ask for $95,000 because you might just get it but if not you can retreat to $90,000 and are more likely to get that than if you’d started at $90,000 or $85,000.

Next time you go into a situation where you’re trying to persuade someone don’t just focus on building your persuasive communication. Give lots of thought to what your ultimate goal is. What would you like to have happen if everything worked out as you wanted? But don’t stop there; clearly communicate your desired outcome. Be ready in case you hear “no,” which means having multiple fallback positions ready. This allows you to leverage the moment of power after “no.” Do these few things and you’re on your way to becoming a much more effective persuader.

An Education in How to Apply Persuasion to a School Levy

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Many years ago I wrote a blog post that was one of my best read. It even caught the attention of Jeffrey Gitomer and he ran it in his weekly Caffeine Ezine. The article was called 700,000 Great Reasons to Use Yellow Sticky Notes. It showed how we took a concept from the book Yes: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive and implemented it to recover from a $700,000 mistake quickly.

The person I worked with to make that happen was our home office accounting manager Steve Ruble. Steve recently told me he was taking the concept of personalizing information into a school levy campaign in his town. He said if the levy failed there would be many more cuts than residents realized. Being a big school supporter and having children in the school system, Steve had a vested interest in making sure this didn’t happen. The odds were against the levy as none had passed since 2010.

Working with other supporters of the school levy they were able to identify 2,000 people who hadn’t voted in the last levy ballot. A frequently asked questions (FAQs) flier was delivered to these people. On the FAQ was a section highlighted in yellow that read, “Please Vote Yes.” Steve personally signed all 2,000, writing “Thank You” next to the highlighted section.

Now you might be thinking something as trivial as a personalized note would have no effect on your decision to vote, let alone to vote yes on the levy. You would not be alone in that thought, but much of persuasion happens at the subconscious level, meaning it impacts you without you actively thinking about it.

In the studies cited in Yes, both times signed sticky notes were used the response rate doubled. When a hand written note was used without a sticky note the response rate was still 33% higher. You can’t explain away those results in a controlled experiment.

Back to my friend Steve – he had seen the difference it makes to personalize requests to our agents when it came to money and he knew it worked. That’s why he made sure the Please Vote Yes was highlighted in yellow and that’s why he endured writer’s cramp to sign 2,000 FAQs!

Quite often elections come down to a few percentage points and in small towns that might mean a few hundred swing voters can make the difference.In Steve’s case the levy passed by a whopping 74% to 26% margin!

Did the personalization – an application of the principle of reciprocity – make all the difference? Perhaps not all the difference, but Steve knew it could be a big part of the difference they would need to pass the levy and he was wise enough not to let the opportunity slip by.

Whenever you want to persuade someone – to get them to do something they’re not doing at the moment – take a moment to personalize your request and your odds of hearing yes will be much better.

Brian Ahearn, CMCT®
Chief Influence Officer
influencePEOPLE 
Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.

No Battle Plan Survives Contact With The Enemy

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There’s a saying in the military that’s attributed to Helmuth von Moltke, a German Field Marshall in the 1800s – “No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.” Why plan for battle then?

The late Bill Walsh, the Hall of Fame head football coach of the San Francisco 49ers, was known for scripting out the first 15 plays his offense would run to start the game. Quite often the script was out the window depending on what happened during the first few downs of the game. Why prepare a script then?

In many martial arts, practitioners go through forms or katas that simulate fight sequences against multiple opponents. It’s highly unlikely that any fight ever unfolded as laid out in a kata. Why
practice the sequences then?

In each case it seems as if the best preparation is a gamble, a potential waste of time and effort, so why go through the motions? Because there’s value in planning beyond the plan. Things may not unfold as planned but soldiers, athletes, and martial artists are more prepared for different eventualities than if they never trained or planned.

How confident would you be in your country’s ability to defend your homeland if they didn’t train and plan? How confident would you be about victory if your favorite sports team had no game plan? How confident would a martial artist be if they never thought about and practiced defending against multiple opponents only to find themselves facing several attackers?

The same thought process applies in persuasion. Many of the concepts I teach in the two-day Principles of Persuasion Workshop® take time and preparation. You see, being an effective persuader isn’t about being a silver-tonged devil in the moment any more than success on the battlefield is just about weapons, or being a good athlete on the football field, or kicking high in martial arts. All of those things are helpful but the best in each field succeed because they prepare and train.

So, what does preparation look like in persuasion? It starts with learning the science of influence. With more than 60 years of research in this field we can turn to studies that clearly tell us which principles of influence to use and when. This understanding will lead to more consistent success than relying on someone’s good advice, what worked for a friend, or your best hunch.

Another way preparation leads to success comes with homework; learning as much as you can about the person you’re trying to persuade. The more you know about someone before you meet with them the easier the persuasion process will be for a couple of reasons.

You can invoke the principle of liking by connecting on what you have in common or offering up genuine compliments. Scanning Facebook, reviewing a LinkedIn profile, or a quick Google search might be all it takes to find the commonalities or things to genuinely compliment.

To effectively utilize the principle of consistency you want to tie your request to what someone has said or done in the past, what they believe, their values, attitudes, etc., because people like to remain consistent in those areas. Again, many of these can be uncovered simply by doing a little research in advance of your meeting.

Will your next attempt at persuasion go as planned? Probably not. Will you be better off having done some planning and preparation? Almost assuredly!

So, here’s my advice – next time you have something important you want someone to say “Yes” to do a little homework beforehand and then allow yourself to see the situation unfold in your mind’s eye in different ways. These seemingly small things could have a big impact on the outcome.

Brian Ahearn, CMCT®
Chief Influence Officer
influencePEOPLE 
Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.

 

The Overwhelmed Brain – An Interview

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Earlier this month I was the podcast guest on The Overwhelmed Brain: The Journey to a
Stress-Free Life. The site was recently started by Paul Colaianni. Paul and
I have been connected through social media for several years.
Paul’s fascination with psychology, self-help
and his own personal journey led him to start The Overwhelmed Brain. His goal
is to help people who are feeling overwhelmed because of the pace of life and the
circumstances they face.
Several months ago Paul reached out to ask if I’d
be interested in talking about the psychology of persuasion. Of course I said
yes because it’s one of my favorite things to share with people! I truly
believe understanding how to ethically persuade others is a big key to your
professional success and personal happiness.
Would you like to understand a few concepts that
could help you enjoy that personal success? How about more personal happiness?
Would coping a little better with the overwhelming things in your life be beneficial
for you? If you answered yes to any of those questions then I invite you to
visit Paul’s site and listen to theinterview.
Brian Ahearn, CMCT® 
Chief Influence Officer
influencePEOPLE 
Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.

PEOPLE – There are Opportunities

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Here’s one of my favorite questions to ask audiences, “How many people have purchased a new car in the past year?”

Usually, several hands go up, so I’ll ask someone with their hand up, “After you bought your new car did you happen to notice it on the road more?” There’s usually a smile, sometimes a chuckle and they agree. My next question is, “Were there really more of your car on the road?” That answer is always “No,” so I follow up with, “Then what changed?” I’ll usually hear thinks like “my focus” or “my perspective.”

I’m sure many of you can relate to what I just shared whether it’s with a car, clothes, cell phone, computer, etc. The bottom line is once people buy something new their eyes are opened to notice that new thing that’s really been there all along.

This phenomenon has application when it comes to learning the science of influence. Working through PEOPLE we now come to “O” which stands for Opportunities. 

As you learn the principles of influence your eyes will be opened to opportunities that have been there all along; ones you either didn’t see or didn’t know how to ethically leverage before.

Allow me to share a story to illustrate. At my company, State Auto Insurance, I help to recruit new agencies. We’re always on the lookout for high caliber insurance agencies to represent us and sell our products. As you might guess, other insurance companies want to sign up these same high caliber agencies so we’re competing for the cream of the crop.

One way we try to set ourselves apart is by actively recruiting agencies and marketing to them. For more than a dozen years we’ve sent quarterly marketing materials, letters and emails to prospective agencies but were missing a golden opportunity to persuade them to represent us.

Each year we had a set goal for our field people in terms of new agency appointments. After learning about scarcity – people tend to want things more when they are rare or diminishing – we looked for a way to naturally leverage our limited opportunity. After considering the principles of influence, here’s an example of what we used in a third quarter marketing letter several years ago:

Speaking of partnering with State Auto; to date we’ve appointed 33 agencies toward our goal of 42. That means we’re looking for just a few more new appointments before year-end. If you think the time is right for the ABC Agency, Inc. to join forces with State Auto, I’d be happy to speak with you.  Of course, you can always contact our Business Insurance Underwriter John Doe who has been in touch with your agency with questions as well.

Any time you try something new in business a couple of questions will need to be answered: 1. did the new approach work, and 2. how much did it cost?

The day we sent the email my boss stopped by and said something like, “I can’t believe it; I’ve had eight agents contact me within the first hour of sending the email! I’ve never had any contact me the same day we sent out these emails.” The only difference was that last paragraph pointing out the limited opportunity.

Before the end of the third quarter, we met our agency appointment goal and leveraged that fact into new opportunities for the next year. We did so by encouraging other agency prospects to start their paperwork in the fourth quarter to ensure and early appointment with us the following year.

And here’s the best part; it cost us nothing! As I noted earlier, we had already committed to a quarterly email marketing campaign, so we were going to send a communication no matter what. However, with our new understanding of the psychology of persuasion we were able to slightly change what were already doing to get a much better business result.

I could share dozens of stories about how my company has used the science of influence to generate better results and I can share just as many personal stories. In fact, there were so many on both accounts that’s part of the reason I started this blog. My goal is to help readers learn the science of influence, see the opportunities that are naturally available and the ethically leverage them for better results, whether professionally or personally.

So far, we’ve looked at the Powerful Everyday Opportunities of PEOPLE. Next time we’ll look at the second P, which is Persuade. It’s a term people use quite often but don’t actually know what it

Brian, CMCT
Influence PEOPLE  
Helping You Hear “Yes”.

PEOPLE – Use Persuasion Everyday

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Wouldn’t you agree that much of your professional success and personal happiness depend on getting others to say “Yes” to you?

When I speak to groups I like to start with that question. I’ve never had someone say “no” or challenge me on it because people know it’s true. I’m not telling you getting someone to say “Yes”
is always the most important skill nor am I implying you can get away without other essentials. For example, when applying for a job:
  •          You still need expertise and trustworthiness in most cases to even get a look.
  •         You’ll need some amount of likability to get hired.
  •          Depending on the job, there may be pre-requisites like a college
    degree.
The things I listed are requirements
to even be considered. But when you have all the necessities – the college degree, smarts in your field, likability – and you get your opportunity, will you be able to persuade the person or people you talk with that you’re the right candidate for the position? At that point persuasion becomes your most important skill!
On a personal level, understanding how people think and adjusting your communication accordingly is very handy to get your spouse, significant other or kids to do what you want.
The psychology of persuasion also can help you get a better deal when buying a car or home. It can help you get a store to take back your item even if it’s outside the normal return period.
Last week I told readers the first P in PEOPLE stands for Powerful. This week we’ll explore the first E in PEOPLE, which stands for Everyday.
Persuasion is an everyday skill. I contend that for the vast majority of people who walk this planet there’s
hardly ever a day that goes by where they’re not interacting in some capacity with other human beings. In modern life even if we’re sick in bed we’re making phone calls, checking email, sending texts and working social media. We might not have face-to-face interaction with people but we still interact with them. I’m willing to bet that far more often than you realize, you’re making requests of people because you want them to do something for you.
So whether it’s work (professional) or outside of work (personal) much of your success and happiness depends on getting others to say “Yes” to you. In other words, it’s an everyday skill and I contend the better you get at this skill the more success and happiness you’ll enjoy.
When I teach workshops and do speaking engagements it’s readily apparent to me people like the idea that what they’re learning has potential impact on every relationship they have. It’s not
like teaching folks a new computer system that has no bearing outside of work and might very well change in five years. Human nature rarely changes and when it does it takes a long, long time for that to happen so what I teach audiences will very likely be a skill they can use the rest of their loves. Pretty cool!
It makes my day to hear a
salesperson contact me to tell me how they landed a tough account because of
something I taught them. And I get equally excited when someone else comes back and says their child is doing better because they applied their newfound persuasion skills and got a better response.
In the career section of my personal mission statement I wrote I want to “be remembered for making my workplace better for having been there in both a productive and personal sense.” Teaching the science of influence helps others and allows me to fulfill part of my
purpose in life!
I encourage you to keep reading, learning and applying the psychology of persuasion. It’s a skill you’ll use Everyday and one that you literally have a lifetime to master. Next week we’ll dive into the O in PEOPLE which stands for Opportunities.

Brian, CMCT
influencepeople 
Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.

PEOPLE – It’s Powerful Stuff

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I’ve been blogging for more than three and a half years now. I chose the name Influence PEOPLE because we don’t persuade things. No matter how good you or I become at persuading, we can only persuade people, not things. In addition to that idea I specifically chose PEOPLE because it stands for Powerful Everyday Opportunities to Persuade that are Lasting and Ethical. I’m going to revisit PEOPLE over the next several weeks for a couple of reasons. First, I have many more readers now than when I started and I want to make sure all of you understand the PEOPLE part of the name. My second reason is because my nephew, Max, reached out to me asking about ethics.

So the first P in PEOPLE stands for Powerful. I often use the term “the science of influence” because there’s more than 60 years of research from social psychologists and behavioral economist into what causes one person to say “Yes” to another. When I lead a Principles of Persuasion workshop I emphasize the reality that small changes can make big differences because understanding the psychology of persuasion can make a big
difference. Here are some examples.
If you knew there was a factor that was twice as important in the sales process than selling the traditional
benefits of a product, would you want to know what it is so you could tap into it? Well here’s an example – a study was done on Tupperware sales and it was found that the social bond (i.e., friendship) was twice as important in the sale of Tupperware as was the preference for the product. The principle of liking tells us people prefer to say “Yes” to those they know and like. Having people like you and coming to like them can make a big, big difference in sales.
If you owned a restaurant that takes reservations then you know “no shows” cost you lots of money. Would you like to know a simple way to cut the number of no shows by two thirds, a change that
will cost you nothing? A study was done with a Chicago restaurant owner who saw no shows drop from 30% to 10% by changing the way hostesses took reservations. Instead of saying, “Please call if you have to cancel,” they began asking, “Will you please call if you have to cancel?” Because of the principle of consistency – people feel internal and external pressure to live up to their commitments – people either called, allowing the restaurant to take a new reservation, or showed up.
Let’s say you work for a charitable organization. Would you be willing to try something different in order to
double contributions? Sending a free gift such as mailing labels can significantly increase donations because of the power of reciprocity. People feel obligated to give to those who first give to them and those free mailing labels trigger this psychological response. The American Disabled Veterans organization reported donations increasing from 18% to 35% when appeals are accompanied by mailing labels.
Sometimes you need just a few more people to do what you want but you’re not sure how to make it happen. Sharing what everyone else is doing, consensus, is a great way to pull those last few
people along because the principle of consensus tells us people feel compelled to follow the crowd. I saw this once when 45 of 55 people I was training had bought a copy of Dr. Robert Cialdini’s book, Yes: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive. At the start of my training session I said, “I want to thank all of you because 45 of 55 of you bought Dr. Cialdini’s new book and that means we can literally be on the same page.” By the time the phone conference training was over and I returned to my desk seven of the 10 who had not bought the book emailed me to ask how much the book cost and who they should send the check to!
I could cite many more studies and real world examples but I think you get the point. Understanding the science of influence is Powerful! What I share isn’t based on someone’s good advice, or what worked for them; it’s rooted in decades of scientific research using controlled studies. I hope this persuades your thinking and that you’re starting to see that understanding how people think and behave and then adjusting your communication, can make a big difference with very little time, effort or money. I hope you’ll join me next week when we look at why persuasion is an Everyday skill.

Brian, CMCT
influencepeople 
Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.

Keynote Speaking and Training

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“When Brian Ahearn speaks, people listen. That is so because he knows his material thoroughly, and he knows how to present it superbly. The upshot is that the genuine insights he provides are not just immediately understandable, they are also immediately actionable and profitable.” 
– Robert B. Cialdini, Ph.D., author of Influence Science and Practice 

Wouldn’t you agree; most of your professional success and personal happiness come about when people say “Yes” to your requests?
  • Prospects become clients when they say “Yes” to your proposals.
  • Ideas become projects when management says “Yes” to your presentations.
  • You get raises and promotions when the boss says “Yes” to your reasoning.
  • And peace reigns in the home when your spouse or kids say “Yes” to you.

All of these situations and many more can happen with much greater frequency when you understand how people think and respond. Once you understand that the next step is to ethically apply scientifically proven methods of persuasion to your communication. I can help you understand that science and its application to your professional and personal situations. In other words, I can help you learn to hear “Yes.”

For example, did you know using “because” can make you more persuasive? To find out how watch this short clip where I talk about the power of “because” in the communication process.


My company is called Influence PEOPLE because we don’t try to persuade things. PEOPLE stands for Powerful Everyday Opportunities to Persuade that are Lasting and Ethical. In this video I unpack the PEOPLE concept.


Does this really apply to you and the situations you routinely face? Here’s what small business owners had to say about that after a presentation I gave at The Ohio State University.

To view more presentation videos click here.
Are you looking for a keynote speaker, training, or consulting on how to apply scientifically proven principles of influence to sales, marketing, management or leadership?  If so, reach out to me by email, BFA654@gmail.com, or phone, 614.313.1663, and we’ll talk about your specific needs. 
Brian, CMCT 
influencepeople 
Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.

Consistency vs. Authority: Which to Use and When

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Last month I conducted a couple of POP (Principles of Persuasion) workshops. One was for insurance agents and the other was for managers and supervisors at State Auto. Actually, I’ve done more than a dozen POPs in the past three years and I’ve seen a common thread with participants – confusing when to use the principle of consistency and when to use the principle of authority.

The principle of consistency tells us people want to be consistent in word and deed. Once a person takes a stand on an issue, be it through word or action, they feel internal psychological pressure to be consistent with what they’ve said, done or believe. Therefore, understanding what someone believes, values, and has said or done can be a powerful tool for persuasion if you can align your request appropriately.Authority, on the other hand, has to do with expertise and trustworthiness. If you can bring expert opinion into your request you significantly increase the odds that the other person will say “Yes” because people typically look to experts for advice. We do this because we simply don’t have the time or energy to research every decision. The good news is, things generally work out for the best when we rely on trustworthy experts. For example, accountants can prepare our taxes faster, more accurately and save people more money than the average citizen so many of us turn to accountants to prepare our taxes.No one I’ve ever trained has had a problem understanding either principle I’ve just described. The problem isn’t with the knowing, it’s with the doing, the application.
When you think about trying to persuade someone using the principle of consistency you need to think about them, not you. Quite often I’ll hear workshop participants say something like, “In order to persuade them I’m going to talk about how I consistently…” Your personal consistency can be an important tool in persuading another but it’s not using the principle of consistency as I’ve defined it above.When you try to persuade someone and you consider the principle of consistency as a means to do so you need to think about the other person. What have they said in the past? What have they done in the past? What are their personal beliefs? If you know the answer to one or more of those questions and can align your request with those answers you stand a much better chance of hearing them say “Yes!”Here’s an example. In sales we talk about an “up front close” as a way of making more sales. As a salesperson, if I do a good job asking questions and listening then it’s very likely a prospective customer will tell me exactly what I need to do to earn their business. But it’s not enough to just hear them because I need to use this new understanding in conjunction with the principle of consistency to increase my chances of earning their business. To do this I might say something like, “If we can get the car in the color you want, with the DVD player and matching floor mats at the price we’ve been discussing, will you buy the car from us?” If the customer has told you exactly what they want and the price they need, and you can meet all the criteria then it’s only logical that they would answer your question saying, “If you can do all that I’ll buy the car from you.” But the key is asking them because once someone says they’ll do something they feel their own internal pressure to live up to their word.I usually ask people how they feel when they give their word and have to break it. To a person, they tell me they feel bad even when their reason is perfectly legitimate. I’ve had people tell me they felt bad missing weddings because a close relative went into the hospital. I’m sure the bride and groom understood and yet the person still felt bad. That’s the power of consistency!Let me come back now to your personal consistency because I said earlier that it is
importance when it comes to influencing another person even though it’s not using the principle of consistency. When you are consistent – always return calls promptly, hit deadlines consistently, perform to a high level all the time – that increases your trustworthiness and thus your authority. If you always do what you say people come to rely on you and that opens lots of doors. However, please take note of the difference between this and consistency as outlined above because it’s important.Using the principles will only help you be more persuasive if you use them ethically and correctly. If you don’t then you’re likely to fail and abandon your attempt to use them in the future. Bad idea because these are scientifically proven ways that can help you be more persuasive.Brian, CMCT
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Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.