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5 Common Mistakes of Old School Persuaders Kurt W. Mortensen kurt@persuasioninstitute.com Have you ever had someone try to persuade you with those old, outdated, offensive tactics? You know the ones I am talking about. Before you are even close to purchasing a product I am sure that you have been asked: #147;Do you want it in green or black?#148; I am sure you have also heard: #147;If I could show you how to become financially independent, you#146;d be interested wouldn#146;t you?#148; This backs you into a corner and you don#146;t even want to answer the question. You wonder, does this person really think I#146;m that dumb? You don#146;t buy from these people. You don#146;t even like these people. You never go back to their store. Do these tactics still work? Sure they do. It is the law of averages. Eventually you can find someone who will bend to any persuasive technique. Great persuaders are not smarter; they just have the right tools. You have heard the adage, #147;If you are a hammer, everyone is a nail.#148; You can't treat everyone exactly the same. You have to customize the presentation to every customer. I want to give you a new set of tools because one tool will not fit all your prospects. You can#146;t use the old school tactics and force every prospect into the same mold. The more tools you have, the more successful you will become. Research shows that most persuaders use three to four persuasive techniques. High producers still only use seven to eight persuasive techniques. Did you know there are over 100 techniques? If you look at persuasion like it#146;s a piano, most are playing chopsticks when they could be playing Mozart. Why haven#146;t many persuaders caught up with the times? Why are so many still using the old tools that would best be put to rest? Are you one of them? First, you must understand persuasion and influence have changed in the past twenty years. Your consumer, prospect, and customer have changed. They are bombarded with over five thousand persuasive messages a day. Your prospect is more educated and more skeptical than ever before. Think about it. When you are approached by a sales rep or called by a telemarketer you automatically put up a huge wall. You are already resisting before anything has been communicated. If you try those old style tactics, you will lose prospects, which results in lost sales. What good is a sales tool that works only part of the time? Imagine if the brakes on your car only worked part of the time. Let me ask you a question. Have you ever had a prospect that you were working with and you knew they needed your product or service, they wanted your product or service, they could afford it, but they still didn#146;t buy from you? What happened? It was a perfect fit for both parties. We live in a fast-paced world. We don#146;t even have time to think. So your prospect comes in and everything is perfect but they don#146;t buy and they say, #147;I need to think about it.#148; We don#146;t have time but the knee-jerk reaction is to think about it. Do you want to know why your prospects aren#146;t buying from you? 1. My clients/customers trust me Wrong. We have done studies at the persuasion institute and found most people do not trust you. The persuader thinks and feels that he or she has developed trust, but when we talk to the customer/prospect, there is no trust. Here#146;s the deal: Forty years ago, people were more trusting. The attitude was, #147;I trust you. Give me a reason not to.#148; Now it#146;s, #147;I don#146;t trust you. Give me a reason to trust you.#148; So now you#146;re starting well below zero. On average, depending on your occupation, over 70 percent of the time you did not develop trust with your customer/prospect. Ouch. Even if they like you, if they don#146;t trust you there will be no deal. The ability to gain and keep trust is a vital factor in influencing others. Research has shown, time and time again, that trust is always a contributing factor in the ability to influence others. When a person trusts you, trust alone can cause them to accept your message. On the flip side, if people don#146;t trust you, all the evidence, reasoning, facts, or figures in the world won#146;t get them to budge. Trust can be an ambiguous concept, but certain things are quite clear: You can#146;t get others to trust you unless you trust yourself first. Your message will not be convincing to others unless it#146;s convincing to you. Whenever someone tries to influence us, we ask ourselves, #147;Can I trust this person? Do I believe him? Are they really concerned about me?#148; We are less likely to be influenced if we sense that the person is driven solely by self-interest. Never assume that people trust you. Always show the world you are someone to be trusted, no matter what the circumstances are. 2. I need more closing skills Sure it is nice to have a few closing skills in your persuasion tool box, but shouldn#146;t you spend more time opening up your prospect before you even think about closing? In fact, great persuaders don#146;t even have to use closing techniques. The consumer is ready to purchase before the end of the conversation. The only time you really need a closing skill is when you have blown it and you have not followed the proper persuasion process. You need to be able to connect, be sincere and empathic, and show you have their best interest in mind. You should spend more time on connecting, building rapport, finding needs and wants, positioning your product, and answering questions. Persuading a customer/prospect occurs throughout the whole process, not just at the end of the presentation. Studies show it is much more important how you open a sale rather than close it. Research shows that hard closes not only offend but have also lost their effectiveness. Hard closes work less than five percent of the time and over half of those prospects had buyer#146;s remorse and returned the product. It is said that the first and most lasting impression is made in about the first four minutes. Be sure you demonstrate confidence in those first four minutes, because the cement dries fast! Nothing can replace a bad first impression, even if you try to make it up later. Fixing a first impression is like fixing a wrecked car. Even after exhaustive time, effort, and expense, you still know it was wrecked, and you#146;re more apt to detect anything that might be wrong with it. We have all had the experience of meeting someone who, after just a few seconds of being in their presence, we have felt an instant connection or bond to. This is the Law of Connectivity. Conversely, we have probably all met someone who we instantly did not like and did not want to be around. This process is caused by a lack of connectivity and usually takes only a few seconds to become apparent. The Law of Connectivity states that the more we feel connected to, part of, liked by, or attracted to someone, the more persuasive they become. When you create an instant bond or connection, people feel comfortable around you; they will feel like they have known you for a long time and that they can easily relate to you. When we feel connected to someone, we feel comfortable and a sense of trust evolves. 3. Focusing on price rather than building value Many persuaders tend to focus on price rather than building value. When you are finished with your presentation your prospect should think, that#146;s it? That#146;s inexpensive! What a great value! Even if they can#146;t afford it, they can see the value of what you are offering. Discussing price creates fear in many persuaders. It#146;s often where the sale begins to sink. Three things happen. Prospects know it is a great way to get rid of you, they can postpone making a decision, and it is a knee-jerk reaction. You have not built the value of your product or service. We often feel like lost sales come down to price. It is not the price issue! It#146;s that they don#146;t see the value. Think about it. If price was always the issue, we would all be driving yugos, drinking kool aid, staying at Motel Six, and shopping at thrift stores. If you do hear the price objection too frequently, try asking, #147;Compared to what?#148; They will usually give you a blank stare because there is nothing to compare it to. It is your job to help them compare your product or service to a Rolls Royce, not a used economy car. It#146;s all about human perception. The human mind has to find a benchmark of comparison to make judgments, especially when we are talking about unfamiliar situations. People make comparisons based on knowledge and past experience. By showing your prospects contrast, you are creating comparisons for them. The mind can't process everything at once, so it develops shortcuts to help make decisions. Instead of making a completely internal judgment, we look for boundaries, patterns, and polar opposites. We want to know the difference between our options, so we naturally contrast the two items. We mentally place things in our mind from best to worst, first to last, or highest to lowest. Do you want your prospects to compare your product or service to the second-hand thrift store or a shop on Rodeo Drive? You get to decide where you want them to start their benchmark. When using this technique, keep in mind the powerful differences between positive and negative information. Psychologists have asserted for years that people automatically and subconsciously have extremely high expectations for the good over the bad. Because of this consistent tendency, negative information, when it comes, always seems to be given considerable weight because it is such a jarring contrast to what was expected. For example, have you ever had a salesperson get you all excited about some incredible product you were about to purchase? You're totally thrilled with all the things this product is going to do for you, and then BAM! The salesperson hits you with the ghastly price. Suddenly the hefty price tag #150; just one negative detail #150; outweighs all of the twenty other terrific features. Negative information has taken precedence over all the positive information. In fact, now this one negative detail totally consumes your thoughts. You drive home only able to think about how the precious item is going to cost you an arm and a leg. 4. Persistence is the key Persistence is an incredible quality to have. Persistence is the number one reason why people are successful in life. It's also the driving force that determines why certain people are wealthy. Their success is not due to financial backing or education. They owe their achievements to persistence. There's an old sales adage: "Some will; some won't. So what? Who's next?" I want to focus on smart persistence. If you get lots of no#146;s, you might be wasting your time and the prospect#146;s time. There is a fine line between smart persistence and being a pain in the butt. You need to be able to sense when and where the best time to contact is, how to make contact, and if you should continue contacting your prospect. When you are doing it the right way, your customer will let you know they appreciate your correspondence. You can be persistent trying to break down the brick wall with your head, but there is a time and place for good, smart persistence. Don#146;t make it a badge of honor counting up your rejections. Sure rejection is part of being a persuader. Let#146;s just keep it down to a manageable level. We know we can#146;t persuade all the people all the time. We should know when to walk away and find other prospects to spend time with. I could be in NYC handing out $100 bills to pedestrians and many would not take the bills. They would not have the time to think about it#133;there has to be a catch, etc. Working harder is useless if the prospect doesn#146;t see a need for your product or service. Find your ability to read what they need and the best way to be persistent. Are they a qualified buyer? Persuaders contact prospects almost everyday and wonder why they don#146;t return their calls. The persuader feels they have a great potential buyer and they are interested and it is just a matter of time. They know the sell is inevitable. Then we contact the prospect to get the truth. This is what we find out: They have not had intentions of buying, they are sick of all the messages; they did not have a need, want, interest, or even the money to buy. But our faithful persistent persuader did not take no for an answer. Again persistence is a great trait, but let#146;s add the smart aspect to it. Another important point is when you are contacting your prospect again, remember the emotion has left the building and you need to revisit why they were interested in the first place. Maybe they were going to think about it, but they probably have not had the time to think about it or to look at your beautiful literature. You have to recapture their interest and needs when you make the second contact. If they are no longer hot, you have to restart the fire. If you do leave a message, make sure you give them a great and legitimate reason to call you back. Do you have more info? Has there been a product enhancement, has the pricing changed? Get them involved as much as possible. 5. I#146;ll figure it out on my own This phrase has cost me millions of dollars. It was a great day when I realized that all the problems and obstacles I was having in life, or in persuasion, had already been solved or figured out by someone else. That means these people have answers! Poverty thinking is #147;I will figure it out on my own and take three years of time and countless money trying to reinvent the wheel.#148; The big challenge is that we cannot coach ourselves. We can#146;t see all our strengths and weakness, what we need to improve and work on. All great players have mentors and coaches. Look around you. Who can you talk to, who can you take to lunch, who can be your coach? We know getting the book is a great start and will teach you great things, but if it is true excellence that you#146;re going for, you need coaching. If you want to learn how to play basketball from reading a book, you would never achieve greatness on the court. You need to interact with the best. The best growth in my life has come from mentoring and coaching with the best. You don#146;t have the time or resources to wait to figure it out on your own. It amazes me how many persuaders go down this road. Persuasion is not rocket science, but you do need to learn how to master your craft. In the past we would be able to get along, slowly learning, but times have changed. The train is picking up speed. We used to be able to play and miss the train and run and catch up if we were late. But the speed the world is moving at and the competition you are facing will not allow you to figure it out on your own. You can invest in yourself right now and find the best to teach you the skills or be on the long road to little income, few skills, and the inability to persuade. If you wanted to rebuild the engine in your car, learn how to fly, or rewire your house, would you just try to figure it out on your own? Would you get the best book on learning how to fly and just hop in a plane and learn along the way? NO! Then don#146;t treat your career or your ability to persuade the same way. I remember going to a stock market seminar about learning how to trade. It cost over $10,000 to attend this training. I got burned when I decided I#146;d just figure it out on my own and lost three times that amount in the market. The students attending the class invested upfront and learned the skills and became great traders. I lost and did not learn the right skills. The answers are there, closer than you think. You would be surprised by how much people can help you succeed. Pay the price to become a professional in your field. Don't settle for mediocrity; become the best you can be at what you do. Who is the best in basketball? Right #150; Michael Jordan. He knew he could not become the best without daily practice of fundamental skills along with the addition of new skills. He also knew he could not excel without a team, and especially not without a coach. True excellence comes from knowledge, continuing education, and consistent practice. Conclusion Learning how to persuade and influence will make the difference between hoping for a better income and having a better income. It is the missing puzzle piece that will crack the code to dramatically increase your income, improve your relationships, and help you get what you want, when you want, and win friends for life. Ask yourself how much money and income you have lost because of your inability to persuade and influence. Think about it. Sure you#146;ve seen some success, but think of the times you couldn#146;t get it done. Has there ever been a time when you did not get your point across? Were you unable to convince someone to do something? Have you reached your full potential? Are you able to motivate yourself and others to achieve more and accomplish their goals? What about your relationships? For a free persuasion IQ analysis to help you see where you rank and what you need to improve visit www.persuasioniq.com . Kurt W. Mortensen ( kurt@persuasioninstitute.com ) is one of America#146;s leading authorities on persuasion, motivation and influence. He offers his speaking, training and consulting programs worldwide, helping thousands achieve unprecedented success in business and personal endeavors. Visit our website at www.maximuminfluence.com . Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com.