and the definition of selling that was drummed into my
brain.
"Selling is the art of creating a desire in the mind of a
buyer and satisfying that desire so that buyer and seller
benefit."
Now that may seem a bit old fashioned for many of today's
salespeople, but I believe the principle still holds true
particularly if we're attempting to persuade another person
be it a member of our team, a colleague or a customer.
If you're going to persuade someone to change their
behaviour, their viewpoint, their attitude, any other aspect
of their business or personal life, then you're talking
about changing a mindset.
If anyone is going to change their mindset then they need to
envisage benefits for them that outweigh their present
circumstances or situation.
If you're the person doing the persuading, then you need the
following skills, qualities and characteristics which make
you believable and credible.
Belief - Successful persuaders believe in themselves and
what they're talking about. After all, if you don't believe
in what you're saying, how do you expect anyone else to?
Enthusiasm - I've known people who totally believe in what
they're saying but fail to communicate with any enthusiasm
or passion. British people in particular, find difficulty
with this; however, if you want to persuade someone, you'd
better find a way to get enthusiastic about it.
Knowledge - you must know what you're talking about, so make
sure you have all the information, facts, figures and
statistics to make your case.
Empathy - Put yourself in the other person's shoes. What do
you think is important to them? Consider carefully why they
should accept what you're saying.
If someone is frightened of flying, then there's no point in
telling them not to be silly and to stop behaving like a
baby. You need to think about how you might feel in these
circumstances and what might persuade you to change your
mind; you need to outweigh the fear with benefits relevant
to the individual.
Persistence - if you want to persuade someone, don't give up
on the first "no" or rejection of what you say. Persist and
persist - but do it nicely!
People wont necessarily react in a negative way to your
persistence when they realise you really believe what you're
saying.
There's a fine line between being persistent and being a
nuisance. Watch the other person's reactions and if it looks
like you're persisting too much - stop!
Energy - put energy into all your interactions with other
people. Energy fuels enthusiasm; we are persuaded by people
with energy.
Many TV presenters use their energy to sell us their ideas.
Think of the celebrity chefs on TV persuading us to produce
fabulous meals or other presenters who get us all excited
about re-modelling our homes or gardens.
Consistency - Everything you do or say is important,
everything counts. If you want to be a powerful persuader
then you must be consistent. If you're trying to persuade
someone to keep their promises, then you must always keep
yours. If you say - "I'll phone you back in ten minutes"
then phone them back in nine minutes.
To be a powerful persuader you need many skills, qualities
and characteristics. Even with them all in place, there is
still no guarantee of success. However, people are more
likely to be persuaded by people they trust, they like and
have a good relationship with.
Alan Fairweather - The Motivation Doctor - is an International
Speaker, Author and Business Development Expert.
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