The Secret Sauce of Persuasion and Sales
I want to convince EVERYONE to act on my message.
-Anonymous Persuasive Speaker
Yes, and I want Ewan McGregor to show up on my doorstep and take me to Disneyland. It's not going to happen and convincing everyone to accept your persuasive message isn't going to happen either.
You can't persuade everyone and sadly Ewan McGregor is not at my house.
It's a noble goal (especially if you're in sales), but you're setting yourself up for failure. If there was a way to do this don't you think Coke, Apple, and Sony would all be doing it? Yes, yes they would.
You might not be able to convince all people buy what you're selling, but you can dramatically increase your effectiveness if you know who you are speaking to. How you ask?
Table of Contents
The secret sauce of persuasion and sales
The secret to being more effective at persuasion and sales is understanding your audience. Who they are and what they believe and how there beliefs align with your message.
Let's open up my big, bad Ph.D. bag full of tricks and talk about a theory that can help you understand your audience better, so you can make more effective persuasion presentation. Let's talk about Social Judgement Theory by Carl Hovland. I know “euw theory”, but this one will make your next sales pitch more effective so read on!
I've often extolled the virtues of audience analysis and building a relationship with people you are presenting to. When you are persuading or selling, this becomes even more crucial. You need to know who is in your corner, whose ambivalent and who is not going to buy what you have to say even if they were in the desert and you had the only glass of water.
You can break your audience up into 3 categories:
Latitude of acceptance
These are your people. You know them because they are smiling and nodding along to what you say. Rejoice, they want what you've got!
In the latitude of acceptance, there is a range of opinions that are acceptable to people. The closer your idea is to the audience member's, the more likely they are to agree with you and be persuaded (this is called assimilation . Basically, these are the people who are on your side and are likely to evangelize for your cause. They can even help you convince people who are “meh” on your message. Treat them well.
Latitude of non-commitment
Non-committed audiences are meh at the moment
These audience members are “meh” on your message. Think of them as uncommitted voters. Your message is neither accepted nor rejected. It's just there. They will listen to you especially if your message is relevant to them, but they are going to be evaluating your logic and reasoning.
Latitude of rejection
These are not the droids you seek. They are not your people. You will not persuade them…ever. Don't believe me?
Rachel Maddow and Bill O'Reilly walk into a bar and discuss politics. What happens?
- Rachel persuades Bill of her point of view
- Bill persuades Rachel of his point of view
- They find common ground
- They leave the bar in a huff because their attitudes are so vastly different
- The world explodes from their combined outrage
It's #4! When someone's attitude falls into your latitude of rejection, you actually perceive your differences to be much LARGER than they actually are. This is know as the contrast effect or why the US government can't function.
What does this mean for speakers & salespeople?
Don't bother with the people that fall into the latitude of rejection zone. The rejecters are never going to like you and that is perfectly normal. Set them free and turn your focus to the people who want what you are offering.
The people in the latitude of non-commitment are going to really pay attention to you if…
Your message is relevant to them
If it's not relevant, expect to see iPhones blazing while you speak. Solve a problem pain or ill, and they'll listen with rapt attention. They will also be picking a part your argument and wondering about your credibility. Your message and your credibility must be rock solid.
Use the assimilation effect – find the common ground and show them that your product, belief or solutions aligns with their beliefs.
Bonus, those who are the accepters (your fans) can help you out with the non-committed. Afterwards, when discussing your pitch – they will advocate for you. Social proof is powerful. It's the little nudge that might push those non-committed voters over into your corner!
What is your best tip to persuade? Leave it in the comments below!
Michelle,
As usual, you’ve hit the nail on the head. One of the things I’ve learned is how many people come to me about my services, and I can tell fairly early in the conversation if they are serious about making a change in their life, as well as if they are ready to entrust themselves to my care. It may only take a question or two.
In sales, they call that “closing”. In dialogue for me, it is as simple as saying, “Are you ready to make a change?” If the answer is hesitant or no, I don’t need to apply any more energy. Some people are coming to us with a “no” that cannot be undone.
It sounds like you can sniff out those uncommitted people pretty darn well. I love the line “Are you ready to make a change?” Powerful and think very useful to many different kinds of coaches as well!