Do your prospects see themselves using your product or service?
Relationship

Do your prospects see themselves using your product or service?

No one can carry out an act or message without first thinking or seeing in their mind that it is possible to do so. You can mentally engage by helping your audience visualize and see in their minds how your product or service will help them. Real estate agents try to help their clients visualize living with their family in a certain house. By showing the house, the agent wants people to see it as their own.

I remember spending some time in Key West in the Florida Keys. Every night before dark, everyone would gather at Sunset Pier to watch the sun go down and enjoy the view. It is a great time of day to relax and enjoy the beauty of nature. It’s also the perfect opportunity for vendors and street performers touting their wares. We saw jugglers, sword swallowers, magic tricks, the plays. One night, while watching people go by, many of them wanted to watch but felt shy unless a crowd had already gathered around the performers. Artists knew that if they didn’t get a crowd, they wouldn’t make any money. When someone remains anonymous, they feel little pressure to donate. I saw someone who was doing a magic act calling someone who was trying to remain anonymous. Soon, the artist involved the man in the act of him. This attracted more people to watch and also got a donation from the gentleman, who was no longer anonymous.

A group of researchers went door to door selling cable television subscriptions. When they included the phrase “imagine how cable TV will give you more entertainment,” they immediately achieved more success. Forty-seven percent of those told to imagine cable television purchased a subscription, while only 20 percent of the control group did. The mind is activated when you help your prospect to visualize your product or service.

In many persuasive situations, your audience may not be interested in your message, service, or product at all. How do you shoot in passe-by? Many times when we see a persuasive situation, we like to remain anonymous. We don’t want to feel any pressure, so we watch from a distance. If someone in the clothing store asks if we want help, we say “no.” We avoid getting involved because deep down we know that getting involved will lower our resistance.

If you see someone around you or in your audience who is avoiding or rejecting your message, try to engage them. You can get a volunteer from your audience and getting them to volunteer will completely change their perspective. Pet store owners are famous for this. They see the kids come in just to look around. Parents do not want to have a dog in the house, but their son or daughter still wants to watch. The owner patiently waits to see the child’s eyes light up and instantly she falls in love with a new puppy. The boy holds and hugs the puppy and the father knows that he will have problems. The owner is wise and does not want to fight with the father. He simply says, “She seems to have fallen in love with this puppy. I understand her apprehension about having a new puppy, who will be in charge of him? If it doesn’t work out, bring him back.” Of course, you know the rest is history. Who can’t fall in love with a puppy after a weekend? The owner has gotten a reluctant customer involved.

Use questions that will generate “yes.” As you create your marketing and persuasive presentations, you need to design the number of times you get your audience to raise their hands, say yes, or nod their heads. How many verbal yeses are you getting? An easy and effective way to get more yes responses is to design questions that will receive a yes response. For example, when a word ends in “n’t”, it will return a “yes” response. Consider the following sentences:

It is not like this?

It is not like this?

I could not?

It is not like this?

Should not?

no?

You can not?

it was not so?

Getting your audience to physically move can also affect how your message is received. Participation can be as simple as having people say “yes,” raise their hands, or even just nod their heads “yes.” The more movement and involvement you can create, the more persuasive you will be. Great persuaders look for moments when they can gain affirmation from their audience. They design their persuasive message to elicit as many verbal, mental, or physical “yeses” as they can throughout their presentation. And there is good evidence to support this practice. One study brought together a large group of students to conduct “market research on high-tech headphones.” The students were told that the researchers wanted to test how well the headphones worked while in motion (while users danced up and down and bobbed their heads to Linda Ronstadt and the Eagles). After the songs, the researchers played a discussion about how the university’s tuition should be increased from $587 per semester to $750 per semester. A group of students had been told to nod their heads up and down during music and speech. Another group was told to shake their heads from side to side. A final group was told not to make a move.

After “trying on the headphones,” the students were asked to fill out a questionnaire about not only the headphones, but also college tuition. Those who nodded up and down (yes motion) generally rated an increase in tuition as favorable. Those who shook their heads from side to side (no movement) generally wanted tuition reduced. The ones who hadn’t moved their heads didn’t seem really persuaded one way or the other. In a similar study at the University of Missouri, researchers found that TV ads were more persuasive when the screen had repetitive vertical motion, for example a bouncing ball.

Engaging customers with human contact also works well for retail stores. Human beings are naturally drawn to other human activities. The sight of other humans on the move draws people in and increases sales. Studies show that the more contact employees have with customers, the higher the average sale. In fact, any contact initiated by a store employee increases the likelihood that a shopper will buy something. A buyer who talks to a seller and tries something on is twice as likely to buy as a buyer who doesn’t try anything on. Talking to an employee has a way of bringing a customer closer and actively engaging them.

Everyone persuades for a living. There’s no way to avoid it. Whether he’s a sales professional, an entrepreneur, or even a stay-at-home dad, if he can’t convince others of his way of thinking, he’ll constantly fall behind. Get your free reports at Magnetic Persuasion to make sure you’re not left watching others get ahead of you on the road to success. Donald Trump said it best: “Study the art of persuasion. Practice it. Develop an understanding of its profound value in all aspects of life.”

Conclution

Persuasion is the missing piece of the puzzle 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 due to your inability to persuade and influence. Think about it. Sure you’ve seen some success, but think of the times you couldn’t. Has there been a time when you didn’t understand your point of view? Are 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 achieve your goals? What about your relationships? Imagine being able to overcome objections before they happen, knowing what your prospect is thinking and feeling, feeling more confident in your persuasiveness.

Kurt Mortensen’s trademark is Magnetic Persuasion; instead of convincing others, he teaches that you should attract them, just as a magnet attracts metal filings. He teaches that sales have changed and the consumer has become exponentially more skeptical and cynical in the last five years. Most persuaders use only 2 or 3 persuasion techniques when there are actually 120 available!

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