Covert Persuasion

The sixth is by having a list of subscribers that one can refer to every so often, because they are

2007-07-05T15:45:00.001+07:00

The sixth is by having a list of subscribers that one can refer to every so often, because they are those which would prove to be valuable assets for the marketer concerned. The use of autoresponders and personalized newsletters is one way of keeping track of them all, and holding on to them by letting them know about new products and services is an essential task that should be done by the affiliate marketer concerned.

2007-07-05T12:14:00.001+07:00

RSL welcomes Fraser as assistant coach (Deseret Morning News)
RSL welcomes Fraser as assistant coach (Deseret Morning News)
Upon his promotion to Real Salt Lake head coach two months ago, Jason Kreis made it very clear to club owner Dave Checketts that he believed the team needed three assistant coaches.

Dude, Please Honor What You Say

2007-02-16T00:11:00.000+07:00

A few weeks ago, I attended a free personal development seminar. This free seminar was intended as a preview to a paid and rather expensive seminar.

Towards the end of the seminar, the speaker started selling his other paid seminar of a similar topic to the audience, which I was one of them.

He used a great closing strategy to persuade this group of people to take out their wallets.

He declared that he was going to slash the price of the seminar by 50% for the first 10 participants who signed up that very day.

In marketing terms, this was a very common tactic this to persuade people to take action and purchase the seats to this seminar. I bet every marketer have used this strategy before at some point in their career.

And so the strategy did its job.

Out of the 150 or so participants in the room, quite a number of them got up and hurried to the crew's desk to register for the seminar.

Some were even running for fear they wouldn't be the top 10 people who were entitled the 50% price tag cut.

He let everyone who signed up that day get the 50% off, when in fact there were some twenty-odd people who actually registred that day.

Though a very useful closing strategy, this speaker made a mistake. Can you spot the mistake?

He stated that the 50% price cut was only entitled to the first 10 participants in the room, yet he was granting some 20 something people that steep discount.

We as humans are not stupid. Can you imagine if you were one of the 10 participants who hurried and ran to register for the seminar, only to find out minutes later that everyone who signed up (regardless he was number 1 or number 10 or number 20) actually got the discount. How would you feel?

Cheated? Treated like a moron? I bet you will. I will.

So what can we learn here?

Covert Persuasion Tip: When coming up with an excellent sales closing strategy such as the one mentioned above, be sure to honor what you say. If you say you only have 5 units of your product left, make sure there are really only 5 left. If you say the price of the apartment you're selling is going up next week, be certain it actually is. All too often, sales people are using these limited-time or limited-quantity strategies without honoring what they say. Always remember this: people don't like to be cheated. Once you disappoint them, they'll almost never believe you a second time. Be sure to use these tactics carefully or they will backfire.

Even Though Your Product Has Problems, I'll Buy It Anyway

2007-02-13T01:28:00.000+07:00

If your product or service has some shortcomings, be sure to tell your prospects right at the beginning. Contrary to what most believe, this may actually get you one step closer in achieving the sale - If you know how to covertly persuade them to see it your way.

Why is that so?

First off, your prospects will find out about these shortcomings after they've bought your product anyway. Now wait a second. You must be thinking "yeah, but so what, they've already bought from me and I've already made a sale off them".

The greatest salesman in the world will tell you this is definitely wrong because you want recurring customers to keep coming back to buy from you. If you disappoint them by not telling them about the problems upfront, not only will you lose this customer, you'll earn a bad reputation as well when he starts bad-mouthing your name to everyone he encounters. As you and I probably already knew, negative news such as this spreads like wild fire.

Soon, nobody wants to buy from you.

By being blatantly honest about the problems your product have, people will appreciate your honest personality. They'll perceive you as someone with sincere integrity interested in truly helping them solve their problems, not just another sales guy trying to rip them off their money (perception of good guy image).

State the problems upfront, then explain to them why these problems aren't really an issue. You'll sell a lot more this way simply because of the 'good guy' perception as mentioned above. And the fact you're being totally different with all the other sales people out there who boast about how perfect and flawless their products are, further confirms their perception of this 'good guy' image.

Always justify your product's shortcoming with a reason. A real life example is the local auto mechanic shop I go to whenever my car needs to be fixed. I remembered the first time I went there, I was a little skeptical about the quality of their services. Well you really can't blame me for that. After all the shop was dirty, the customers' waiting room was small and wasn't air conditioned, there were no magazines to be read, no water to be served, and there weren't even enough seats to accomodate all the customers.

As I was waiting for my car to be fixed, I noticed a sign that says (I don't remember the exact wording, but here's what it basically said: "Yes, we know the waiting room you're in now is cramped with no AC, not enough seats, no beverages, and certainly no newspapers or magazines of that kind. But please note that we're dead serious about fixing your car and we guarantee it will be fixed and treated with the highest care possible. Also know that without all the AC and beverages stuff, we were able to provide you with our service at such a low price. We pass the savings back to you, because we understand what really matters is your car gets fixed, not how good you feel in a spacious AC room reading some FHM magazine".

Covert Persuasion Tip: Acknowledge any problems your products have and state them upfront. Then explain to your prospects why those problems aren't important. Make them perceive you as someone honest who is interested in helping solve their problems, not just another sales guy trying to rob them off their hard-earned money.

The "I'm Right" Mentality

2007-02-11T23:53:00.000+07:00

Just a few days ago I had an appointment with someone to
discuss about a possible business venture. We had previously contacted via phone and had exchanged proposals.

We were talking halfway through our appointment about the terms of the collaboration when I pointed out that the terms she laid out that day was different with those stated
in the proposal she had previously given me.

She got defensive and insisted that the terms were the same
as those written in the proposal. I, on the other hand, was
abosolutely certain it wasn't. However I did not bring the proposal that day, and hence could not prove my point.

Seeing her big reaction, I decided to give in in order to win. I told her "You know what, maybe you were right. Maybe I'm just too forgetful. Let's move on for now and I'll take a look again when I'm back in the office after this."

The meeting then went on smoothly after this.

So what can we learn from here? - that people don't like to be wrong. People don't like to be embarrassed. Humans are selfish creatures who only think for themselves. We like to be right.

In the above case, if I were to debate with her to prove my point, the objective of our meeting wouldn't have been met and we would just be wasting each other's time and resources.

By acknowledging she was probably right (even though I know she wasn't), the meeting proceeded smoothly at that time and we were able to discuss other important issues.

Notice what I've done here? I've used my covert persuasion skills. Unbeknownst to her, I've successfully got her to do what I wanted her to do - and that is to continue our meeting in a favorable and pleasant manner without much conflict, even though that meant giving in to her temporarily.

This "I'm right" mentality is present in every human being.
This is a fact. No one can deny this. However not everyone knows this - and this is good news for you because you can then use covert persuasion technique such as this to your advantage.

So how can you use this in your business? How can you increase your sales revenue?

Covert Persuasion Tip: always get your customers to agree with you on things when you're doing your sales pitch. For example, you could compliment something along the lines of "Wow, don't you think it's such a hot day today?" They'll probably agree with you, provided it's actually a hot day. Ask them a few more questions that will lead them to agree with you. A series of yes will unconsciously direct them into a position of being wrong by not buying your product. This will cause them to buy your product just to prove they were right.

Talk about covert persuasion at work!