Business Intelligence

(16425) Dave Lakhani says:

To persuade effectively nowadays, you have to learn how to persuade electronically using Internet technologies. This is such an important source of information for business people that it is rapidly becoming the first place people turn for new ideas. If people can’t find you when they need your product or service, you’re missing out on a lot of business.

The key areas to get up to speed with in terms of using electronic media to persuade effectively are:

WebsitesHave a website which matches your persona and the image of your company. Effective websites:

Blogs Web-based logs that are easily edited. Blogs give you an outlet for your ideas and a place where others can comment. Blogs can create exclusive access to you in a way that the people you’re attempting to persuade will find very alluring and compelling.

Teleseminars There are Internet-delivered seminars that people can participate in from their own computers rather than having to be there in person. Teleseminars are great for persuasion because they combine audio and visual components. Previously run teleseminars can then be made available through your website for others to view. The more information you pack into your teleseminar, the greater the potential value it will have.

Podcasting Effectively this is a do-it-yourself radio show broadcast over the Internet. People can download what you’ve put together to their digital music devices and then listen to it at whatever time best suits them. Podcasts can be set up to whatever level of professionalism you decide, so it’s important to have podcasts that enhance your image as an expert in your field. Podcasting is very tightly focused, but is emerging as a key persuasive technology of the future.

(16424) Dave Lakhani says:

In theory, good negotiations are win-win. The reality is, however, superior persuaders can craft an arrangement that is not optimal for either party and yet which both sides find acceptable. It doesn’t really matter which party feels like they have “won” or “lost” as long as everyone understands and agrees with the reasons for the conclusion reached.

Ideally you want to begin the persuasive negotiation process from a position of power and authority. To do this, you need to be fully informed about:

The key steps in negotiating persuasively are:

1. Let the other party present their proposal first and you may be pleasantly surprised to find they are offering more acceptable terms than you were going to ask for in the first place. This is great, because the negotiation is over before it even starts. It also lets you adjust your pitch to suit.

2. Test your assumption about what is truly negotiable and what is not by asking some questions and posing some scenarios for the other party to respond to. Stress that different is fine as long as both parties are fine with that.

3. Once you test something, put the idea on the back burner and agree on inconsequential items first by looking at the areas you know you will be able to agree upon. Build some momentum.

4. Don’t respond to emotional issues but acknowledge them openly and keep focused on the key issue at hand. Remember, you can always walk away if necessary so mention that if they keep dwelling on irrelevancies.

5. Lay your cards on the table openly and succinctly and make sure the other party knows precisely what you’re asking for. This is a time for clarity, not ambiguity. This often breaks an impasse. For example, if you disclose that accepting their offer would bankrupt you, obviously you’re not going to do that. They need to know where you stand.

6. When you’ve come to a tentative agreement on the best way to move forward, reiterate what the next steps will be and clarify what each party will do. Don’t assume that they view things the same way you do, but be very specific about what needs to happen next.

7. To seal the agreement, continue to persuade meaning do something tangible to follow up. Have dinner with them. Give them some kind of gift or sample. Acknowledge their contribution to your negotiation.

(16423) Dave Lakhani says:

The key to good advertising is to find your own message and drive it home. You won’t do that by using bits and pieces of your competitor’s ads. Instead, you have to tell the story only you can tell. You want ads that are so distinctive a competitor couldn’t come along and insert their logo instead of yours and run the same ads themselves.

Profitable and persuasive ads follow two straightforward steps:

1. Develop ads that interrupt and tell a persuasive story in and of themselves. First and foremost keep in mind that you’re trying to tell a story that will gently interrupt, persuade and then compel the audience to take some action. To grab attention, you need a headline that compels you to read or hear more. The body of the ad should then be a one-on-one conversation that tells an interesting story, answers questions and provides motivation to either learn more or take action. Persuasive ads use words and images to create dynamic pictures in the minds of prospective customers. They dramatize what the results will be if you do not use the product or service offered, and do so congruently rather than reading like a shopping list flung together for convenience. Great ads focus on one idea or one action item, and have a clear and concise call to take the next logical action. Persuasive ads have a rhythm and pace that figuartively lifts prospective customers and compels them to take action.

2. Measure the effectiveness of your ads. Pure and simple, the only measure of how well your ads are working is how much more or less business you have this year compared with last year. The only way you can track this is by measuring what sales are generated by which specific ads. To do this:

It really doesn’t matter how you track your ads as long as you actually do it. There is no substitute for good information. By tracking what makes some of your offers more persuasive than others, you gradually learn how to make your ads more persuasive. This will be far more profitable for you over a number of years than anything you could ever achieve by copying what your competitors are doing.

(16422) Dave Lakhani says:

To be persuasive when selling, don’t just give a dry and lifeless recitation of features and benfits in the hope that someone will accept your ideas and agree to buy. Instead, use the ISELL persuasive selling process in this way:

I Identify qualified prospects Spend your time working with those who need your product and are a good fit. Don’t waste your time with just anyone who will talk to you, but have some simple screening questions to ask that will show you who’s able to buy and who is not.

S Start your story Make sure people are ready to listen and that it’s a good time for them before you launch into your attempt to persuade. Link what you’re going to tell them with the important issues they have already mentioned. Get things off to a good start.

E Educate, answer and encourage Build curiosity by asking good questions and then educate them as you answer those questions. Encourage them to ask more probing and specific questions as you go along to increase their interest. Provide high quality information.

L Lead them to their best decision Break the big decision down into manageable chunks and have them agree to these minor points throughout the discussion. Clear the stage so they can make the major decision, specify what the next logical step is and then ask them to move forward decisively.

L Let them buy Don’t keep talking when the person is ready to buy. That’s a recipe for disaster, as you can talk them out of buying. Whenever the person has convinced themselves this is the right thing to do, stop talking immediately and get the order signed, take their money start drawing up the contract. You might take the opportunity to up-sell by offering them add-on products and services. Keep in mind your goal is never to complete a one-off sale but to move the other person into a cycle that will generate multiple opportunities for them to buy additional products from you in the future. Therefore, when the other party agrees to buy, give some though to what you can do to lay a good foundation here for the future.

(16421) Dave Lakhani says:

When using the persuasive process to sell, advertise, negotiate or attempt to persuade the masses electronically, there are six key tenets that should be used:

1. To persuade effectively, always have outcomes in mind that are clearly defined.

2. The best interests of the person should always be an integral part of the persuasive process.

3. Persuasion-based professionals always tell the truth.

4. Set realistic time limits. If you cannot persuade within that time frame, move on.

5. Form long-term relationships with those you attempt to persuade. Don’t burn through people.

6. At all times, act ethically. Persuade people only to do those things that are in their best long-term interests.

Presentation: Selling
Presentation: Advertising
Presentation: Negotiating
Presentation: Persuading electronically