Creating Win-Win Situations through Selling

(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.

Creating Win-Win Situations: Persuasion

(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

How to Influence Using Accountability

(16420) Dave Lakhani says:

Deep down most people like to keep their word no matter what. Everyone likes to feel accountable. If you’re smart as a persuader, you’ll use this to good effect by getting your audience or the other party to make some small commitments during the course of the discussion.

For example, if you get them to agree to some concrete and time-specific next steps, you increase their level of commitment. If things drift or go off track, you can get moving again by pointing out that the other person is not holding up their end of the deal. This is of course a two-way street. You should also be making commitments of your own and holding yourself accountable for your own performance. If you follow through on your own commitments, it’s reasonable for you to expect the other party to do likewise.

How to Influence Using Giving to Receive

(16419) Dave Lakhani says:

Look for little things you can give away as part of your persuasive efforts. The more unique the gift is, the more memorable it becomes and the greater the chances are it will be appreciated. Generic gifts are fine but collectible items — baseballs or color photos signed by celebrities for example — are even better. Quite simply when you give someone something memorable, they feel somewhat obligated to give you something in return, when is often their agreement to your proposal.

One of the tried and true ideas is to give people a free sample of your product or service. Or you might make a concession in a negotiation. Both of these gifts are good because the recipient won’t fall foul of any corporate guidelines forbidding them from accepting gifts of any kind.

How to Influence Using Likeability

(16418) Dave Lakhani says:

Most people want to do business with those they like rather than those organizations they dislike. It’s always much easier to accept ideas from someone you like as opposed to speaking with someone you feel complete indifference for.

Being likeable doesn’t mean being best friends with everyone you want to persuade. Instead, you simply have to be pleasant and comfortable to be around. You’re more likely to be likeable if:

You have some shared experiences

You hail from the same geographical area

You have similar interests and tastes

You’re well-spoken and refuse to share rumors

You’re knowledgeable and happy to share information

You use humor when appropriate to reduce tensions

You actively listen and participate in conversations

You share something personal to you

You’re a good conversationalist

You have high self-esteem

You’re in a good mood

It’s human nature to want to try and reward the people you like. To use this advantageously, work at accentuating the commonalities you share with those you’re trying to persuade.

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