Today I will share with you the first three of the top ten tips to appearing to be a bigger fish:
1) While there is nothing wrong with working from your home office, never appear to be working from your home office. A virtual office is an inexpensive way to appear established.
2) If you are a male, have a female leave your outgoing message on your voice mail. If you are a female, have a male deliver your message. Never use an answering machine as callers can tell, and it communicates that you are working from your basement.
3) Think about your title. Something I learned too late. Putting “CEO” or “President” on you business card actually makes your company look smaller. Giving yourself the title “Director of Marketing” or “SVP Sales” makes your company look far bigger.
A caveat: there is a difference between managing your impression and over spinning. Always be guided by your ethics.
Gift giving is a sure way to engage in the law of reciprocity, which is why the act of giving in business has been practiced since the beginning of civilization. Beware, however, that it is a double-edged sword. Here are some guidelines to ensure that you appease the Gods of Reciprocity:
Three don’ts regarding the law of reciprocity:
1) Avoid giving cheap trinkets with your company logo: A cheap pen with your logo that doesn’t write says a great deal to your prospect about YOUR standards of quality. When the pen breaks or fails to work, you are cultivating a sort of reverse sense of reciprocity.
2) Avoid giving high-priced items with general appeal: While some recipients may feel quite beholden to you for your gift, it can be perceived by others as crossing the ethical line. In other cases, it could be considered an illegal kickback. I remember my college roommate’s mom was a nurse in the early nineties. She received a free high-end laptop from a pharmaceutical company. A physician once told me that the same company sent him on vacations. Currently, that industry is becoming highly regulated with respect to gift giving.
3) Avoid “strings attached” giving: People may take you up on your offer, but when you call it a gift, they subconsciously regret it. Have you ever received a thank you coupon from a retailer? It says “we appreciate your business, so come in for your FREE gift __________”. But, the tiny print on the back says “Free with the purchase of $100 or more”. Yes, the company is technically covered, but do you ever get that sense of reverse reciprocation?
Five applications of reciprocation that will get results:
1) Invitation to share time: If you really want to give a sincere gift, offer lunch, dinner, golf, boating, BBQ, anything where you will share time with the person. Keith Ferrazzi in his bestseller, Never Eat Alone talks about adding food to the mix because it creates a much more pleasant experience and memory for the person.
2)Reading or viewing materials: What interests the person you wish to gift? Finding out is so simple with google, facebook, twitter, myspace, linked in, or simply by asking the person. Once you know, it is a simple matter to send an article. Mailing it is more impressive than sending a link because it requires more labor and it can have a hand-written card or post-it attached. Jason Kallio, founder of Expovantage is a master networker. One of his tricks is to scan the news every morning and select which articles will be of interest to his contacts. His results are amazing. Books and DVDs are excellent ways to give a sincere and personalized gift.
3) Birthday Cards: Most people will never remember that you sent them a holiday card, but they will certainly remember a birthday card.
4) Links: What a great gift to give any networker. If your person has his or her own website, and the content is somewhat related to yours, providing a link is a great gift. You are helping them gain exposure and putting them in a positive light.
5) Give value not teasers: A great gift to give is your expertise. I vehemently disagree with those who say you devalue what you do when you give even a taste of it away. Even worse: “give them the why, and make them come to you for the how.” I am talking about gifting a bit of your expertise. A “bit” is a bit subjective. I say, more than a sample, but less than an appetizer, and not the full meal. It should be simple for you to do, but have stand-alone, intrinsic, walkaway value for them.
It is easy to note a common denominator regarding what works and what does not. It appears the techniques that work require some thoughtfulness. That’s why they don’t smack of insincerity. You have to be interested in the person, and most “slick” salespeople aren’t going to make the effort. The gifts that typically backfire appear to require less thought, as they have a more general appeal, or they are cheap tokens, or they have a transparent “ulterior” motive.
Keep in mind that I am employing the law of reciprocity to INDIVIDUAL relationships; not mass market. As per usual, I remind you that these are guidelines and not rules. There are always exceptions.
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In my last vlog, I talked about persuasive selling. In this blog, I want to mention what is NOT persuasive selling.
I just read a sales blog that dealt with the objection, “I’d like some time to think about it”. The blogger suggested that the salesperson use this technique:
“It’s a fact that as time progresses you only retain about 20% of what you learned; so as you take time to ‘think about it’ you are actually becoming less informed. I’m sure you don’t want to make a less-informed decision, right?” Then wait for the answer, and go for the close.
Is this clever? Maybe. But here is my problem with some of these types of “tricks” in sales. To the educated buyer, they sound slick and manipulative. Once your prospect feels he is being manipulated, you completely lose your power of persuasion.
A few more examples of techniques that turn off many prospects:
1) “John, I’m going to be in your area on Tuesday morning and Wednesday afternoon. Which works best for you?” (Nothing wrong with this when John has agreed he wants to meet with you, but if John never gave you that indication, he’s likely to recognize this false-choice cheesy sales technique.)
2) Ben Franklin Close: “Okay John, how about we fold this paper in half. Put the pros on one side and the cons on the other. Whichever is longer, that’s the decision we’ll go with today.”
3) This is a big one: OVERUSE of a prospect’s name. Research shows that you should use the name at the beginning and end. However, inserting the name often in your pitch actually works AGAINST you. Why? Because it sounds slick and salesy.
Prospects are more intuitive and educated than we may think. Once a prospect starts seeing you less as a resource and more as a salesperson, you are losing your ability to persuade.
Keep in mind that there are great lines and techniques to help you move towards a solution. Just remember, many of your prospects have read the same sales books as you have, so be careful that you don’t come off as an encyclopedia of slick sales techniques. Your worst fate is that they see you marching towards that close without respect to the way they make buying decisions.
Enjoy the tip and learn more about persuasion here:
Buy Audio CD or Instant Download on Persuasion
In a nut shell, research shows that people are more motivated by the fear of losing than by the prospect of gaining. In sales, we tend to sell value – as we should. Use this persuasive selling technique to motivate your prospect to invest in the value you offer. The secret is to show what they could LOSE by not purchasing your goods or service.
Here are some examples:
Copy machine sales:
Good: Our solution will save you time and money because our machine has a faster output and uses less resources like electricity and toner.
Better: Right now you are wasting electricity and toner, plus your employees are losing valuable time because your current machine is slower and less efficient. Our solution addresses that.
Selling a maintenance plan:
Good: With our plan you will have complete peace of mind knowing that we will keep you up-and-running and cover all problems associated with operations.
Better: You understand the lost time and employee frustration when operations are down. We ensure that you don’t lose that valuable labor and money associated with downtime and repairs.
Selling a hybrid automobile:
Good: This car will save you approximately 20% on your gas consumption. During the life of this car you will save hundreds of dollars.
Better: Right now you are burning through an estimated 20% more gasoline than you would with our hybrid. Investing in his car will put a stop to that.
Selling optical fiber:
Good: Our fiber is manufactured with tighter standards so it transmits data more efficiently.
Better: Our fiber is manufactured with tighter standards; so it has less loss.
Selling a generic brand:
Good: You can have the same high quality and save 12% off the name brand.
Better: You’re wasting 12% on every dollar you spend on the name brand because we provide the same quality for less.
Will you share with us an example for your market?
This selling nuance makes a notable difference in the buyer’s mind. Research proves it, but the underlying reason is debatable. My view is that most people would agree that while it is good to save money, it is almost a sin to waste it. Therefore, it is far more persuasive to appeal to your prospect’s fear of losing or wasting something.
As with all persuasive selling tips, these are only guidelines and not rules. Use each technique in context.
This simple experiment gives us basic insight into how people make decisions. If you selected the fifty-cent piece, you were attuned to visual and auditory signals. Watch the video again without the sound, and you will see various subtleties designed to call your attention to the half dollar. Play the video again, but don’t watch; just listen, and you will discover a multitude of verbal hints.
If you chose the dime, as stated in the video, you are likely very analytical. You are the kind of person that wants to figure out a trick or puzzle more than you desire to be entertained. You don’t just go for the ride, but you calculate while you are following direction. On a subconscious level, this calculation process causes you to avoid your general instinct to choose the greatest value. Your constant analysis also causes you to either miss or ignore the subtle gestures intended to lead you to the silver half.
Most visual learners will SEE heads rather than tails when they imagine any coin. Those who select tails usually think heads first; then switch to tails to create a challenge. Obviously this is not fool-proof. Thousands of variables are in-flux when making a decision. For example, people in the military will tend to naturally pick tails when thinking of a half-dollar. This may be due to the American Eagle on the back. Coin collectors are almost impossible to sway in any direction because their thinking is far more complex when it comes to coins.
It is noteworthy that highly visual people will almost always select the half, while auditory thinkers will mostly choose the half, and it’s simply random odds with those from the kinesthetic camp.
If you selected the quarter, as explained, you are likely analytical AND enjoy a challenge. You probably relish a good debate, and you have no problem sharing your opinion. There is no superlative that goes with the quarter. It isn’t the biggest or smallest, it’s neither first nor last, and it’s neither the most nor the least valuable. Whenever I KNOW someone wants to “catch” the presenter, I will do this effect, and they will almost always fall for the quarter. The beauty is that these people end up being the biggest fans of the power of persuasion, because they understand that there was nothing obvious in their selection.
As with all mental persuasion, it is a game of odds. The more you apply the principles, the greater are the odds that you will hit. However, the caveat is that this is not a science. There will always be the individual who hardly paid attention and just randomly grabbed a coin, or the person who always calls tails because she simply thinks it’s good luck. That’s what makes persuasion fun. The first magic trick was a visual persuasion, which should work for everyone, the second was a mental persuasion, which is far more challenging and rewarding for me.
This was published for your entertainment, but the laws of persuasion can be applied to real-world circumstances. Don’t you wonder why some people seem to get far more of their share of desired outcomes? They may be naturally gifted in the art of persuasion, or they may have learned it through study. You may call it charisma, leadership, confidence or just good luck. Any way you label it, I bet they are more persuasive than most.
What’s holding you back from applying these laws to get better outcomes for yourself? Take a 2hr audio journey that delves into the power of persuasion and how to use it to get results:
We who are interested in public speaking realize the importance of non-verbal communication. We study what the audience perceives about our movement, posture, gestures and facial expressions. While it can take years to understand the nuances of body language, here is something you can learn in one minute:
In the overwhelming majority of cases, touching one’s face transmits a negative signal to the audience. Depending on the nature of the touch, it could give the impression that you are lying, insecure, nervous, agitated, or impatient. Is this fair? Absolutely not. You may simply have an itch. It is reality, however, that face-touching generally gives a negative impression.
The one minute lesson: Avoid touching your face when public speaking.
Now that you’re aware, just watch how many people do it. Like umming and ahhhing, it is a challenge to stop. Just being aware will give you that edge to curb the habit and project more confidence. This is especially important for those who network through BNI and chamber events. If people perceive you as lacking confidence, many will erroneously assume that you are unsure of your product and service. Don’t give them that opportunity!
First, watch the video above: an eight-minute distillation of Stephen Melanson’s vast knowledge of verbal branding. Stephen is the author of the seminal book: Jaw BrandingTM
The main points to remember:
1) You have five seconds to pique interest 2) Two methods to do so: a) ambiguity b) differentiation
3) Pause after your five-second intro, and wait for a question
4) Avoid selling on category
5) Less is better – people only remember one or two things you said
6) When asked about your category, respond: “Of course we do that, but what makes us different and better is . . .”
Some of Stephen’s questions to help you discover your point of differentiation:
What negative assumptions exist in the marketplace about what you do?
You are the only one who . . .
What happens to clients who use your services/goods?
If you started the business over, you would . . .
What’s the one thing people should remember about you?
What would be a risky message?
What problems do you solve?
What are you most passionate about?
How are you recreating the market?
Where is there a gap in the market?
I commit to “X”; nobody else will.
What’s the personality of your organization?
What is working well now?
Want more?
FREE 48-page section of Stephen Melanson’s book Jaw BrandingTM.
I remember speaking at one of my client’s kick off meetings, and on his Power Point Presentation he had this quote:
If you can’t get in front of the decision maker YOU SUCK!
I remember thinking that was harsh. Being an expert in persuasion, I usually use a much softer approach than most traditional sales people. It usually serves me very well. BUT, in this instance, I learned a valuable lesson . . .
When it comes to the power of persuasion the question may be honey vs. vinegar, but the answer may be honey THEN vinegar.
Win/win is always the goal, but what to do when soft technique and win/win strategies don’t work? Sometimes simply walking away is the best option, and other times you may wish to pursue more aggressive measures. In the end, much of persuasion is based on the fact that people respond to incentives. Most people happily respond to positive incentives, but there is a “darker” side to persuasion that may be the final option for certain people: negative consequences that impact them directly.
Here is an example: My wife and I enjoyed a weekend in Boston. Before we left, I called the hotel and asked for information regarding parking. I spoke to Josh, who said parking was an extra $30. I asked, when I could arrive and whether I could leave my car there after check out. He replied “arrive anytime in the morning and after checkout you can leave your car there into the evening at at no extra charge”.
I always take notes when getting information over the phone; so I recorded the time, date, name and number.
Upon checkout, the parking fee was $45, plus I had to leave the garage within an hour or I would be charged and additional $15. I explained the details of my call to the manager. She said Josh was mistaken, and she apologized. They outsource that service and she would check into it. But she still wanted to charge me the the extra $30 because those fees were associated with a different company that handles their parking.
After the softer and gentler persuasion techniques failed to get the desired results, I simply acknowledged that her hands were tied in this situation and that I would pay the difference, but I wanted the name and STREET mailing address of the Director of Customer Relations, the CEO, and the Chairman of the Board. I explained that I needed the street address so I could mail my correspondence certified return receipt. I also asked for her card.
I was very NICE to her, agreeing that she was bound by the policy; which could only be addressed by the hotel’s executives. She said that she would get the names, but returned with a full refund and parking voucher.
What happened? From her perspective, the work associated with making me happy was not worth it. But then, the hassle of dealing with three letters to her executives became larger than the effort to make me happy. She responded to incentive.
The key here, was that I never backed her into a corner. I never made it a competition or yelling match. I simply provided and incentive and I focused on the policy as the issue. It was never personal.
Most situations are easily solved with positive incentives, but on occasion it becomes necessary to use negative ones. Just remember, avoid arguing or blaming the individual, even if it is his/her fault. Instead focus on the issue. This way, when they see the negative consequences of their actions, they don’t feel embarrassed to back out.
In my 
We who are interested in public speaking realize the importance of non-verbal communication. We study what the audience perceives about our movement, posture, gestures and facial expressions. While it can take years to understand the nuances of body language, here is something you can learn in one minute:
When it comes to the power of persuasion the question may be 
Here is a great blog about the power of 