Harnessing the Principles of Persuasion: Liking (Part 1)

Prior to writing his groundbreaking book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, the author, Robert Cialdini went undercover to understand why people say “yes”, and what techniques can increase compliance (getting to yes) with others.

Liking means people like (and buy from) those who like them.

A door-to-door salesman came to my house, offering to switch my energy (Electricity and Gas) suppliers for discounted rates.

He was in a hurry and I sensed he was an arrogant little jerk.

He showed no interest towards me.

If he could make my energy bills free, I would still say no. I wanted nothing to do with him.

In sales, empathy is one of our best traits.

We want to be understood before we trust others.

When you like your customers, they will feel it.

Over the years I have adopted my customers’ interests.

I want to make their lives better. They are awesome.

How Bob the Builder Saved My Bacon

I sometimes exhibit a fatal flaw when giving sales presentations.

At times when my confidence is less than 100%, my self conscious reaches out and tries to sabotage things.

My voice feels tight and I need to cough to clear the stomach acid building up.

For a long time I did not know what to do.

When the penny dropped, I could do something.

Firstly a sip of water would settle my upset tummy.

Secondly following the example of Bob the Builder’s Can we fix it? (Question). Have I done this rodeo before? Hell yes! Then Paul you can do this! (Advice came from Daniel Pink’s book, To Sell is Human).

Now I can better manage my anxiety and symptoms. Bob the Builder was right. We can fix this!

Story Arcs in Sales

Storytelling is everything in sales.

No story, no sales.

You light the path for your customers to solve their problems.

This blog by IDEO-U is a good explanation of Story Arcs: https://www.ideou.com/blogs/inspiration/how-to-choose-a-story-arc-for-your-presentation

[BTW I’m a big fan of IDEO. As a design agency they helped engineer the first computer mouse for Steve Job’s Apple in 1984. One of the requirements was that it needed to roll smoothly on Job’s jeans!]

My favourite Story Arcs in selling are:

1. In Media Res (bit like a Pulp Fiction movie)

2. The Hero’s Journey

In Media Res captures the audience quickly if designed well. I was on a 4WD bus from the pit to the mine camp, with two burly miners on either side of me. They were angry and sharing some very colourful language…

Hero’s Journey is classic. And most people like to listen to classic.

The Secret Proposal Structure

I want to share with you a secret.

Not “The Secret”.

But a tool that has enhanced my sales for the past 15 years.

It was introduced in first MBA class (Business Communication).

The secret is still out there. But you need to try it to comprehend its value.

This six-step pattern will improve your communication with anyone. I wrote the letter example.

You can connect with someone and bring them across, like a bridge to your side or perspective.

What you are offering is not free. Everything has a price.

If you can follow the pattern, you will be an influential person.

It could be applied to anything. A slide deck. A 200-page proposal, or a 30-second YouTube advertisement.

The options are endless.

Try it. Prove me wrong.

No Money… No Honey

She was confused about the company’s response to the proposal.

My friend was familiar with the company and had earlier provided smaller work packages for it.

The buyer expressed strong interest at the start. But they could not yet commit to a date. It was now slipping over three months.

When selling to a company, there are a lot of moving influences to track.

Miller Herman’s explains buyer influences through these terms:

• UBI: User Buyer Influence

• TBI: Technical Buyer Influence

• EBI: Economic Buyer Influence

• Coach

The important roles are Coach and EBI.

The coach unlocks the mystery of the buyer’s decision making.

The EBI is different in every company. Not necessarily the most senior person.

They pull the economic strings.

EBI’s can be hidden. Some people think they are EBI’s but they are only UBI’s or TBI’s.

Now getting back to my friend. She was confused about the mixed signals.

But she discovered one valuable perspective. When a buyer says yes to a small business, they should be ready to make a deposit. It should be in the non-trivial range of 50%.

It shows the small business operator they are committed.

You can then schedule your delivery plans.

Without a deposit opportunity is flapping in the breeze.

Another way of putting it: no money… no honey.

Your daily checklist will save your bacon

The beauty of being in sales is having the freedom to schedule and run your day.

Your manager has no idea of what you are doing, and neither does anyone else. So long as you are reaching your targets, they leave you alone.

It’s an awesome career if you think about it.

There will still be resentment from others who think you are overpaid. But having a sales target would be their worst nightmare.

Your big sales opportunities move along small hinges. I have enjoyed managing a detailed daily checklist to ensure I am focussed and get the results I need.

It gives me a thrill to mark each completed activity with a highlighter!

You need to do a lot of thinking and the checklist is a good way to manage that process.

Know in your mind where each of your top opportunities are. Do not make assumptions. Stay close to the customer until the deal is done. I love it.

Apart from being a dad, its the best job in the world!

Returning to the buyer that ghosted you

I decided to go back to a buyer who ghosted me receiving my proposal.

He did not seem the type to behave this way. But some people are uncomfortable about being open about how they really think.

I let it go for a couple of months. And this week I sent a brief email, thanking him for the opportunity and to ask for feedback.

Any response would be a positive.

And surprise surprise!

He immediately wrote back and said the decision was deferred. ¸This has now given me a window of opportunity to visit him next week and reestablish the relationship.

I still don’t know why he ghosted me, but it is good to be speaking with him again. When you have contact with the customer, you can have influence.

Storytelling Basics

One of the biggest mistakes companies make is communicating how good they are.

This can be obvious through their website and LinkedIn profile.

• We are so good.

• We are an awesome place to work.

• We are the best in our category.

• We know what you want.

• You need us!

It’s a load of crap.

They fail to connect with their audience.

Their customer is the hero.

Billion dollar companies like Apple get it.

https://youtu.be/5sMBhDv4sik

It is always about the customers.

Their hopes and dreams.

What is Sense Making in Sales?

In Solution Selling, when the customer has a problem, they would allow a supplier understand the situation and then prepare a “solution”.

Solution Selling was useful for the seller when they had greater insights than the buyer. It usually placed them with a strong position of power influence. We call this Information Asymmetry.

But thanks to the Internet, this has now changed. Buyers can solve their own problem through research. By the time they meet with a seller, their perspective has been quite fixed. According to Gartner’s 2017 Digital B2B Study, the buyer will complete 62% of their time learning and researching in comparison to the time they spend with the supplier.

It becomes very challenging to then come up with a way that effectively helps to influence the sale.

Enter Sense Making Sales by Gartner.

Sense Making “is the process of creating meaning from information, events, and experiences. It involves identifying patterns, interpreting data, and understanding the implications of various pieces of information. Gartner's sense-making framework helps organizations make better decisions, understand trends, and develop strategies based on a deeper understanding of the information at hand”.

“Key aspects of Gartner's sense-making framework include:

• Data Collection: Gathering relevant data and information from various sources.

• Data Analysis: Identifying patterns, trends, and relationships within the collected data.

• Contextualization: Understanding the broader context in which the data exists.

• Interpretation: Drawing insights and conclusions from the analyzed data.

• Implications: Determining the potential consequences and future impact of the insights gained.

• Actionable Insights: Using the insights to inform decision-making and strategy”.

The bottom line is that buyers are confused with all the “good information” provided by suppliers.

The more they research, the more they get confused.

Sense Making helps the buyer make sense of all the information and builds the confidence to make the right decision.

The longer I stay in a sales role, the easier it is to naturally become a Sense Maker in sales. You have a strong understanding of their challenges and can give them insights that really helps. Done in the right way it can be very effective.

Maximising our most precious resource

Early in my career I worked hard. Phone calls were made, emails sent and meetings conducted. But all the while, I was being ineffective with my time.

I work less intensely now, but I am more effective in what I do because I priorities my most important activities first.

Every day I write down a list of priorities . As I complete those tasks I get a highlighter and mark them completed. It is satisfying at the end of the day to have almost all my all activities marked up.

It is wonderful to be in sales and to have so much control over my time.

Many people are aware of the Franklin Covey Time Management Matrix. We can use it to maximise our most precious resource.