Why is persuasion the world’s most researched skill? That’s easy—as history shows, it’s the world’s most important skill!

Take a trip back to the Fifth Century B.C., when Athenians were experimenting with a new form of government. The Athenians quickly discovered that to succeed in a democracy, they had to be persuasive. Leaders used persuasion (then called rhetoric) to gain agreement and win support. Everyday citizens used persuasion before a new legal body—the jury.

Recognizing its importance, Athenian scholars, including Plato and Aristotle, began to study the powerful process of persuasion. Circa 435 B.C., they defined three elements of the process of persuasion: Logos, the appeal to logic, reason, and facts; Pathos, the appeal to emotions; and Ethos, the appeal of the speaker’s character and credibility. These scholars found that one or more of these appeals characterize any instance of persuasion.

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Several large surveys show that most people believe a logical discussion, with good data and the right logical supporting facts, is the best way to persuade. Often, they break the persuasion process down to three main steps:

1. Present your proposition clearly, with conviction.
2. Present your supporting data, with the right facts, logic and information.
3. Structure your "deals" and move on to closure.

But according to Dr. Jay Conger, Director of the Leadership Institute at the University of Southern California Business School, "Following this process is one surefire way to fail at persuasion."

Why?

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Want outstanding success in business and in life?  You’ll achieve your goals when you can influence others to agree with you and act on your requests.  Any requests. Successful people get things done with and through others.  They get decisions and results with one skill:  the power of persuasion.  Persuaders rule.  They always have, they always will.  They have enormous power. They accomplish their wildest dreams for wealth, power and influence.  Your challenge:  Become a great persuader.

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You can have anything you want, yes, anything! All you have to do is to persuade someone to decide to do what you want. The most successful people in the world are those who can get things done with and through others. By applying new scientific breakthroughs, it’s now quick and easy to get “Yes!” decisions and actions.

Before persuading others to say “Yes!” let’s take a quick look at our own decision process. Only when we understand how the brain makes decisions can we successfully influence others’ decisions

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History shows that persuasion skills are critical for everyone who wants to succeed—even for the President of the United States. In his book Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents, Richard E. Neustadt states, "There is a widely held belief in the United States that a reasonable President would need no power other than the logic of his argument." That belief is naive, inaccurate.

Dwight D. Eisenhower was one President who could have benefited from better persuasion skills. As a career army officer, he expected people to do as he said—he didn’t need to know how to persuade. But when he reached the Oval Office, things were different. And because he was not a persuader, he amassed a poor record of getting things done.

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Selling is easy—partner with your client, find a need and fill it, right? Sure, this is the antiquated, long standing formula for success in today’s sales arena—but it’s incomplete. The truth is, to sell effectively, we must get clients to make a decision to act—now!

So how do we do that? Simply put, there are three approaches we can use:

• We can force them.
• We can negotiate.
• Or we can persuade.

But which is best?

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Most people think a great idea, a great product coupled with a well reasoned logical presentation will produce the reaction they want. Nothing could be further from the truth!

The world’s most creative and important products, inventions, and solutions were nothing more than ideas until someone persuaded someone else to do something. Great persuaders bring ideas to life. Persuaders make things happen.

The greatest historical achievements ever created are the results of persuasion. The empire builders, the Caesars and Napoleons, won by persuading others to follow. Cities and civilizations were built with persuasion. Columbus persuaded Queen Isabella that he could reach the East, India, by sailing west; then persuaded her to finance his ships. Slave Frederick Douglass wrote, "If I can persuade, I can move the universe." He persuaded Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. JFK persuaded Congress and the American public to support and fund a plan to put an American on the moon.

But what happens when people can’t persuade?

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Is your sales mantra “find a need and fill it?” Is your training, and sales operation built around the Consultative Needs/Benefit approach? That’s a very limiting One Trick Pony!

One trick may be all a pony needs, but why severely limit sales success with just a single approach? Needs/Benefit selling activates only a small part of just one of the 7 internal triggers buyers depend upon to make a buying decision.

Play it!
One-Trick_Pony.mp3
One Trick Pony by Paul Simon

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