Persuasion strategies
Fundamentally, our ability to successfully manage change and achieve results in business is dependent upon our ability to influence people. We can all benefit from learning to influence, persuade, negotiate, train and sell to others in a variety of contexts from direct selling to clients to coaching, team building, appraising, motivating and leading.
It is also true to say that many of us in business do not see ourselves as natural persuaders selling concepts, ideas, and even ourselves. Perhaps we think we do not have these gifts, lacking the eloquence, the quick wit and rapid fire repartee, associated with the traditional silver tongued sales stars. Those traits anyway are associated with the short-term quick win-lose mentality. Be confident in knowing that influencing skills associated with the ‘consultative model’ – developing ‘win-win’ solutions can be learned and developed very quickly, and applied in a variety of contexts.
Interpersonal competence – valued emotional intelligence
Most of us would not achieve what we do without applying these skills. Persuading others is a core competence for everyone who works in business. It matters not whether we work in finance, marketing, consulting, training, IT, HR, manufacturing or any other specialist role such as quality, risk, audit or governance, what we all have in common is the need to persuade and influence others. Even those who occupy a purely technical role have to emerge at some stage and win over the hearts and minds of their colleagues, their team and those to whom they report. Being able to influence others is a part of emotional
intelligence that is coming to be valued highly in most organisations.
It is obvious that most of us in business achieve results through interacting with others. Applying our social skills enables us to win others over to our viewpoint. If we want to become more effective in whatever we do, we can learn a great deal by looking at the art and science of persuasion and this is equally applicable to a variety of contexts, from coaching to consulting.
Building a repertoire of persuasion strategies is vital
The development of our ability to influence others is a core competence for us all and many of us share the common ambition of improving our interpersonal skills. When exposed to superior ‘persuasion paradigms’ and influencing skills, we value them and see the benefits that accrue to our personal effectiveness and we experience the benefits that evolve from exposure to new tools and techniques: • Controlling the flow of conversation and constantly reviewing the focus and the potential outcomes through conversational change techniques.
• Identifying and dealing with objections prior to, and during, negotiations, before they arise.
• ‘Inoculate’ our proposals from criticism, and safeguard our position by foreseeing potential objections and counter arguments from others.
• Build and support ‘win-win’ solutions when all parties share in the success of the partnership in achieving the positive outcome.
• When presenting to large or small group reviewing the range of ‘persuasion or
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influence strategies’ enables one to better read the audience and anticipate their reactions. By understanding the typical objections that arise, it is possible to shape presentations to appeal to all parties.
• Anticipate ‘counter arguments’ to any
presentation, whether it be ‘one on one’ or to a team, you should always be prepared to deal with dissent as much as support of your case. • Shaping delicate discussions and develop creative options for all parties.
• Having confidence to sell services and oneself.
The beliefs and behaviours of effective persuaders
I will refer later to a five stage persuasion process which encapsulates effective and ethical influence. Before that, it is imperative to review the attitudes, beliefs and behaviours that are the foundation of great influencers and persuaders.
1. Respect your client’s model of the world Our client, customer, business partner or associate has their own unique model of the world, which may not be the same view of the world as ours. We all have our own unique ID and make-up of who we are, and what is important to us. With this in mind we use and apply various ‘behavioural models’ to understand what makes other people tick.
Rapport building Over the last few years, various strategies and techniques have been perfected to aid the reading of others’ preferences. Principally, we have focused on how they make decisions. Using these models helps gain rapport with clients, and it’s
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