The Power of Persuation

Captains Chart Courses for Their Reasons, Not Yours

Remember, when you work for someone else, you work for their goals not yours.

Some people are lucky enough to hook their boats together when they have a similar course in mind. For many people who hate their jobs, it is because they hooked up to a boat that is pulling them where they don’t want to go.

Some bosses push and others pull. Pushers tell you what to do and when to do it. Most people resent being told what to do. Pushers can build a tight organization, but they won't have happy people. Employees who work for them, work reluctantly.

Bosses who pull their team together do it by selling their goals. They convince their employees that what they're doing is important. They lead by example.

It is strange, but most people do not know how to sell their goals to others. Common methods of motivation include criticizing, complaining, condemning, advising, demanding, manipulating, arguing, defending, and threatening. None of these things do anything more than alienate others.

Even a logical argument may not be effective, because many people make their decisions based on their gut and not on their head.

People are all different and what motivates one will fail was another. You’ve probably all heard of the hierarchy of needs. If you're being threatened, nothing but survival will motivate you. Many people in this world scratch for enough to eat and drink. Their life depends on finding food and water. You can't talk to them about conserving wildlife before they have adequate food and shelter.

Persuasion requires agreement, and you cannot force an agreement. As a sales person, I was taught to ask leading questions. If I got 20 “Yes” answers during the presentation, I knew I was going to close the sale. When you try to persuade the first step is to get agreement on the desired outcome. The only way to be sure their job is on track as to clearly define the standards and guidelines for the successful job. Next you have to make sure that your boat is well outfitted. If you're in the middle of the river and you don't have a oar, you're going to be in trouble. Make sure the rewards and consequences are clear and give them time to practice. Once they have mastered the work, get out of the way and let them do their job.

How can you get someone to agree with you? Ask questions. Our founding fathers asked, “What do you think of taxes without representation? What happens when the king's soldiers take over your home? How will you react when the king takes away your weapons?

In sales, we learned to ask open ended question. An open-ended question cannot be answered yes or no. An open-ended question leads to a conversation. An open ended question usually begins with who, what, when, where, why or how. The close comes when you asked a confirming question. The salesperson will ask, “We have compared the Perfect vacuum cleaner with your vac, and you've seen how much more dirt the Perfect pulls. We know you want to clean house, don't you agree that the Perfect is far better than anything you've ever seen?”

The confirming question is a powerful close.

When you want to persuade you first have to build trust. Then you have to gain their attention. You're never going to be able to make a sale during the Super Bowl. Use questions to understand what people want and desire. Confirm, clarify and agree upon a desired outcome. If you try to sell the world's fastest speed boat to someone who wants to sail around the world, you will not make the sale. Look for areas of agreement. The salesperson had to convince his clients that their vacuum was junk before he had any chance of closing the sale.

Don't tell people what they all ready know. I taught a course in video production to elementary school kids. I assumed they had had no experience, but I quickly learned that they were producing a major documentary for their school and a few of them even had video editing equipment at home. I had to supplement what they already knew..

Don't be afraid to close more than once. Advertisers repeat their message over and over for a very good reason. People generally have to be exposed to the sales pitch at least five times before they'll take action. Once you've achieved an agreement, be sure to follow up. Why do you think your local grocery store sends you all those ads for special prices?

People are always complaining that the river is unfair, but that's simply not true. The river doesn't even know you're there. Stop complaining about the river and learn to steer your course to take advantage of the current.