The very essence of a great communicator!

I've been waiting for that knock at the door. You know...the knock of the friendly election canvasser anxious to see who I'm voting for in the general election. Funnily enough the only person who has knocked so far has been the chap from some energy company wanting me to change supplier. I thought at the time well you're either very brave or a bit daft...if there's ever a time when you won't be welcome on the doorstep it's right now.

There's an awful lot been said and written about Direct or "Door-to-Door" Salesmen...and a lot of it was awful! The utilities industry in particular has come in for a lot of attention with consumer groups, suppliers, Regulators and journalists having plenty to say about questionable door-step practices. Society in general has been quick to knock the door knockers!
I know there are some rascals out there....I've met a few of them. But having spent several years working in this industry I've gained a tremendous respect for what door step selling can teach you...and a huge regard for those that do it well. 
Because let's face it, it's tough! We all make it so because we don't like strangers knocking on our door. Some very natural instincts are triggered off as we open it. Defensive, protective, aggressive instincts that get us thinking: Who are you? What do you want? What right have you to disturb me? What are you doing in my space? How quickly can I get rid of you?
...and all of this before the poor bloke (they're mostly guys) has had a chance to open his mouth!.
Handling that situation successfully and ethically requires skilled application of those familiar  universal persuasion skills:
- Body language that instantly reassures and relaxes...
- Facial expression and voice tone that creates rapport...
- Clarity and brevity that immediately gains attention and interest...
- Attentive questioning and listening that quickly confirms a need...
- Conversational pacing and leading that reasssuringly satisfies a need.
Plus that other universal persuasion quality - positive attitude and the ability to reframe. The attitude which says "This is good...I can talk to 10 prospects just by knocking on 100 doors!. Whilst the "losers" will only ever complain about the rejection.
Door to Door selling is an exceptional "learning academy" instilling habits that transfer to any persuasion role. You don't prevaricate through fear of failure...you just get on with it, again and again because success is waiting. You learn from the continuous feedback and strive to improve again and again... and you become exceptionally good at it!   Ultimately you "graduate" as the very essence of a great communicator:

• clear and concise with your words...
• engaging and compelling with your body language. ...
• driven by unshakeable self-belief! 

So bring it on you election canvassers. Let's see your doorstep persuasion skills.
Actually thinking back to my friend the Utility Salesman. I've changed my mind. This is probably a time when people will be glad it is you knocking on their door!

What's in a name?

Well it's official. The election has been called for May 6th! And we got all the immediate images and sound bites thanks to morning television.

Gordon and his cabinet were talking to us outside no 10! Young Nick Clegg and Uncle Vince had a few reassuring words to say from somewhere or other. David "Dave" Cameron managed to find a soap box along the embankment....still pink-faced after the morning-jog. We saw that too... thanks to a well choreographed  photocall outside his home.  Oh and what's his name?....Alex Salmon was telling us that he would be holding the balance of power come May 6th

If that other old campaigner Aristotle had been anchoring the news broadcasts this morning he might have reflected on all the recent troubles of MP's expenses etc., and offered the advice "keep in mind Ethos, Logos and Pathos!"

• The ethics, integrity and trustworthiness of the orator.
• The logic of their argument.
• The compelling benefits of that argument.

And probably with a rider....that as far as political campaigners go Ethos, and getting across the right message about yourself is crucial.
Something that the New York Times picked up on in their March 22nd edition under a headline "Tories Put Posh Foot in Mouth!" They reported the story of Sir Nicholas Winterton and his preference for first class rail travel, and how in a radio interview he spoke of "the ghastliness of people in standard-class trains!"
The other Tory toff story they liked was about Annunziata Rees-Mogg and the suggestion from "Dave" that she might campaign as Nancy Mogg. She declined as it happens but the magnificently named Richard Grosvenor Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax was happily caste down to a humble “Richard Drax” on campaign posters.
This "de-toffing" of names may have confused New York Times readers a bit.  After all, Americans seem  quite partial to double or even treble-barrell names...apparently seeing them as an indicator of status or reputation. And clearly a good reputation can be everything when you are in politics.....or business.
And if you are in the business of persuading others, either from a presentation lectern or in a board room pitch, you can be sure that interested parties are regularly "Googling" your name...double-barrell or not? So what kind of reputation will they find? Better make sure that it is the right one!
Regarding the name thing. Personally speaking...I don't think it matters if your name is Brown or Howard-Spink!

Practice makes perfect

Oh my! We're at it again. The sales guys on Linkedin have got into another discussion on selling technique...this time it's the #1 reason why salespeople can't close. And it's getting very competitive!!! 

And so it should be. Sales people need to be competitive. Not because they have to be pushy and assertive but because selling is a performance event. In athletics, tennis or boxing, success comes through the application of technique, stamina and correct attitude...and only the top few who train and compete hardest achieve real success.  So it is with selling.  Well that's my view...but I don't think I'm alone.
Very similar conclusions are offered in a new article from  the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal. Looking at the issues of success and exceptional performance amongst entrepreneurs, they determined that these are  not necessarily linked directly to talent, experience, or luck. They say it is about "sustained, intense, and deliberate practice in a particular area of expertise, in order to improve performance and cognitive thinking levels."
The authors show that across many fields of expertise most people work only "hard enough" to achieve a level of performance that is deemed "acceptable" by themselves and others. Successful entrepreneurs of course want to perform above the "acceptable" and many of the most successful are seen to have previously excelled in another field of performance such as sport, art, music and science.  It seems that these experiences condition minds "to expect to have to work long and hard, and to delay gratification in pursuit of a more long term goal."  Such high performers instictively parallel the sustained intense effort associated with their sporting or musical excellence as being the qualities necessary in building a successful business. They become resourceful under pressure and acquire what the authors call mature intuition.

Highlighting what they call the principle of deliberate practice, the authors claim that through this principle most anyone can rise to true excellence.  Most of us will connect with that in some way of other. Expressions like "practice makes perfect" and golfer Arnold Palmer's famous quip "The more I practice the luckier I become!" occur to mind.

Thinking back to my earlier years in sale management it was recognised that ex-servicemen would make excellent sales recruits. They were certain to quickly respond to training and always semed to develop into exceptional salespeople.  This recent research suggests that their background of intensive situation-focused training is a very probable explanation.

Now this may seem like I'm stretching the point a bit! But I have aways argued that the intensely repetitive training I received on my introduction to selling contributed much to my success in later years.

I might just lob that suggestion into the Linkedin Discussion Group and see if anyone bites!!

What motivates people

What really motivates people?
A  former Sales Director boss of mine would answer that question by saying "my mother in law knows if I'm doing well, by the car that's parked on my drive." 

  His answer corresponds well with the findings of a recent study by researchers at the University of Warwick and Cardiff University. Looking at the motivational effect of income, they found that satisfaction was much more strongly related to the ranked position of the person's income compared to their demographic peers. Put simply money only makes people happier if it improves their social rank. Something like keeping up with the Joneses!
"Are salespeople motivated to sell more by commission and bonus?" is a question that I have encountered countless times over the years. Interestingly, the people who say yes tend not to be in sales or working for performance-geared income.
Personally I'm from the Maslow Hiearchy of Needs School and believe that money is no more than an enabling currency for the things that influence and persuade us. Maslow's theory demonstrates that social acceptance followed by recognition are the powerful motivators for getting us to achieve more than is basic and essential. Something that I have observed working with thousands of people over the years. It explains the findings in the Warwick Study and it explains Keith's need to impress his mother in law. It also explains why I was chuffed to bits when The Golden Strip Greenville South Carolina Branch of Toastmasters recognised me and reproduced one of my articles in their newsletter!!
To my mind there is also an issue in reverse here. Because it also tells us that price is never the real reason for losing out on a sale.

We simply failed to identify the "Maslow Motivators" that underpinned our prospect's buying criteria and match them with the respective values of our proposal.
So if you've been losing out too much on price (you think) then read up on your Maslow, sharpen up on your rapport building and questioning skills... and watch how things improve.
Then you can get that better car and impress your mother-in-law!!

For more tips and advice on improving your persuasiveness please visit us at http://www.persuadability.co.uk/

Persuasive language

I can't claim to be a fan of Top Gear. It's probably because I work with petrol heads who "rev on" relentlessly about the programme, and anything they like I'm inclined not to like....Just because! So I don't watch Jeremy Clarkson on the box. But reading his books and articles is something else.

 To my mind they are a masterclass in storytelling and how to use metaphors to powerfully communicate your meaning. Consider these gems:

"The air conditioning in a Lambo used to be an asthmatic sitting in the dashboard blowing at you through a straw."
Illustrating the lack of power of a Boxster: "It couldn't pull a greased stick out of a pig's bottom"
"Much more of a hoot to drive than you might imagine. Think of it if you like, as a librarian with a G-string under her tweed pants. I do, and it helps."
Apart from being very funny what metaphors do so very cleverly is to occupy your thinking with an image or a story. The funnier or more absurb the story the more you are engrossed by it. Which is the very reason why metaphors are such a powerful way of getting your ideas across. Of persuading people. Here is why...
When you try to make a point....or to sell an idea, whoever is on the receiving end has an immediate reaction. They think about it! More than that.... they think very deeply about it. Not just consciously but unconsciously too! 
They run it by their belief system to see how they feel about it. And they get this feeling...call it intuition. And no surprise! That is often a negative intuition and they reject your idea!
Metaphors have this very useful tendancy to occupy and divert thought away from that questioning belief system. Leading it into the subconscious...and here things are a lot more relaxed. Ideas are considered in a much more creative and imaginative way.

Metaphors are just one example of persuasive language. A way of speaking that takes account of how words communicate at different levels of consciousness. Some people call it hypnotic language...and perhaps you want to emulate Derren Brown's Mind Control?  Matching Jeremy Clarkson's mastery of metaphor would be a pretty good aim too! But certainly if you are looking to improve your persuasiveness then take a close look at persuasive language.   

Visit http://www.persuadability.co.uk/ for more tips and articles on persuasion and public speaking.

Persuasive language patterns through the years!!

"Interest... Quality... Sample... Code... Merchandise the Advertising... Sell the Display... Quote the return...  Describe the shipper... Suggest the order!"
Thus went the Kraft 9 point selling pattern that as new sales recruits we were taught back in 1972. It was the company way for selling into the trade great brands like Dairylea, Philadelphia and Cracker Barrell. And it worked a treat when persuading store managers to buy in the range, to gives us prime facings and stock cover in the dairy cabinet, and to agree the extra space and merchandising support we wanted during promotional activity.
We didn't question it a lot at the time because it worked. It worked because it assembled the sales presentation into a logical and compelling sequence which by itself was persuasive. And because we knew it worked it "empowered" us to chat the presentation through in a conversational and presupposing manner that seemed destined to gain agreement.

Later on as Sales Training Manager I would teach the 9 Point Pattern to new sales people. It was easy because the pattern was "wired in." I could demonstrate any sales pitch at will. Yes! OK! I was a show off!
Today's recollection of why the selling pattern worked is of course made with retrospective understanding. Back then I wouldn't have been talking about "conversational hypnosis" or "persuasive language patterns" or "sleight of mouth!" NLP hadn't arrived. It would be a few decades before I would be trained in it and start to apply the techniques in persuasion and presentation training..
Persuasion patterns feature strongly in presentation training. We discuss how they support the presenter and "hypnotize" the audience. I talk about the Kraft 9 Point Pattern as an example of one that has endured in my subconscious for 40 years. With just a small amount of prompting I happily demonstrate it. Usually to spontaneous applause. Yes...I'm still showing off!!

Bob Howard-Spink is a partner in Persuadability. For tips and advice on adding compelling words and images to your messages visit us at http://persuadability.co.uk/

Winning business - Getting the Rapport right!

I think all of us involved in business and management recognise that rapport is an essential part of the persuasion process. Although over the years I have come across lots of different interpretations of what rapport is. From younger salespeople who saw "getting on well with the customer" as a reason never to push for more business or higher prices. To the "old sweats" who asked for bigger entertainment budgets each year to keep their favourite customers happy. And who legitamized their selling strategy with the old maxim "people buy from people they like!"

They would be very interested in a recent study carried out at Ohio State University and summarised in  escience news.  This concludes amongst other things that buying a prospective client a nice lunch could backfire on you. It seems that there are many amongst us who if predisposed not to trust somebody will become even less trusting after attempts to jolly us along!
Of course the expression "people buy from people they like" was always a misrepresentation. Yes we are unlikely to buy from somebody we dislike! But like is not meant to be taken in the context of friendship...but in likemindedness.
People are more likely to buy from people who are like them. In other words people who look at things in the same kind of way. Who seem to share similar values. Who go about making choices in much the same manner and for similar reasons. Who genuinely seem interested in how we think and feel. Who even seem to relax and chat in the same kind of way.
That is true rapport. The kind of subtle rapport and likemindedness that prompts the instinctive belief  "if you think it's right...then I do too!"
So sharpen up your body language, listening and questioning skills, and save the entertainment budget for a thank-you lunch once you're doing the business.

Bob Howard-Spink is a partner in Persuadability. For tips and advice on how to present your business messages more persuasively visit us at http://www.persuadability.co.uk/