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1. Winning Persuasion Tactics for Business Management
Persuasion is one of the key communication techniques used in businesses around the world. It's often employed to motivate others to come to an agreement or accomplish goals. Regardless of how big or small the issue, effective persuasion comes down to three things: knowing what you are talking about, knowing your audience, and being aware of subtle persuasion techniques.
1.1 Know Your Subject Matter
Exercising credibility is one of the best ways to persuade an audience. In other words, know your subject matter. Know more about the topic than do your objects of persuasion. Know the good, the bad, and the ugly. Know all sides and know how to use them in order to achieve your desired ends.
Sometimes people think that in order to persuade someone to do something, they need to make an attractive offer. Attractiveness helps, but what helps more is to make understandable and relatable statements. If a person can understand the complete nature of a product, system, or decision and how it relates to them, they are more likely to be persuaded.
Tim and Janet wanted to sell their commercial property. After a year on the market, the building did not sell. However, there was a small business interested in leasing it. For the past year, they had highlighted only the positive aspects of the space to potential buyers, believing that such marketing tactics would make it sell quickly. Now that they were looking at renting the place out, they knew they had to be completely up front and honest about the whole package. If certain issues weren't fully disclosed and something went wrong later, there would be problems.
In addition to describing the property's positive traits, Tim also told the potential renters about its problems. Janet quietly kicked him under the table, fearing that the problems would scare the renters away.
The renters not only signed the lease, but also couldn't wait to move in. Knowing everything about the building made them feel comfortable. Moreover, they felt they could trust Tim and Janet.
1.2 Know Your Audience
If you are trying to persuade someone in business, it's not only important to understand the topic for persuasion, it's also important to know who you are persuading. Everyone responds to various communication styles differently. For example, some people may respond to aggressive persuasion tactics and others may shut down when approached in such a direct manner.
The best way to learn more about your counterpart is to ask questions. If possible, ask about your subjects' likes and dislikes. Find out where they are from and a bit about their family life. Ask about their careers and favorite hobbies. Ask them about their goals and future ambitions. Get to know them well.
Brenda was in the business of persuading. As a salesperson, she had to persuade people to buy her products. She quickly realized that emphasizing the features and benefits of a product worked, though not with everyone.
She soon learned about question-based selling and began to employ new tactics in her customer relations. During a sale, instead of merely recommending a product, she would diagnose the customer first by asking him several questions about his needs. His answers not only provided her with a clear picture of the ideal product, but also allowed her to give detailed reasons as to why the product would benefit him personally.
Sometimes customers would still want to shop the competition, but the rapport she built with her line of questioning often brought customers back to buy from her.
1.3 Use Subtle Persuasion Techniques
There are several techniques that will enhance any persuasive argument. These are subtle yet very powerful, and one may be all that's necessary to persuade an audience.
1. Reach Out and Touch Them
A brief touch on your subject's arm creates a connection. Such a simple, brief gesture demonstrates trust on your end and has the potential to build his trust in you. In a 1980 study by Willis and Hamm, participants were asked to sign a petition. It was observed that 55 percent of those who had not been touched signed the petition. However, when participants were touched once on the upper arm, the number of petitioners went up to 81 percent.
2. Communicate Details with Caution
Stay away from asking technical questions that may confuse or dissuade your audience. If a prospect knows something you don't, it could reduce your credibility and negatively impact your ability to persuade.
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3. Play upon Established Beliefs
The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. If you can align your argument with your audience's established beliefs, you are halfway to your goal.
4. Invite Silence
Silence can create an uncomfortable moment during a discussion. Often when one person stops speaking, another will rush to fill the silence. Such an attempt to fill the silence might give you all the information you need to drive your point home.
Methods of persuasion are used daily in business. Sometimes a request is small, sometimes big. Regardless of the request, it's important to understand and employ key techniques to persuade effectively and encourage others to make your ideas their own.
2. Build Stronger Relationships as You Negotiate
Kristen was the manager of a retail store in the heart of a busy city. Her store was part of a retail chain that sold furniture to people who were in pain and seeking comfort. Each month, her store had to reach an established sales goal. Today was the last day of the month and the store was $3,000 short of its goal.
Frustrated, she closed her eyes and wondered if it were even possible to get anywhere near the $3,000 mark. When she opened her eyes fifteen seconds later, the headlights of a yellow Hummer approached the store's parking lot. They were back.
Throughout the week, this couple had visited her store on numerous occasions, looking for a new bed. The wife was in extreme pain and desperate for a better night's sleep. Kristen knew that the best bed for this couple would cost them over $4,000. If she sold the bed that night, she could achieve her sales goal.
The couple owned a used car dealership 200 miles west of her store, but Kristen knew that selling the bed would require tough negotiation. She wanted the sale, however, and she was up for the challenge.
Two hours later, the couple left the store. The bed had been ordered. Kristen had made the sale.
Negotiation is a tough game. Many would rather sit out than risk losing. But what if losing was never an option?
2.1 Your Win Isn't the Only Win
In Kristen's scenario, her obvious win was making the sale. She'd wanted to reach her sales goal no matter what it took, but she had learned in the past that getting the sale didn't necessarily mean success.
Kristen had negotiated sales in the past that she later wished had never happened – situations that had resulted in deliveries gone wrong and returned purchases..
A win-win indicates that each party gets what they need, not necessarily what they want, and Kristen knew she had to go into each negotiation with options.
Options provide breathing room and create flexibility during negotiation. Often, having more than one solution to a negotiation creates a relaxing atmosphere, allowing negotiators to relax as a decision is reached. It's an excellent idea to have between one and three alternatives prepared in addition to the ideal outcome. Researching those alternatives before the negotiation will only create a stronger argument and greater credibility.
Kristen's alternatives were to sell a less expensive bed, sell wedges and pillows that would provide similar support with an existing mattress, or not sell them anything at all. Why would not selling anything at all potentially create a win-win solution?
2.2 Be Willing to Walk Away
Desperation is never an attractive quality, but it is absolute poison to any negotiation. When someone is tied to a specific outcome and presents inflexible terms, the results could be catastrophic. Under duress, many people will come to a conclusion without bothering to consult their better judgment. If it doesn't work out, worse problems and challenges may ensue.
Alternatives are an important part of every negotiation. Simply walking away from a deal is sometimes the smartest alternative.
During her negotiation with the elderly couple, Kristen knew that she had the option to lower the price as much as necessary. She still might have reached her sales goal, but she would have been sacrificing more than money: her integrity was at also at stake.
Kristen also knew that she was negotiating with a used car salesman – someone who negotiates for a living. If this business relationship continued past this meeting, it could require a lot of energy.
The last time she had made a sale to a fellow salesperson, he'd kept her busy for months with complaints about his purchase. If she lost the sale, she might lose money, but she would retain peace of mind. Kristen realized it might be best to walk away altogether.
2.3 Ask the Right Questions
She didn't need to walk away, though. Kristen had discovered long ago that asking the right questions was the secret to negotiating with a tough client. The more she inspired the couple to discuss what they needed and why, the more they sold themselves on the product.
This holds true in any negotiable situation. When we get a real feel for what a client needs and wants, we can come more easily to a solution that fulfills both their needs and ours. We must learn what someone wants from both a material and emotional standpoint. Discovering the material standpoint is easy. The emotional standpoint can be ascertained by asking questions.
It's said that when someone expresses the desire to buy a car or house, he is actually in need of comfort and security. An employee might ask for a raise, but what she might really want is acknowledgement. These are the emotional needs behind the material ones. If we can find out the deeper desire behind what a potential client is asking, we will be better able to achieve our ideal outcome.
In Kristen's situation, the couple decided to go home and "sleep on it" before making a final decision. Kristen knew it was time to ask not just the right question, but the most important one: "After all of the time we've spent together, what could possibly change between right now and tomorrow morning?"
The husband and wife turned around and said, "Sold!"
Kristen made her sale; the couple got their bed. After two hours of negotiation that went long past closing time, Kristen managed to create a win-win situation.
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2.4 Follow Up, Measure, and Evaluate
Negotiation does not end when an agreement is reached. In many ways, an agreement is merely the beginning. Once an agreement is reached, both parties must deliver Promises need to be kept. Communications must remain open. In many cases, money needs to change hands.
Once a negotiation is complete, it's important to create a process to measure and evaluate the results. This way, both parties can evaluate how well each agreement was handled. When will a raise be given? How long will it take to determine financing? Should a follow-up meeting take place to determine overall satisfaction? Is further negotiation required? Can the outcome be measured by time or by dollars?
For Kristen's customers, it was two weeks before the bed was delivered. After those two weeks, there was an adjustment period, during which the couple questioned their purchase. Kristen stayed in touch with them over the next month to monitor whether or not the bed fulfilled their wants and needs. The customers kept their bed.
3. Key Points
- For effective persuasion, know your subject matter, know your audience, and be aware of
subtle persuasion tactics. Knowing all sides of a topic will help you achieve your desired
ends. Having a good understanding of the audience helps a speaker understand how best to approach them. Subtle tactics provide an extra push for persuasion. - Established persuasive techniques – such as playing upon others' established beliefs or
inviting silence – have been proven to enhance any persuasive argument. These may be subtle, but they're powerful. - There are many steps involved in business negotiation, but focus on these key items when working toward a win-win solution:
- Understand that the ultimate win-win may not be what you thought it was. In that situation, be prepared with alternatives.
- Be willing to walk away; when a win-win can't be reached, walking away is often the best solution.
- Ask the right questions; understand what the other party wants from both a material and an emotional perspective.
- Finally, follow up, measure, and evaluate: the negotiation does not end with a
handshake – that is often just the beginning.
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