Roger Dawson - Secrets of power persuasion for salespeople

ROGER DAWSON

Author of Secrets of Power Negotiating

Dedication

To all the salespeople who have shared their stories with me over the years.

To my darling wife Gisela, who continues to amaze and delight me!

To my good friend Tom Power, who made this book possible.

To Don Nunley and Suzie Stewart, who let me work on this book at their beautiful beachfront home in Costa Rica.

IF YOUVE READ MY BOOK SECRETS OF POWER NEGOTIATING FOR SALESPEOPLE, you may be thinking Okay Roger, so you know about negotiatingbut whats the difference between negotiating and persuasion? Where does one end and the other begin?

The two are very close, and the skills in each area will apply to the other, but for the purpose of this book, lets make this distinction.

Negotiating involves reaching an agreement on price or on the specific terms of an agreement. We negotiate the price of an automobile, or we negotiate an increase in pay. Clearly, theres a monetary amount involved. However, we also negotiate when there is no money involved. For example, we negotiate the terms of a nuclear arms reduction agreement, or we negotiate to get a kidnapper to release a hostage. In these instances, theres no money involved but there is a give and take involved in the specifics of the agreement.

Persuasion, on the other hand, is the art of getting people to go along with your point of viewto see it your way. Of course, you need negotiating skills to be a good persuader, and you need persuasion skills to be a good negotiator, but this definition will give us a blueprint for what were going to talk about here.

Thats what Ill teach you in this book: the skills to get people to see things your way.

We do this all the time, dont we? Any time we interact with another human being, theres an element of persuasion. As a salesperson, you may only think of persuasion skills when youre dealing with the buyer, trying to make a sale or solve a problem. I think that its just as important to develop persuasion skills within your own organization. Salespeople often tell me that the entire sale hangs on their ability to persuade their own people to be flexible in the way they treat the customer. If the only way you can make a sale is to get expedited shipping, do you know how to sweet-talk the head of your shipping department? If a new customers credit is shaky, do you know how to charm your accounts receivable manager? If you cant make the sale without a price break, do you know how to get your sales manager to see it your way?

First, lets accept that manipulation is no longer an effective sales tool. If you long for the good old days when you could count on a buyer falling for the alternate-choice close or the silent close, I feel bad for you. It was fun while it lasted, but buyers today are far too sophisticated for those kinds of tactics.

Lets face it, the world has changed. Selling is tougher than it has ever been. The world where we could take a product into the marketplace and name our price, because there wasnt any credible competition, will never be seen again. The world where sales are made and accounts maintained solely because of the bonding that takes place between buyer and salesperson only exists in Norman Rockwell paintings. Sorry Mr. Loman, but its no longer so important to be liked.

We cant make sales anymore with manipulation; it just wont work. In the 21st century, we must learn to make sales by sitting down with buyers and persuading them to take our point of view.

The ability to persuade comes from a combination of skills, and Ill cover all of them in this book.

The first skill is the ability to use psychological pressure points that cause a buyer to be influenced. There are always underlying factors that affect the way the buyer is going to react to you. When we know about these hidden persuaders and have learned to use them, we not only become better persuaders, but we know how to protect ourselves when people use these factors against us.

Youll also learn about the importance of enthusiasm. This is not the phony excitement that pervades sales rallies, but is a genuine enthusiasm for your product and service. Ill teach you how to project enthusiasm to your buyersand also how to develop enthusiasm if you dont have it.

Then, Ill teach you about credibility. No buyer will be persuaded unless he or she finds you credible and there is more to building credibility than you might believe. Some people are as sincere as they can be, and yet have trouble getting people to trust them. Others are outrageous con artists who should never be believed, and yet always seem able to persuade. Ill show you why and how you can build your credibility.

Next, Ill teach you the subliminal factors that cause one person to be persuaded by another person. Youll be fascinated when you read them and probably realize that all your life youve been persuaded by them, without perceiving what was going on.

Ill teach you specific verbal techniques that you can use to persuade. Youll learn a series of techniques that you can use word for word, which will get the buyer to see the sale your way. Youll develop the ability to say what you want to say in such a manner that it has irresistible appeal to other people.

Youll learn and use personal characteristics that cause a buyer to want to be influenced by you. Im sure youve had the experience of meeting a truly charismatic salesperson. This person has an uncanny ability to draw people. I used to envy people like that because I assumed they were born with this magical gift. It was something they had and I didnt. Then I figured out that there really wasnt any magic involvedthey were just using learned people skills. I will teach you some specific ways to improve your charisma and to develop the two key skills that charismatic people find so essential: the ability to remember names and faces and a sense of humor.

Ill talk about what to do when things go wrong and how to persuade a difficult person. Ill teach you how to deal with the person whos so angry with you, he or she cant see straight. Youll learn how to deal with that perennial persuasion challengethe clam, the buyer who wont open up and talk to you.

The power of persuasion! How much it means to success and happiness in our lives. And I can teach it to you. Really! If youll stay with me, I promise you that by the time you lay this book down, youll have acquired a new power thats so important to you, youll wonder how you ever got along without it!

The book is divided into four parts:

In Part One, youll learn how to play the persuasion game: what to say and what to do.

In Part Two, youll learn how to analyze the buyer: how to reach inside the buyers mind and know exactly what will turn him or her on.

In Part Three, youll learn to develop the characteristics of a Power Persuader: an irresistible charisma, a dynamite sense of humor, and an uncanny ability to remember names. These things will make the buyer putty in your hands!

In Part Four, youll learn some magical persuasion techniqueshow to move persuasion through four distinct stages, how to deal with impossible people, and how to use your new persuasion skills to become a dynamic leader of people.