Persuasion is asserting your will over others. In this definition, the concept of power comes in. Power is the ability of a person to put his will over others or over his followers. But in persuasion, no full power should be applied. The persuader should learn to be humble to accomplish his objective, so that the persuadee may give in. Therefore, the qualities of a persuader must come from opposite ends. He must be positive-minded but open to negative results; he must be insistent but must also know how to compromise.

Let us look at the essential qualities a good persuader must have.

First, he must learn to balance both sides. In the middle of a discussion, he should not always place too much emphasis on the advantages he will get from the deal. He should place equal or more consideration in the benefits that the other party will get. The persuader should try to anticipate the expectations of the person they are trying to persuade. Thereafter, the persuader’s benefits can be considered.

Secondly, the persuader must have a positive mind. He must show enthusiasm not only in words but also in actions. Gestures and facial expressions should be part of the conversation to make the person agree with the persuader. Let’s say you’re the persuader. Should the persons ask questions, endeavor to make your answers positive ones (of course, you cannot avoid saying negative ones if those are true).

Thirdly, the persuader should learn to compromise. Compromise here relates to a balanced negotiation. This does not mean giving up at all, but some things should be given up to make way for better ones. To do this, learn to balance the situation (first rule). No matter how enthusiastic the persuader is, the person might have his own conditions or decision factors.

These strategies are best applicable for sales persons or marketers who are closing deals with clients.

One more thing not mentioned above but I think is a universal rule that everybody should know, is the notion of being honest. You cannot persuade people if most you are saying are lies. Honesty is still the best policy.

A couple of days ago, a colleague of mine asked what websites I use for idea generation.  I use quite a few, but I narrowed the list to just a handful.  Here are the links.  If you have any suggestions, please send them along.  Thanks.
http://www.imediaconnection.com/
http://www.adweek.com/adfreak
http://www.adweek.com/topic/digital
http://www.creativitypool.com/#pool
http://www.mediabuyerplanner.com/
http://www.marketingpower.com/Pages/default.aspx
http://www.entrepreneur.com/businessideas/index.html

The whole idea of the marketing and sales is to play with the psychology of the consumers. In any campaign, efforts should be made it make it so influential that the decision making of the customer is totally in the favor of the company.

There are some tactics to manipulate the mind of the consumers, which can be utilized by not only ordinary sales person, but can be used by larger firms. Although they are used unknowingly, there is no set list.

Mutual exchanging is the first and powerful tactic. The company can start with giving something for free to the customer. He will take it for the first time, but from next time he will feel obliged and will try to return the favor. Offering the product for free initially can do this. And if the customer is satisfied with the product, he will buy it for himself from next time. Some salespersons get confused with this principle.  For example, it is ineffective and wrong according to this principle, to quote “Spend over $25 and get a free t-shirt”. The offer is not free; the customer has to spend something to get the free product. The product being given should be totally free without any condition to be fulfilled. For example, the line “Get the latest lipstick shade absolutely free” will do the trick. If the shade is really good, they will buy it the next time and might even think of buying other shades of lipstick.

On a personal note, Schick just sent me their new razor “Hydro” via direct mail.  I have used it a handful of times and I began looking at the different prices of  razors between Schick and Gillette. They are just a couple of dollars less than the “Gillette Fusion” that I have been using for years, but I don’t know if i want to change. Getting a consumer to change their buying habits, there has to be a very compelling offer. One or two dollars off to me is not compelling.

The next tactic is to present something as of high value, but the company should incur only small or no amount in producing it, like information. It can tempt the customer by saying that the information provided to them is a big time secret and is not known to anyone at all. But some mess it up, by saying that they are providing very valuable information, but it turns out to be another advertisement.

Another example is giving out free sample to the targeted customers. Again the mistake made here is that companies distribute samples of poor quality or rejected products. This certainly lowers the customers liking towards the product and he will assume that’s the way the product is actually and won’t go ahead to buy it.

Use words, which initiate immediate action, like “Limited time offer”, “Offer ending soon”, and “Offer till stocks lasts” are really motivating. The customer gets the impression that the offer will end really soon as the products are limited edition and he should go out and buy it at the very first chance. This works well specially with customers who have an interest in collecting antiques, collectibles and anything which are not easily available.

Getting the customer to make a commitment is another next good method to increase sales. The tactic  is to make the customer to take small steps toward the goal, without realizing about it. Like when the customer requests for some information, provide them with the relevant information for free and make them fill a form and take contact information from them. This is like committing to get offers and information about products in future. Do not advertise in this step. In the next step advertisements about products and services can be sent to the customer to the address provided by them. Conducting surveys is another example.

Think of your brand in terms of what the customer gains when it is viewed by each of his or her five senses-hearing, seeing, tasting, smelling and touching. In a nutshell your brand is the result of everything your prospects senses can pick up on about you. It’s the image you present at all times. From the company’s logo and color scheme all the way to the manner in which your employees dress. Think of what your colors portray. Are they giving the message you want to give?

It’s what your prospects hear from and about you. From what they hear about you in the media to how your customer service team handles incoming complaints. Are former customers likely to speak kindly about you? Are you and your employees pleasant when you speak? It’s the feeling your prospect gets in all their dealings with you. From their satisfied or unsatisfied interaction with you to the relationship building activities you carry out.

Do customers and prospective customers feel they can trust you? Do they feel your honesty? It’s the pleasant or unpleasant scents that get associated with you covering everywhere from the scent of your product or facility, to even your employees. Do customers get a scent of cleanliness? And lastly it’s also the tastes that get associated with you. From the taste of your product (if it’s a product meant to be tasted) to the quality of coffee or tea you serve.

Your brand encompasses everything about you. Hence you can see why it’s important to always put your best foot forward. Bottom line, branding is essential to establishing your identity in the marketplace and consistency is the key to effective doing that. Take time to examine with your senses what message you are giving your customers.
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10 tips to keep your regulars coming back– and for picking up new ones along the way

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Will your target audience do your work for you and create advertising and products at minimal cost?

I read this in a recent blog regarding crowdsourcing. This word had me curious. What did it exactly mean? Basically I learned it was having your customers do your ad work.

Some major consumer product companies have fired their agencies and then hold “contests” for users of their products to create ad campaigns.

Read about this

There are many ways to reach out and find the people you are trying to attract for your business. Here are just a handful of ways to get you started at little or no cost.

1) Attend organization meetings Where do people in your target market hang out? Research this, and then plan to attend a meeting or two to mix and mingle. What better way to meet and get to know these individuals while learning more about the market?

2) Offer to speak at a meeting or conference What do you have to offer that you feel could be of value to those you are trying to reach out to? Present a short talk or slide show on a helpful topic. Be sure you present something of value to the group. What helpful tips or other material would hold ther attention, and entice them to learn more about you and what you do? Just give them a small taste of your skills and knowledge. Chances are, they will want to talk to you after the presentation.

3) Advertise in publications your target market reads The Internet is a great place to research what publications are out there. You can probably even get your advertisement to appear online as well as in the hard copy of a publication. Advertising can be rather expensive, so be careful with this one!

4) Present a free tele-class. If you are not confident in your public speaking skills, but still feel you have something of value to teach those you are trying to influence, try offering a no-cost tele-class. It is usually fairly inexpensive to rent a bridge line to host your class. You can teach from the comfort of your own home, too. This is also a great way to get a list of names to add to your subscriber list for mailings. If you are comfortable with this option, you can charge a small fee for future tele-classes you hold, which will bring you some passive income.

5) Start a blog Write daily or weekly posts related to subject matter that will pique the interest of your target market. Spend time researching particular topics that you can write about. Then, add some pizazz…get excited when you post the information to your blog. If you’re excited about something, others will be too. And don’t forget to use keywords. These are what the search engines will use to find the content in your blog and draw others to it.

With more and more small businesses strictly becoming online businesses and more people choosing to be independent contractors rather than have a strict 9-5 job, virtual faxing is becoming more and more popular. Virtual faxing involves no special equipment that you have to hook up to your computer… it is as easy as sending an email.

It can also be a lot cheaper for a small business or independent contractor to use this service rather than buying a fax machine and paying for the phone line and long distance bill. Learn more