10th Week: Persuasive and Sales Messages

Persuasion is defined as the ability to use argument or discussion to influence an individual’s beliefs or actions. Parents use persuasion to cajole their kids into doing their homework. A team member uses persuasion to convince her technology-averse manager that instant messaging is an excellent tool to keep all team members informed about a project.

Successful persuasion depends largely on the reasonableness of your request, your credibility, and your ability to make the request attractive to the receiver. Many techniques can help you be effective in getting your ideas accepted by your fellow workers, superiors, and clients.

• Establish credibility. To be persuasive, you must engender trust. People must believe that you are telling the truth, are experienced, and know what you are talking about. Most of us would not be swayed if a soccer or film star told us how to ease world tensions. If you lack credentials or experience, use testimonials, expert opinion, and research to support your position.
• Make a reasonable, precise request. Persuasion is most effective if your request is realistic, doable, and attainable. Don’t ask for $100,000 worth of equipment when your department’s budget is $5,000. Also, be clear about your objective. In one research study, students posed as beggars and asked for money. If they asked for an unspecified amount, they received money 44 percent of the time. If they asked for a precise sum (say, $1), they received money 64 percent of the time. 4 Precise requests are more effective than vague ones.
• Tie facts to benefits. Line up solid information to support your view. Use statistics, printed resources, examples, and analogies to help people understand. Remember, however, that information alone rarely changes attitudes. Marketers have pumped huge sums into failed advertising and public relations campaigns that provided facts alone. More important is converting those facts into benefits for the audience.
• Recognize the power of loss. Describing the benefits of your proposal is a powerful motivator. Another powerful motivator is the thought of what the other person will lose if he or she doesn’t agree. The threat of losing something one already possesses—such as time, money, competitive advantage, profits, reputation—seems to be more likely to motivate people than the idea of gaining that very same thing.
• Expect and overcome resistance. When proposing ideas, be prepared for resistance. This may arise in the form of conflicting beliefs, negative attitudes, apathy, skepticism, and opposing loyalties. Recognize any weakness in your proposal and be prepared to counter with well-reasoned arguments and facts.
• Share solutions and compromise. The process of persuasion may involve being flexible and working out a solution that is acceptable to all concerned. Sharing a solution requires listening to people and developing a new position that incorporates their input. When others’ views become part of a solution, they gain a sense of ownership; they buy in and are more eager to implement the solution.

Source: Midge Gillies, Business Writing: The Essential Guide To Thinking And Working Smarter.