What Are You Full Of?

When we interact with prospects, especially an affluent clientle, we need to really show them what we're made of. Over-confidence, arrogance, cockiness, braggery. . .these are NOT good things to be full of. Self-assurance, competency, confidence, and self-value. . . are excellent things to be full of.

In persuasion, we rely on our prospect's perceptions of us. Unfortunately, some people have a negative perception of sales as the old-fashioned, slick, all talk, no action, parody as seen on TV and in movies. It's a big wall we have to overcome a lot of the time. We come up against objections and need to diffuse them on the spot.

We are not slick sales robots. Those sales people take traditional sales training. . . we are learning the art of persuasion. They regurgitate features and benefits. . . we, connect our products and services uniquely to our client's and prospect's deepest core values and criteria.

Our path of persuasion excellence is replacing the tactics of old fashioned sales techniques and reframing what we do to be our truth about persuasion allowing us to really shine.

Take a step back from your work for a moment and think on the following: how do you come across to your prospects and clients? How are you being perceived?

Are you exaggerating your products or services in any way? If so, people will figure this out, if not immediately, they will be underwhelmed once they get the product or service. In persuasion an incredibly powerful technique to use is over delivering, not underwhelming. Give an overview or outline of what you're going to give them and then give more.

Are you using words and phrases that make you appear untrustworthy such as 'honestly' or 'seriously'? These words diminish your credibility and undermine your persuasion. They create incongruities and inconsistencies. Persuasion is about linguistic precision. The faster you clean up your language, the more persuasive you will be.

Bragging too much or talking badly about others is another common pitfall some sales people use. These things don't make you look better, but reflect quite poorly.

How about scapegoating? Have you ever come across someone in sales who constantly sloughs off responsibility? Being responsible is a huge factor in people perceiving you as trustworthy. With that said, there are benefits to scapegoating if used properly and this tactic is used all the time in advertising and politics.

Last, but not least, we have to really understand when not to talk. A huge percentage of the art of persuasion is about listening. Knowing when to keep your mouth shut is highly persuasive behavior. Conversely, knowing the right questions to ask helps immensely. Practice and study will help these distinctions become second nature.

In order to come across as not full of it, we need to be not full of it.

Kenrick Cleveland teaches techniques to earn the business of wealthy prospects using persuasion. He runs public and private seminars and offers home study courses and coaching programs in persuasion techniques.

Article Source: http://www.c3careerarticles.com

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