The Art of Influencing Anyone summary

You’ve just robbed a bank and the police are about to arrest you. The only way you can get out of this is to have a convincing alibi. Unfortunately, the only person you can find to help you is a shady character who no one will take seriously. Is there a way to make him appear credible and trustworthy? Surprisingly, yes.

By offering as much detailed information as he can, he will come off as well-informed, and therefore, more convincing.

So far we have talked about what makes people more persuasive. In this blink we’ll get a bit more specific. Let’s take a look at how businesses can be more persuasive.

If you are a salesperson and are addressing a customer, you should limit the customer’s choice to just two items or services.

Do you believe in fortune-telling? Maybe not, but most likely you’ve looked at your horoscope before and found that it somehow sounded plausible. So how is this possible?

Many fortune-tellers employ a technique called cold reading. So let’s take a look at how we can use this to persuade in business as well.

Did you know that boring commercials filmed in black and white are extremely effective?

How can this be? Well, this statement is actually wrong. But because it was strange, it caught your attention. It is essential to remember that without catching anyone’s attention, you won’t be able to convince people or sell anything.

Imagine you’ve just seen a commercial for a fantastic new smartphone. Even though you already have a great phone, we can all relate to the feeling of still considering buying it. Why?

The fact is, if you can evoke desire for your product, people will buy it regardless of whether they need it or not.

Say you’re trying to decide which laptop you want to buy. Who would you trust more: a salesperson or a friend who’s used both computers?

If you want to have more sales success, get your customers to sell for you. If you can get your customers to recommend to others, this will increase your sales and make you appear far less needy.

We’ve seen earlier that we can grab someone’s attention by saying something surprising or provocative. To take this further, because unexpected things garner attention, you can also behave in an unusual way to keep others interested in what you are telling them.

Many of us expect salespeople to ignore any resistance they might encounter. So if you are a salesperson, surprise the people you're selling to by embracing their resistance.