PersuasionTheory.com » Covert Persuasion

Important Questions To Ask When Selling

Fox — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 17:04:42 +0000

How often do you think about the questions you use in your sales process? Do you spend any time crafting questions that drive your buyer to make up their own mind and buy from you?

When you ask the right questions, you control the conversation. Questions allow you control the direction of their thoughts. Do you realize how important this is to your sales process?

There are basically two types of questions for you to get the information you need: Open or Closed.

Closed-Ended Questions

Closed-ended questions are questions that can be answered either “yes” or “no” by your buyer.

Examples would be:

Would you like fries with that?
Do you think I look fat in these pants?

They can also be questions that ask for a specific piece of information so you can clarify data.

Examples would be:

What is your address?
How do you spell your last name?

Open-Ended Questions

Open-ended questions are the opposite of closed-ended questions. They can’t be answered with a simple “yes” or “no” and require your buyer to expand and give you more information.

For example:

If you were able to buy this today, how would it help you and your family?
What else do you need to solve your problem?

What Type Of Question Is Better?

Both questions have a specific purpose in the sales process. At the beginning of a conversation with your buyer you may need to ask a lot of closed ended questions to get their situation. I also use them as a check to make sure they’re following along with the conversation (“Are you with me?” or “Any questions about what we’ve covered?”).

Open-ended questions are critically important to get your buyer’s needs, wants, desires and motivation to buy what you’re selling. They allow you to arm yourself with the proper tools so you can aim directly to the heart of the buyer. You won’t need to waste time presenting features and benefits that aren’t of any use or importance anymore.

Do You Hear Me?

The important thing is to actually listen and hear what they’re saying. Give your buyer the time to fully answer the question. Comfortably ask your question and wait for their answer in silence.

Recently, I was in a sales meeting and listening to one man role play his customer conversation. He would ask an important open-ended question and then would give them a couple of options to choose from, making it a closed question. He would ask things like, “How would doing this benefit you…(pause about 1 second) more money, allow you to move you up in your career, or greater freedom?”

While the buyer could begin to open up, he was giving them options to choose from so they didn’t have to really think and answer the question. The entire goal is to get your buyer to open up and give you what they need to buy. Don’t feed them what you think will sell them.

Think about the questions you use when selling. Are you happy with the amount and type of questions you use? Do you get enough information that allows the buyer to make their own decision to buy from you? How will you construct your questions differently to become even more effective?

© Fox for PersuasionTheory.com, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments |
Post tags: Covert Persuasion, linguistics, Persuasion Strategies, Presentation Strategies, Questions

When Is It Okay To Attack Your Competition?

Fox — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:22:50 +0000

I’m sitting in front of the Apple store in our mall stealing their wifi on my iPhone. As I’m sitting here I’m thinking about their PC vs. Mac commercials and how successful they’ve been despite the fact they’re talking negatively about their competition and about their potential customer.

In these commercials, Apple is portrayed as the cool guy that runs well, plays nice with all the toys, and is who you want to be like. The PC is portrayed by an overweight guy with unfashionable clothing and glasses with a bumbling fool type personality.

In traditional sales you’re taught to never say bad things about the competition. When you do you elicit negative feelings from the prospect which become attached to you and your product, killing the sale. It also will often come across as a desperate attempt to win the sale. Basically, attacking the competition is bad so don’t do it.

Apple appears to have pulled this off well and is making great strides into the personal computer market.

So, when is it okay to attack your competition? Is it okay?

What makes the Apple ads successful, even though they’re insulting the competition and potential buyer, while others fail miserably when trying?

Share your comments and thoughts below.

© Fox for PersuasionTheory.com, 2009. | Permalink | Leave a comment |
Post tags: copywriting, Covert Persuasion, sales, selling skills, Subliminal Persuasion

Propaganda and Covert Persuasion

Fox — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 20:45:22 +0000

If you persuade the masses or individuals, one of the most important people that made what we do possible was Edward Bernays. He wrote one of my favorite books, “Propaganda.”

Edward was the nephew of Sigmund Freud and was the first to bring many of the psychological theories he came up with for marketing and selling.

Here are a couple of videos on Bernays and what he pioneered. I highly recommend spending the 10 minutes for each video and picking up a copy of his book, it’s a quick and easy read.

Part 1

Part 2

© Fox for PersuasionTheory.com, 2009. | Permalink | Leave a comment |
Post tags: Covert Hypnosis, Covert Persuasion, Marketing, Propaganda, Skills, Subliminal Persuasion

It’s Just Like When You Really Want To Persuade Someone

Fox — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 23:50:42 +0000

Using a metaphor is one of the best ways to really drive home your message. It’s like greasing the path for your ideas so they slide into your customer more easily and without resistance.

I’m constantly working on my storytelling. It’s an area any persuader should begin mastering. However, not all metaphors need to be long stories.

According to Wikipedia a metaphor is, “language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects.” When I first learned about persuasive metaphors I started comparing everything. I highly recommend you start doing this. It is Yoga for your brain.

While I was comparing things I realized I was consistently asking myself, “What’s that like?” From this came what I think is the quickest and easiest way to create powerful metaphors. . .

“It’s just like. . .”

Here are a couple of examples to draw out how you can use this in your persuasion arsenal.

Signing up for X (whatever you’re selling) is just like riding a bike. It was scary at first and you were probably afraid to make a mistake and get hurt. But, as you look back, you did it. You learned how to ride. There was someone to guide you just like with this program. Once you get on and start riding we’ll guide you to stay balanced. If you fall we’ll pick you up, wipe off any dust and get you quickly riding again. It’s a skill you’ll always remember throughout all your life.

Did that start a movie in your mind of someone learning to ride a bike? Did it help you transition the fear of buying into the ease of learning? Here’s another. . .

Persuaders that don’t learn to use metaphors are like unwanted bugs in your home. They’re interesting creatures and sometimes bizarre to look at. Some have a powerful and potentially deadly bite. But, you generally don’t want them in your house and when you do see one your impulse is to immediately kill it.

Simple and to the point, right?

So practice for yourself. What’s the first thing that pops into your mind when you read these?

What’s your job like?
What’s a call from your mother like?
What is the product or service you’re selling like?

Usually the first thing that flashes in your mind is what you should run with. Take that flash of creativity and begin describing it. What are the positive aspects? What are the negatives? Doing this regularly will keep the gears in motion that drive your metaphor creativity.

It’s just like when you were a kid. . .

© Fox for PersuasionTheory.com, 2008. | Permalink | Leave a comment |
Post tags: Covert Persuasion, Metaphor, Persuasive Metaphors, Selling, Skills, Stories