Episodes

Optimistic persuaders outpersuade pessimistic persuaders every time. Not only is optimism essential to influencing others, but is also a critical for success in life. Optimism is more than a positive mental attitude. It is not constantly saying positive things to yourself and then hoping they will come true. Rather, true optimism is a state of mind that dictates how you look at the world. An optimistic view of life and the world around you can inspire hope and courage in others. We all want to f...

Even for the strongest individuals, their commitment level or willpower is not always constant. Willpower is like a battery. As you exercise your willpower throughout the day, the battery power starts to decline. What drains your battery? Fatigue, negative emotions, low blood sugar, suppression of emotions, and even peer pressure will drain your willpower battery faster than anything else. An interesting study gives more credibility to this idea that willpower may actually be made stronger if g...

Understanding different types of audiences will also help you determine their acceptance level. Following are some different categories of audiences and how to deal with each of them. The Hostile Audience This group disagrees with you and may even actively work against you. For a hostile audience, use these techniques: Find common beliefs and establish a common ground. Use appropriate humor to break the ice. Don't start the presentation with an attack on their position. You are only trying ...

When you become a Power Persuader, you will learn to love objections. You will come to understand that when people voice their objections, it actually indicates interest and shows that they are paying attention to what you are saying. The key to persuasion is anticipating all objections before you hear them. Fielding questions and handling objections can make or break you as a persuader. These skills will help you in every aspect of your life. Check out this article: How to predict which Olymp...

The Law of Expectations AND The Impact of Suggestion The Law of Expectations uses expectations to influence reality and create results. Individuals tend to make decisions based on how others expect them to behave or perform. As a result, people fulfill those expectations whether positive or negative. Expectations have a powerful impact on those we trust and respect, but, interestingly, an impact on strangers. When we know someone expects something from us, we will try to satisfy him or her in ...

A great persuader can connect with anyone in thirty seconds or less. First impressions take only seconds to form, but they last a lifetime. This is a critical skill to develop because the cement dries fast. How do you ensure that you’re making those early seconds really count? That first judgment or opinion about you is vital to your success. In this fast-paced world, you probably won’t get a second chance—you have to make it happen the first time. Check out this article from the show. Rappor...

Research demonstrates that 81 percent of persuaders talk more than necessary during the persuasion process. They are talking too much,7 and you are likely talking too much. Check this out. When we talk too much and fail to allow our audience to ask questions, it increases the thickness of the brick wall of resistance. Consider the doctor analogy to persuasion, meaning you have to listen and ask questions before you can diagnose the problem. The doctor does not come into the examination room an...

Common Obstacles That Limit Your Persuasion Success The worst time to learn a persuasion skill is when you need it. Persuasion must be mastered before it is needed, or the opportunity is lost forever. In all the years that I have worked in persuasion, sales, influence, and leadership, I have never yet found a perfect persuader. Ironically, one area of persuasion that is easily overlooked is the very one that would make everything else fall into place. You've probably heard the old adage, "Dull...

Zeigarnik Effect When we feel we've been left hanging, it drives us crazy! We want to know the end of the story. What is the missing piece? We want our tasks to be completed so we can check them off our list. This is also known as the "Zeigarnik Effect," named after Bluma Zeigarnik, a Russian psychologist. This effect is the tendency we have to remember uncompleted thoughts, ideas, or tasks more than completed ones. The story goes the Bluma Zeigarnik was sitting in a café in Vienna when she obs...

"Buyer's remorse" is also a form of dissonance. When we purchase a product or service, we tend to look for ways to convince ourselves that we made the right decision. If the people around us or other factors make us question our decision, we experience buyer's remorse. On feeling this inconsistency, we'll look for anything—facts, peer validation, expert opinion—to reduce the dissonance in our minds concerning the purchase. Some of us even use selective exposure to minimize the risk of seeing or...

I am not going to be politically correct in this section. I know it is not fair. I know we should not judge, I am here to help you with reality. Everyone judges and some of these items are things you can fix – some of them you can’t. Focus on the things you can improve and don’t worry about the rest. This attraction is also called the Halo Effect. It operates by making one positive characteristic of a person affect other people's overall perception of him. Because of this halo effect, people aut...

Almost everyone wants to accomplish their dreams, achieve more, become a better person, or pursue bigger and better goals. And we often know exactly what we need to do to make these things happen. So why don't we do them? Why do we fall short of our dreams and aspirations? Check out this article on goal setting Writing down your goals coupled with a strong desire to reach them won't automatically bring success if you overlook this one vital detail: Successes are not achieved if they aren't firs...

How to Command Attention with Power and Authority Great persuaders know and understand how to use different forms of power, but if you're like most people, you just cringed at the word "power." Is power something we're really allowed to talk about? Is it good or bad? Can we have power over our audience? Check out the article here. The answers to these questions depend on what form of power it is, how it is used, and what the user's intentions are. We all possess different forms of power in diff...

I was asked an interesting question last week on a radio interview. I was asked, “How can you resist or repel an unwanted persuasive attempt?” He also asked, “How can you stop someone that always tends to manipulate you?” I discuss this article here, and the persuasion ninja of the week. On this podcast, I talk about ways to resist another person’s unethical persuasive attempt. This is good to know for you as a person and as a persuader. As a person, this information will help you resist unwan...

On this episode Kurt interviews Dave Kurlan. They discuss the biggest mistake that sales people make, baseball and sales, biggest mindset obstacles, self-limiting beliefs and how to reprogram your beliefs, how to get your prospect to pay more attention to you than to your competition, the sales process, good closing techniques, how to create urgency early, how to get past a "slump," how to know whether or not your prospect is qualified, and how to deal with resistance. Dave Kurlan is a Sales De...

One of the Bricks - Fear of Rejection We all experience rejection in small doses every day. But what about when we persuade for a living? Rejection seems to take a higher toll. We avoid rejection like the plague, but it affects your income. Running away from the rejection solves nothing. Letting our fears overtake us and paralyze us also solves nothing. Ironically, whether we run or succumb, neither option helps the situation. Fear of rejection can also affect the bottom line by inhibiting you ...

The Hostile Prospect This person disagrees with you and may even actively work against you. For a hostile prospect, use these techniques: · Find common beliefs and establish a common ground. · Use appropriate humor to break the ice. · Don’t start the presentation with an attack on their position. · You are only trying to persuade on one point; don’t talk about anything else that could trigger disagreement. · Because of your differences, they will question your credibility. Increase your cr...

On this episode Kurt discusses the geeky article of the biggest causes of anxiety. . He also discusses the blunder of the week that happened to him at a burger joint in Southern California. And why first impressions really are important. He also...

Join Kurt as he interviews Kristin Zhivago. Kristin is president of Zhivago Partners, a digital marketing management company, and the author of the book, Roadmap to Revenue: How to Sell the Way Your Customers Want to Buy. Kristin was one of the first to identify selling as a matter of supporting the customer's buying process. Kristen and Kurt discuss: Biggest blunder people make today in sales & influence Tips for entrepreneurs How to think like a buyer How to deal with a prospect who has f...

On this episode Kurt discusses the blunder and ninja of the day, and the psychology of waiting and whether or not is a good or bad thing and if it affects your ability to persuade. Atmosphere can also include the tension in the air. Is there a rush, or are customers relaxed? What type of climate are you trying to create? Do you want a quick, fast decision, or do you want your customers to feel comfortable enough to stay for a while? An interesting study on what happens when you create an atmos...

Join Kurt as he interviews Travis Truett, the CEO of Ambition, the first sales performance management platform built for the modern workforce thats currently endorsed by Google, Harvard Business Review and more. On this episode they discuss the most common persuasion blunders, how to get in your prospects shoes, biggest changes in the sales & influence world, how to persuade millennials (check out this article), gamification and when it can backfire, why people buy and more! 4 Ways to Inspire ...

The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance Leon Festinger formulated the cognitive dissonance theory at Stanford University. He asserted, "When attitudes or beliefs conflict with our actions, we are uncomfortable and motivated to try to change." Festinger's theory sets the foundation for the Law of Dissonance. The Law of Dissonance proves that people will naturally act in a manner that is consistent with their cognitions. What is a cognition? Our cognitions is a mental process that uses thoughts, belie...

Join us on this great interview with Dr. Ben Voyer. We are going to talk about: How persuasion has changed Biggest persuasion blunder Loss avoidance Power and relationships Influential nature of stories Professor Voyer is Loreal Professor of Creativity Marketing ESCP Europe, and visiting fellow London School of Economics. Professor Voyer is a behavioural scientist that has investigated how self-perception and interpersonal relations affect cognition. He has authored & co-authored more than 150 s...

Objection Obstacles All excuses and objections can be boiled down one or more of these seven potential objections: Once you understand that all objections stem from one or more of these seven key areas, you will have a much easier time identifying the root of your audience's discomfort. You will then be able to address their objections in a professional, caring, and non-threatening way. Many persuaders (without realizing it) show tension, uneasiness, or irritation when someone brings up an obje...