The art of persuasion is key to a successful business transaction – it is linked to your communication skills and your ability to effectively explain what you’re offering and how it benefits your client. In this article we’d like to give you some useful suggestions on how to successfully persuade your potential clients into saying “yes” way more easily, by showing you a few simple persuasion tricks and tactics. If you find yourself struggling to close a deal, well, read on, this article might be the end of your issues!
Persuade who can be persuaded
Although it’s true that everybody can be eventually persuaded, your focus should be on who can be persuaded in the short term. Use your time on those clients that look like potential ‘yes-sayers’ instead of insisting on those ones that might have better spending ability but that don’t seem to be interested in listening yet. With these it’s first important to build solid rapport and trust – the yes will come at a later time. So, in a nutshell, determine who is persuadable and go for it.
Don’t manipulate
Remember that persuasion doesn’t equal manipulation. You don’t want to force people into doing something that only benefits you but not them; or even if you know that what you’re offering benefits both parties but your client is not interested at the moment (and is not listening to you – this is the key to let go and move on to someone else), don’t push your client or use coercive behavior. Persuasion equals convincing someone, not forcing them – but even convincing needs to come in the client’s own timing and right context. Be patient, never be pushy.
Create urgency
You want to motivate your client to act straight away, right now, not in some distant time in the future. As mentioned, you can play this card only if the person is already interested in your offer, they can be persuaded, and they are actively listening to you. Urgency comes out through your tone of voice, carefully selected words, and understanding of your client’s need. Once you realize this last point, you’ll know how to prompt them to need your product now.
Confidence
Confident people are always able to persuade others. If you’re confident in yourself and you believe that what you’re offering is truly the best, you’ll manage to convince your client that your product benefits and is right for them too. Don’t forget that your client will notice your confidence and that will give him a sense of trust in you as well, which is another indispensable factor leading to the desired ‘Yes’.
Be flexible
Flexibility is key in getting a ‘yes’ from your client. The more varied your behavioral patterns are, the more persuasive you’ll be. Think about children: they always get what they want from their parents, thanks to the range of behaviors they use to change their seemingly obdurate ‘no’ into a yes.
