Hi Persuader,

What if we could assume a mental position or thought that our prospects have to take for granted? The core concept has to be taken for granted just to make sense of what you're telling them without you having to name it.

Presupposition is that which must be accepted as true in order to make sense of the sentence. Think about that definition for a moment. If it is that which must be accepted as true, it has to be accepted because you didn't say it. In other words, it's assumed, or presupposed.

The idea is, we want to get to the point of not having to say the ideas.

Start to wrap your mind around the idea that you're going to learn to start to talk in ways that presuppose what you want someone to think. They have to assume the core of what you want them to think just in order to make sense of what you're saying.

This gets us closer to getting people to think what it is that we want them to think without us having to say it.

'We need to fight the terrorists over there so we don't have to fight them over here.'

What does that presuppose? Well, it presupposes that we have to 'fight them' at all. It also presupposes that if we don't fight them over there, they're going to come here for a fight.

'The great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.' -Sir Isaac Newton

This presupposes that there is a 'truth' that is capable of being discovered.

'How will you be paying for this today?'

This, of course, presupposes that something is being bought and paid for.

Here's another cool thing about presuppositions: nouns presuppose existence. So any time you say a noun or anything near or similar, you're presupposing a level of existence. Can you see how much presupposition exists in the world?

What are some examples of how you can you use presupposition in your business? If you're stumped, consider my Persuasion Factor or Elite Coaching Club. Contact Kim to decide which course is better for you.

Until Next Time,

Kenrick E. Cleveland

Hi Persuader,

I'm curious. . .

Just so I'm absolutely clear. . .

Excellent. That makes perfect sense. And so that I'm understanding you. . .

Once we get past the basics of rapport and criteria elicitation, we can then feel free to put a little polish on our persuasion package.

Softening statements and questions are just that. When we elicit criteria, the basic structure is, 'What's important about X? What's important about Y? And ultimately, what's important about Z?' (If you're new to MAXpersuasion or haven't yet learned the basics of rapport building and criteria elicitation, stop now! And contact Kim for more information to get you started.)

Okay. So once we are comfortable with criteria elicitation, we can then add some softeners to sooth and encourage our prospect.

'So, I'm just curious, tell me, what's important to you about finding a new financial advisor?'

'Well,' says our prospect, 'I'm just not feeling comfortable with my current advisor and I'm looking for a change.'

'Excellent. Really good. That makes perfect sense. And so that I'm understanding you completely, what's important about feeling comfortable with your financial advisor?'

'Well, I just really want to feel secure in knowing that I'm taken care of and that my best interests are being looked after, and I'm just not finding that to be the case right now.'

'Absolutely. I completely agree. And just so that I'm absolutely clear, ultimately, when you find this secure feeling that you're being taken care of, what will that mean to you?'

'It will mean that I don't have to worry about my family or my family's financial future.'

Softening statements/questions put the prospect at ease. They show that we're really, truly understanding and in compliance with our client's needs and desires.

Like playing a musical instrument, persuasion can either be taken directly off the page as written, but its power is best utilized when we get the basics down and then do a little improvisation. Obviously, without the basics, we get a lot of nonsense, but when we combine a solid foundation with these flourishes, it can be a beautiful symphony.

Until Next Time,

Kenrick E. Cleveland

Hi Persuader,

It seems a few of you were paying attention. That thrills me. (See: "Linguistical Pitfalls in Persuasion (but, if, try, might)" and check out the comments at the end).

Now whether or not I was being sneaky and slipping in an open loop. . . well, I'm not going to admit or deny that at this time. ('Hey, Kenrick, what's an open loop?')

So for those of you who have been glued to your computers awaiting part two of "Linguistical Pitfalls", your anticipation is both appreciated and a little strange.

Would have, Could have, Should have, (or, if you prefer, woulda, coulda, shoulda.)

The problem with these phrases is that they're all in past tense. While this doesn't seem on the surface to be problematic, they can have a seriously negative impact on your persuasion message.

Generally, you want to be leading people into the present time so they can and will act right now. We don't want their heads in the past, we want them with us. To borrow a phrase from Ram Dass, we need them to "be here now." The present is where we're selling, the present is where they're buying.

In addition to their nostalgic taint, these words create a whining atmosphere and reek of regret. Whaa! 'I should have done that. If I had been in a better mindset, I would have taken advantage of the situation. If I would have known. . .things would be so much better.'

And last but not least. . .

Can't.

I had a high school teach who forbid us from using this word. It's in a class of words called 'negations'. Negations, used the way most people use them, can pose a serious threat to your persuasion message, and in fact, can nullify your message entirely.

If you were to say, "You can't use negations", this forces your mind to first picture using negations then in some way negating that picture.

What happens when you say to yourself, "I just can't sleep." Well. . .it turns out, you can't sleep.

Any negation forces the mind to think about the very thing that you don't want the person you're persuading to do. As you know, one of the most important elements to any persuasion is to get the person who you are persuading to make a mental image of doing what you want them to do.

Words like "can't" create the very image you don't want the person to make.

There are some very powerful and creative ways to use negation -- just be careful that you use it properly or not at all until you're comfortable with it.

Okay. Happy now?

How about giving me some examples of how you use negation to your advantage?

Until Next Time,

Kenrick E. Cleveland

Hi Persuader,

"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear-not absence of fear."--Mark Twain

I looked at the definition of courage in the dictionary. And found an interesting definition. 'Courage: The quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc. without fear or bravery.'

I'm not sure I buy into that one. To me, courage is doing what needs to be done in spite of fear. I think bravery, for example, in particular is a way of thinking about our lives such that we are doing what we need to do even though we have fear about doing it.

People that are really genuinely brave don't have a lack of fear. They're acting in spite of it. And so I'm going to define courage as doing what needs to be done in spite of fear. That's real courage. Courage has within it an element of fear. If it didn't, why would we need courage? If it were old hat, common place, then why would we need courage?

Courage is doing what needs to be done in spite of what fear might be there.

Stop for a minute and think of a time when you should have taken some action but you didn't. And I want you to remember why you didn't act. Think about this. Why didn't you act?

I want you to think of another time when you needed to act and you did not act. Or you didn't act as fully as you should have. And I want you to remember why you didn't.

What were the similarities between these events? What was common about them? If you think about it, you're going to find that there was one common denominator, and maybe you'll find a bunch, but there's at least one, and that is there's probably some kind of fear.

So here's the question: What would have happened had you acted anyway? Go back to those two events that we just thought through. And ask yourself what would have happened had you acted anyway. Would it have worked out? What's the worst that would have happened had things not gone the way you hoped?

Let's go back to the first event that you thought of and let's just say that whatever this event was, you chose either not to act or not to act as fully as you might have.

Might you have had success? What's the absolute worst thing that would have happened had things not gone the way you hoped for? How bad could it have been? Would you have been thrown out? Would you have been cursed at? Would you have been told no?

And my next question is: Could you have lived with that? And I'll bet you money that the answer is yes. I'll bet you money that the answer is yes, you could have lived, with the worst that would have happened had things not gone the way you hoped for.

Oscar Wilde once said, "One's real life is often the life that one does not lead."
What is the real life that you're not living because of a lack of courage? Conversely, in what ways have you acted despite your fear that have changed your life for the better?

Until Next Time,

Kenrick E. Cleveland

Hi Persuader,

In my Elite Coaching Club, we get into some things that are quite advanced. One of the recent techniques I've been talking about is called 'future pacing'.

Future pacing is a phenomenal strategy that reminds your prospect of all the reasons they made the decision to purchase or sign up with you, and transfers all of those reasons to the future, reminding them why, through triggers and signals that you will have installed.

I do this every time I sell without thinking twice because it's such a powerful way to help your prospect or client lock in the decision no matter what outside influences say or regardless of the second thoughts they may have themselves.

With that said, I'm not going to get into the technique too deeply, but I'd like to tell you a story about how I used this when I was a young man selling health spa memberships.

I had an eighteen year old guy come in and he wanted to buy a membership so I sold it to him. I didn't even really have to 'sell' it to him because he was so eager to sign up.

After he signed the contract, I went through some future pacing and said, 'Imagine if someone tried to tell you that you that signing up with us was a bad decision and how stupid are you to pay for a membership, what would cause you to stay with the decision anyway?'

And he said, 'I want this and no one's going to talk me out of it. I do what I want.'

I said, 'Okay. Supposing you begin to doubt the decision yourself, what would cause you to stay with this decision?'

He explained, 'I absolutely know what I want and I want this membership. I make my own decisions and that's it.'

Later that day my phone rings. The young man's mom is on the phone. 'Hey, you sold my son a gym membership.'

I said, 'He came in and bought one, I didn't have to sell it to him.'

And she said, 'Okay, he bought a membership. I'd like you to cancel it and send me notice that it's been done.'

I said, 'I'm sorry, can't do that. He's over eighteen otherwise I couldn't have sold it to him. He needs to bring in the paperwork, as per the terms of the agreement that he signed, and we'll be happy to cancel it. He has seventy-two hours to do it.'

'Okay, she said, 'We'll be in tomorrow.'

So in they come the next day together. His head was hanging low and he said, 'I need to cancel this, and I wanted to bring my mom in so she can see the club. Can I go work out today and show my mom through the club? And then I'll stop by on the way out and I'll cancel it?'

I said, 'Absolutely. Go right ahead.'

So he went and worked out. Well apparently they drove separate cars if I remember the correctly and the kid ducked out and left his mom there.

She came up to me and said, 'Okay, we need to get this canceled.'

I said, 'Great. Give me the contract and I'll be happy to cancel it for you.'

She said, 'I don't have it. He has it.'

I said, 'I have to follow the terms of our agreement and I will be more than happy to cancel it, just bring me the contract within seventy-two hours.'

The next day the kid comes in, brings the agreement and says, 'I'm supposed to give this to you, but before I do, can I just work out?'

I said, 'Sure. Go ahead.'

So he worked out and left without seeing me.

The third day came. His mother dragged him in and said, 'Give the man the goddamn contract.' He handed it to me.

She said, 'Cancel the contract.'

I turned to him and said, 'Do you want it canceled?'

He said, 'No.' And he started arguing with his mother. He was ready to sever the relationship with his mother over this gym membership.

At this point, I took the membership and canceled it. I realized what had happened. I hadn't given it a second thought until I saw this kid unable to hand back the agreement because he had made a decision and I had future paced it.

When you future pace something, you lock it into the mind of the person and I'm telling you right now that with the power of the strength of their own mind, you will have virtually locked them in.

For more advanced techniques such as future pacing, talk to Kim.

Until Next Time,

Kenrick E. Cleveland

Hi Persuader,

Since we're on the topic of beginning... How do we begin a presentation? If you were sitting down right now to talk to somebody, how would you start your presentation?

What is the frame that you set? Is it a frame of cooperation? Is it a frame of 'I'm right'? Is it a frame of 'you need me'? Is it a frame of 'you're going to do this'? Or is it a frame of 'I'm going to help figure out what you need and give it to you'?

Take just a moment and identify the frame that you're starting with. Not the frame you think you should be starting but what you have been starting with?

Here are two frames students of mine came up with.

"I'm here to help you get what you want."

And, "I want to find out what you need.'

Let me give you some insight into these two frames.

In the frame that says, 'I'm here to help you get what you want', I am in the picture. In the frame that says, 'I want to find out what you need', I'm finding out, it's information, but it's not action and I am not in the frame.

You also must insert yourself into the buyer's mind such that you are an intricate part of the answer.

Life without action isn't much of a life. You must be taking action. One of the best ways to take action is by setting your frame in the beginning right out of the gate. That frame is: I'm going to help you get what you want.

Now maybe what they want is not to do business with you because you're not a good fit. Fine, I'll help you not do business with me. I'll help say goodbye and part friends. Nice. No problem. I appreciate you not wasting my time.

But if you don't insert yourself right into the frame to begin with, then you end up running the risk of having a bigger issue. And that bigger issue is that you're not seen as a person that they are going to take action with.

We're dealing with subtleties here but the subtleties count in a huge way. Remember, the person who sets the frame is going to win. You have to really consider what the frame is that you're attempting to set, and that it is in your mind when you enter into the situation that you're entering into.

If you're out of the frame, your prospect will see you as out of the frame too and they'll thank you for your information and leave.

There's nothing manipulative in my opinion about inserting yourself into the frame. After all, they came to see you, or you came to see them and they let you in. What would be manipulative is if you tried to give them something they don't need or they don't want and that I have a real problem with it.

As the saying goes, 'You never get a second chance to make a first impression.' I'd go even further and say, 'You never get a second chance to powerfully, persuasively, positively set that first frame with yourself as the solution to your prospect's needs and wants.'

Before you even begin, have this be your intention.

Until Next Time,

Kenrick E. Cleveland

Hi Persuader,

Despite the predictability of human nature, we're pretty complex creatures. Even if all things were equal (education, parenting, etc) where one person is achieving goal after goal, others get stuck in holding patterns.

Maybe you're in a holding pattern, feeling unable to escape your current state of complacency and you really want to change your approach to selling. The first step is: begin to change.

It's easy to be overwhelmed by how much change must take place in order to achieve your goal. But taking things one day at a time and simply beginning at the beginning, by taking that first step, you'll soon realize how much progress you're making already.

To quote David Viscott, "If you could get up the courage to begin, you have the courage to succeed." And since you're reading this article on MAXpersuasion.com, you have already begun shifting your focus from complacency to an entirely new understanding of persuasion and ultimately you're on the road to being able to persuade the affluent.

You don't have to map it out alone. Having taken your first step, the next is to get one of the basic programs, like the GSP e-course or The Persuasion Factor. Or, if you're seriously ready for a dive into the deep end of persuasion, my Elite Coaching Club is absolutely the way to go.

Some past highlights of Elite Coaching Club lessons which will be interwove in future lessons: The Importance of Rapport. How to get it, how to keep it; Criteria: The hot button of persuasion. If you've got your prospect's criteria, you've got the sale; Framing--shifting your prospect's perspective to include your product or service. And lately, we're really delving deep into framing and we're going to continue deeper yet.

More and more our lessons have really begun to focus on the work we do with the affluent clientele we're looking to persuade and as we move forward, I'm going to aim, with laser-like precision, at just this target audience. Why not focus solely on the affluent? They're the ones with money.

On the flip side of these persuasion skills, we also work on the fundamentals of human nature using ourselves as the guinea pigs. If we can't persuade ourselves, if we can't understand what makes us tick, there's absolutely no way we're going to persuade or understand others.

With that said, we explore a huge variety of techniques from mapping out our personal, business and public universes in order to learn to manifest exactly what we want to investigating our relationships with intention so as to set ourselves up for success every single time we put our minds to it. We work on clearing out our subconscious minds, eliminating distractions and the things that hold us back, at the same time learning how to communicate with our other than conscious to aid us in our learnings. And we use an unbelievably revolutionary technique to tap out emotional resistance in ourselves which I credit for being one of the top three triggers in the shedding of 140 pounds of extra weight I had been carrying for years.

The Elite Coaching Club is exactly that: Elite. It's not for the faint of heart. It's for people who actually want to get down to the real work of supercharging their lives on all fronts. Another advantage: you'll be working directly with me and my advanced student who are the tops in their fields and are growing and achieving in ways they weren't even aware were possible.

By all means, start with the GSP e-course, work your way through the Persuasion Factor, and when you're ready for more intense work, contact Kim and find out about the Elite Coaching Club.

Until Next Time,

Kenrick E. Cleveland

Hi Persuader,

Yup. It's that time of year again. Fresh starts, new beginnings, an opportunity to recreate ourselves anew. . . I love welcoming a new year with hope and optimism. I love to set out a game plan for the upcoming year. The New Year's resolution is a concept devoted to self improvement and I am relentless about self improvement.

We all do it. We make our lists. . . mental or actual, and we so fervently 'hope' that we can stick to it. We resolve to learn an instrument, work out daily, stop smoking, start spending more time with our families. We resolve to drop twenty pounds, get our finances in order, give more to charity.

In years past, I didn't really get how to do it. I would make an annual (also a daily, weekly, monthly) resolution to lose weight, but it never ended up happening. Why? Well, there were definitely blockages of the mental variety. There was also the physical addiction to sugar, (which I've heard is harder to kick than heroin-not the severity of the symptoms, but in the addictive nature. Also not helping matters is that sugar is in nearly everything.) But there was something that just didn't add up. Wanting is not the same as doing.

Well, as I've written in previous articles, I've started to discover the key to this lifelong struggle. And I'm very excited about continuing to shed pounds and improve myself on all levels.

So how can we turn this 'fervent hope' into tangible results? Well, the first thing to do is take time for reflection. The beginning of the year is a great time for this because the weather is gray, it's warm inside, we may have a little down time. Start by looking inward and write out exactly what you want in life from 2008. Frame these wants in the affirmative and present tense, as if they are already happening for you. This will begin to train your brain to understand that all things are possible. ('I am shedding unnecessary fat at a healthy rate and will continue to do so until I am at my ideal weight.')

Another important aspect is to truly understand what is draining you. Maybe you have friends or family who are sabotaging you. With weight loss as an example, maybe your brother sends you chocolates or tries to get you to go for the old comfort food. Well, your brother, while he most certainly loves you, is not really on board with your resolution and you have to set some clear boundaries.

Connecting emotion to what you're doing gives you an added depth and strengthens your resolve. By focusing on what you will have when you achieve your goal (for example, the happiness you will experience when you have that new career, or the good feelings you will experience when you start doing volunteer work), you will anchor these good feelings to the task at hand making it more probable that you will succeed.

And lastly, the power of visualization is highly underrated. Imagine yourself as the size you want to be. Visualize your bank account increasing. This is the very core of intention and self actualization.

And lastly, be grateful for what you already have, and for what will come to you as a result of your conscious effort.

Happy New Year.

Until Next Time,

Kenrick E. Cleveland

Hi Persuader,

If you don't know it by now, I'm a changed man. My life and health have become drastically improved in the last few years by way of shedding 140+ pounds of fat, adopting a healthy relationship to food and learning to love the gym and exercise.

At my biggest I was 425-diabetic, near death and certainly no where near being able to bench press anything or hop on a treadmill for sixty minutes. Now I spend at least an hour a day at the gym and I'm feeling incredible with the results improving every aspect of my life.

So why the big pat on the back here? Well, I want to talk to you about patience, perseverance and viewing your persuasion skills as a muscle which you need to exercise daily in order to perform at your best.

One day of exercise a week isn't going to do it just as one study session of three hours is much, much less beneficial than twenty minutes a day, every day. In this way the brain muscle works exactly like every other muscle in the body. Researchers have proven that frequent short periods of exercise are significantly more beneficial than a three hour stretch performed less frequently.

Even putting the research aside, how easy is it to section off ten or fifteen minutes a couple of times a day as opposed to carving out a huge chunk of time to "cram" the information in?

For some of us patience is a four letter word. We're movers, shakers, doers, persuaders. We get things done because we don't take no for an answer. And here comes the but. . . But, I implore you to be patient with yourself. Some things come easier to some people, some things come slower. Persuasion is so multidimensional, such a layered and rich body of knowledge that there's very little possibility of learning it and utilizing it all at once.

With that said, I do everything in my power to streamline the process and have made significant advances towards this end. And still, it takes time. It's an ongoing education. We're at the edge of the persuasion frontier and that is thrilling. We are at the edge of the persuasion frontier and that is awe-inspiring. And we are the pioneers so we learn from each day, each session, each exercise, each seminar.

That's a lot to digest. (Back to the food metaphors!)

With our intentions set, with our paths illuminated, we set out to add layer upon layer of persuasion muscle to our work lives, our personal lives and our public lives. Slowly, but surely we will build our persuasion arsenals into tight, toned, compact, (or bulky, depending on your taste), versatile, strong, and powerful tools. I can't tell you how much it thrills me to be your persuasion personal trainer.

And if you're not already working out with me, what's stopping you? Call Kim immediately to get on board.

Until Next Time,

Kenrick E. Cleveland