Dear Persuader,

I want you to think about the process of persuasion a little differently today.  I want you to think of it as a spark, a spark that creates fire, okay?

If you’ve ever used a magnifying glass and started a fire with a little piece of paper or wood, you know that you have to focus it.  You’ve got to have that so finely focused that it ignites from the heat.   If your focus is too broad, you may get that paper warm but it's certainly not going to ignite.

You need to focus the client so strongly on what they want that all of the sudden it’s going to burst into flames.   And, one of the things that will burst it into flames, that will take it to that next level so fast and so powerful is that level of rapport you can bring to the table, that spark of interest that you can get them to feel as a result of what you’re doing.

I want to speak about that spark of interest for a moment.  I want to speak about it in a way that you probably haven’t heard me talk about before.  I’m not going to talk about using their predicates and I’m not going to talk about using their tone of voice... I’m not going to talk about any of that.

What I want to talk about is you thinking about this in terms of a spark of interest, a spark of personality, a spark of rapport.  And I want you to put that image in your mind and if you put that image in your mind then here’s how it would look as I see it.

You start off by gauging the level of interest that the client has, you immediately apply your magnifying glass to begin to magnify that level of interest.

Now, who’s magnifying it?  You or them?

They are.  You’re providing the questions that cause them to go inside and focus more on where the spark hits, and that spark is a magnetic personality that makes the person feel good about what you’re doing and makes them turnaround and come your way.

It’s a spark that happens through belief.  You need to believe so much in what you do and in who you are and in what your products are, that you simply focus on that belief in light of what they’re there to do and magically you’ll feel that spark happen.  I say magically... you can break this into a million different strategies but I’m telling you, if you’ll put this one in your head and run with it for a little bit, you’re going to see that you start creating dramatic results and fanning big flames of desire, and that’s exactly what we want to do.

So focus on that magic.  There’s magic in imagining that you have a spark that will bridge the gap from their few questions to a burning desire and all you have to do is create the heat.  And the heat’s created by focusing them in on what it is that they want and need along with your spark of personality that can get them to start to see the value and the benefit that you’re bringing to the table.

And it happens more in your mind than anywhere else.   In your belief that you’re creating that spark, it exists... and now the flames of desire.  I want you to put in your mind and I want you to see with every client, and I want you to be able to tell me afterward, if I were to ask you, when did that spark hit?

You should be able to say, "Well, it hit when I said...", or "When he or she said...".  You can tell, you can feel it, you can hear it, you can see it, and if the sale didn’t happen, you’d probably respond by saying, "I never did feel that spark, Kenrick, it just didn’t seem to happen."

If that takes place, I want you to begin to analyze why. Was it because they didn’t have a real need or a real desire?  And be very careful not to jump to the conclusion of yes, because my next question is, were you able to sufficiently focus them through your magnifying glass and create the heat that comes when they think about their values and their beliefs as it relates to their questions and what they’re needing from your company?

For you advanced persuaders, I want you to focus on the image.  For those of you that are lesser advanced, I want you to focus on the strategy and the image and you may have to do it part by part which is absolutely fine.  Go at it part by part.

So, the first part is the interest and the interest comes by focusing them through the magnifying glass of their desire, which is another way of saying, their criteria and their values.

The rapport I want you to think of as a spark, a spark that happens as a result of you focusing in on just how madly in love you are with your products and your services, with your company’s values, with the way you are able to interpret and deliver those values and services, that get people to want to be with you.

In other words, you’re coming in with the magnifying glass of criteria, you’re focusing it through the questions that you’re asking, and then you’re making that magic leap through that nebulous something that you and your company possess and you need to focus on that nebulous something and feel it in your heart and feel it transfer to the client.

If you’ll use that strategy, I guarantee you that you’ll start to see things through different eyes in a short period of time.  You’ll start to imagine things happening differently and you’ll be able to focus on what your clients are doing in a very different way.

Kenrick

P.S. Don't forget to post your comments on the blog below.

Dear Persuader,

By now, if you’ve been reading my blog for a while or if you’ve taken a seminar, been involved in my coaching club or gone through one of my self study courses, you know that the basis for persuasion is the ability to build rapport and the basis for rapport building requires questioning your prospect or client with the magic questions “What’s important about. . . ?”

Well, here’s another way you can ask the ‘what’s important about’ question.  This way is to create a fantasy in the mind of your listeners and in doing so giving them permission and the opportunity to answer either silently or out loud to you.  This works phenomenally in a group setting (and works phenomenally one on one, so whichever way).

Here’s an example.  Say you’re speaking in front of a group, you might say, “You are walking along a road by the beach and out near the water, you see something that catches your eye.  You look at it and you walk over to it.  As you get to it, it’s just out of the water so slightly and you kind of dig it out of the sand a little bit and sure enough, it looks like an Aladdin’s lamp.   You think to yourself, wow, could it really be?  You rub the lamp and out pops the genie, with a magic wand in his hand and he says, ‘If I could grant you any wish you wanted as it relates to your business, what would it be?’  How would you answer this question?”

Let your group think about this for a moment.  Say, “I want you to answer that question in your mind right now silently, and I’ll give you a minute just to do that.”

The beautiful thing about imagining and fantasy is that each and every person in the room has a very richly textured, complex idea of what they are viewing, which is highly personalized.  You’ve just accessed the criteria of an entire room full of people.  How cool is that?

Using a magical environment such as a genie in a bottle on a beach also has the benefit of pulling people out of their shells and lulling them to a place of receptiveness to the rest of what you’re going to say.

Why does this work?  Well, here’s a little bit of theory behind it.  School teaches us that vertical thinking is the be all end.   They start with an overview of a subject, like the base of a pyramid, and then build up from there until we get very specific.  Horizontal thinking teaches us how to gain a wider view about things, encompassing more and more, becoming so expansive that we can hardly believe how much there is.

When we get really vertical, we become logical, systematic, and we have a right-wrong, good-bad, black-white mentality.  When we start going too horizontal we get too metaphysical, too out in the zone, and too much into meditation or something, and we don’t take any action.

However, if we start horizontally and we do a big scan of what’s going on and then we get down to the vertical, we win, really, really big, because we can implement the right things

If you want to stay with your fantasy for another question or two you could say, “Now suppose the genie says, ‘Before I grant this wish, what’s important about that?’”

You’ll get people to really open up and come up with answers that really move them instead of just a politically correct answer which you could care less about and accessing both their horizontal and vertical views of the world.

Give it a try and post your stories on the blog below.

Kenrick

Dear Persuader,

You’ve heard the saying; you can’t know someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. This is a technique on how to gain rapport by jumping into another person, stepping in, sliding in, moving in, being in that person, figuratively walking a mile in their shoes.   Harper Lee wrote in To Kill a Mockingbird, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

We are going to learn to climb into the skin of our prospects, experience them, their decision making mechanisms, their emotional states—so that we can better give them what they need and get what we need.

Our unconscious mind is a goal-seeking mechanism, and it’s a pattern recognition device that is incredibly brilliant and it can immediately pick up characteristics of others so that when we step into them, it already has formulated what we’re going to be experiencing.

How are we going to do this?  The way I do it is I just look at you and jump in.  I imagine in my mind that I am now you looking at me. It’s that simple.  When I look at you, my unconscious, knowing that I’m going to step inside you, can very quickly build a pattern of who and what you are, such that when I step inside you, it already has constructed what’s going to happen.  Once I’m inside you, I’m modeling you, or mirroring you so completely and so powerfully that the results can be startling both for you and for the person that this is being done with.

Is it real?  I don’t know.  I don’t really care.  It’s a mental construct.  I am making it up in my mind.  I’m making up that I’m now in your body looking through your eyes.

Another option, one that I’ve had students tell me about, is building a picture the person you’re ‘becoming’, then you turn around so you’re facing the same way I am and just step in.  This can be thought of as mirroring and this is one of the fastest ways of gaining rapport I have ever seen or used.

What if you work with people on the phone and you have no idea what they look like? Could you do the same thing anyway? Sure. What is it that you know about that person when you’re talking to them? They’ve got a phone to their ear, and they’ve got a voice, and their voice has characteristics, and those characteristics have conditions that your unconscious mind has seen before.

If we assume that there is a finite number of patterns that exist, and if we chunk up a little bit, go to a bigger level, we can say, for example, there are twelve astrological signs.  There are seven major personality types, depending on the system that you’re working with.  There are all sorts of different classification systems that will seek to limit the number of possible combinations.

Of course, humans are infinite.  However, wouldn’t it be interesting to know that your unconscious, in its vast experience of dealing with all the people it has dealt with, has come across most all of the major patterns and major characteristics of the people that you’re dealing with?  It knows what that other person can be like. Could you build an image of that person?  Sure you can, you absolutely can, and you can step right in, even if you’re just on the phone.

This is a construct. We are constructing an image. Will it be accurate?  Not exactly, but that’s okay, because if we’re in front of them, and we’re hearing them and we’re seeing them, and if they’re moving, we keep changing our construct until it’s identical to what they are, so for every minute, every second that goes by, ours gets better, and more complete and more powerful, and we’re locking right in to that person.

When you step in, you want to leave yourself behind and see through their eyes.  When you do this, it establishes rapport at a very, very profound and deep level.  Once you’re in them, you’ve really moved along the process of rapport, and you’ve moved it along because you’re so completely identifying with all of their behaviors, and all of who they are.

You can make this more powerful in a couple of ways.  First, marvel at what it feels like and what their clothes feel like.  If the person is of the opposite sex, you might feel what it feels like to be a woman or a man, whatever the case may be, and actually take on those characteristics.

What are their physical characteristics? How does it feel to have those characteristics? Notice when you step into the other person, where you feel the connection to them.  Do you feel the connection in your stomach, in your feet, in your hands, in your chest, in your head?  Where do you feel the connection?  By asking yourself these questions you’ll deepen the rapport.

Before trying this, here’s something to keep in mind: if the person’s sick, if they have something considerably wrong with them, if you know that they’re not a particularly good person or they are someone you just don’t like, you might not choose to use this level of rapport, because you may not be able to shake it all the way off.

This is incredibly powerful. Even if you’re not particularly in touch with your energy, you can still use this effectively.

All the best!

Kenrick

PS... Don't forget to post your comments on the blog.

Dear Persuaders,

I really like you, but...

I agree with you, but...

You look great in that dress, but...

Do you get the feeling from these three examples that whatever coming next might not be so good?

Precision with language is one of the hallmarks of a world class persuader and the big ‘but’ is a huge negator which can cost you persuasion power.

‘But’ actually weakens your ability to persuade others.  Whether you use it in print, in conversations, e-mail, or any other form of communication, it’s a tiny yet dangerous word.

How does ‘but’ hurt you?  Well, let’s take the examples above.  Have you ever had a romantic interest say to you, ‘You know, I really like you a lot, but...’?  What usually comes next?

Well, how about, ‘...but I really just want to be friends.’  Yikes!  Or I’m sure we’ve all heard this at least once,  ‘...but I’m just not ready to be in a relationship.’  Ouch!

Then there’s, ‘I agree with you, but...’  But what?  ‘But it’s just too expensive.’  Ugh.  ‘But I still think I’m right.’

Using ‘but’ in the sentence negated everything that came before it.  What ‘I agree with you, but...’ is really saying is, ‘I don’t agree with you.’

Another thing your big 'but' can do is make you sound indecisive, wishy washy, or like a dreaded waffler.  It softens the power and strength of your message, lessens your authority, and exposes weakness and avoiding this appearance of indecisiveness is especially important when persuading your prospects.

What’s more persuasive--using negating words like ‘but’, or a more solid statement like, ‘I don’t agree with you, and here’s why…’?

Take special notice when others use the word ‘but’.  Doesn’t it feel like they’re not telling you the whole story, like there’s something they aren’t expressing, something they’re not saying?

You might even get left with the feeling of ‘What else is wrong?  What else am I not aware of?’

When this occurs, our brains perform what is called a trans-derivational search (TDS) in order to internally search for what’s wrong.  You’re actually attempting to mind-read what you think they’re leaving out.  In most cases, this leaves you assuming they disagree with you.  That’s the opposite of rapport.

I noticed a big but awhile back.  Paris Hilton was being interviewed before she went to jail (the first time).  Her sentences were filled with incongruencies and at one point where she said (and I’m paraphrasing), ‘Well, I feel really bad about what I’ve done and I’m ready to face the consequences of my actions, but…’ and then she just trailed off.  She didn’t finish her sentence.

But?  ‘...but, I’m a beautiful, spoiled, privileged, entitled heiress and I can do whatever I want’?  ‘...but bite me.  I’ll do whatever I please with no consequences’?  See?  That’s where my trans-derivational search went.  I filled in her blank with my own mind reading abilities.  I’d say I’m not too far off on this one.  =)

One of the great secrets to persuasion is reading between the lines.  What people say is what they mean.  ‘But’ is a perfect example of this.  Listening to what people say is your job.  Take a moment to distinguish the actual words and you’ll likely be surprised at what they are really saying.

There’s a really easy way to eliminate ‘but’ and regain your persuasive power.  Simply replace it with ‘and’.

Instead of, ‘I agree with you, but I still think I’m right.’ Try, ‘I agree with you and I still think I’m right.’  Instead of, ‘I really want to hire you, but we can’t afford what you’re asking.’  Try, ‘I really want to hire you, and we can’t afford what you’re asking.’

Notice how this gives you more credibility when speaking to others.  The more congruency you have in your communication and the fewer contradictions you make, the more successful you will be in persuading others.

Warmly,

Kenrick

Dear Persuaders,

This might be kind of a personal question, or perhaps uncomfortable, but it’s something that will advance your persuasion skills immeasurably.   Are you interesting?  In other words, is what you’re saying and how you’re saying it, engaging and appealing to your prospects and clients?  I’m not just talking about the presentation of your product or service, but the before and after talk when you’re simply conversing.

Do you have the ability to talk about any subject off the top of your head?  And I mean most any subject, because the people you’re talking with are going to bring things up and it behooves you to keep up and have the ability to talk about them too.

If you answered no,  you can’t converse on most any subject, here’s a good creativity exercise for you that will help you to gain power with this ability.

Pick a word, a noun, a person, place, thing, or idea, and then come up with other things that it reminds you of.  This is free association.   For example, the word ‘elephant’.  When you hear the word ‘elephant’, what other words do you think of?  Some that I thought of are: tusks, herds, Africa, large game animals, hunting, knowing when and where you’ll die or issues of death, survival, slow and deliberate, memory. ..  you get the point.   I could have gone on for an hour or more because every one of those words would remind me of other things.

By the way, do you know that elephants know where they’re going to die and when?  There are places called elephant graveyards.  When an elephant gets ready to die, (provided that they aren’t hunted down) they go off to the elephant graveyard for their particular herd.

I’ve also heard that elephants have very sensitive souls.  I saw this on an Animal Planet show.  When I heard that, I couldn’t figure out if the souls of their feet are sensitive or if their spiritual souls are sensitive, because both were present in the story.

See?  There are two interesting (I think) tidbits about elephants.  You wouldn’t believe how much is stored up there in your other than conscious which you can really enhance too.

If you were to do this exercise at least once per day, you’ll find after a few weeks that you start getting far more creative and far more capable of talking on any subject that happens to come up.  It will actually help to make you become more interesting.

Another way to determine if you’re interesting is to record yourself and listen to what you’ve said.  Would you bore you?   Do you have really strange inflections or breathing patterns?  Do you breathe noisily into the phone?  Do you have other linguistic afflictions?  Do you go off on tangents and forget to turn back to where you were heading?

If you have trouble figuring this out yourself, ask a close friend to rate your communication.

If they’re game and actually go through with it, giving you feedback, don’t get mad when they come up with something.

Work on these things and mainly, keep alert.  If you see your prospect’s eyes glazing over or losing their train of thought, or if they begin to fidget check in with them, and check in with yourself.

Kenrick

Hi Persuader,

A friend and marketing genius I know recently said to me, “A recession is a transfer of wealth from the scared to the bold.”  This statement stopped me cold in my tracks.  It’s an incredible revelation and a whole new frame around this the current predicament we find ourselves in.

Money is still being spent out there, folks.  The million dollar question is, is this money going to be spent with you or is it going to be spent with your competitors?  Say there’s been a decrease in spending by 5 or 10 percent.  If you do the math that means 90 to 95 percent of the money is out there for the picking.

What distinguishes a skilled sales professional, business owner, real estate agent or financial planner from the rest is the realization that now is the time to boldly hone your message and target your clientele and the ability to enact this honed message.  What does that mean?  For one thing, it means that now is not the time to skimp on your marketing.  Now is the time to reach out to your prospects and clients and delve deep into their values, their needs, their core drives and utilize your persuasion skills fully.

Most people believe that persuasion is something that is done externally to someone else.  This is only half the story.  Persuasion is something that we first and foremost need to apply to ourselves.

To that end, I’m going to share with you the first thing you need to do in this fear-based economy.  This is a revolutionary idea. It’s invaluable.  And yet, it’s somewhat scary.  It’s what is making my students more money than their competitors and helping to keep their clients from straying at the same time that they’re acquiring new clients.

No one likes to be yelled at, no one likes to be on the receiving end of anger or frustration or disappointment or fear or devastation, and yet my advice to you is: get comfortable with being the recipient of all of this.  Here’s the big secret:  Allow your clients to vent.  Most sales professionals will try to diffuse this or wiggle out of it.  Many will become defensive and unload excuses.  Simply put:  Sit there and take it.   I promise that the venting process will allow your prospect or client to release this fear and anger and disappointment.  It’s not going to eliminate it, but it will go a long way to getting them to the point where they are again open to receiving your message.

This most certainly gives you an incredible advantage!

Warmly,

Kenrick E. Cleveland

Hi Persuader,

One of the first things I teach to new students is the process of eliciting criteria. This is a simple process, but not necessarily easy. I am of the opinion that the greatest truths in life are the simple ones, are the clear ones, the ones that make the most amount of sense.

If you haven't yet elevated the elicitation and utilization of criteria to one of the greatest truths in life, you soon will. For me, this ranks right up there with the law of gravity, the law of averages and the law of attraction.

Something came to me this week as I was creating a new lesson plan for my Elite Coaching Club. There was a change that happened in my life years ago that I've identified rather strongly now. I used to sell using SAD -- the standard American diet of poor sales. I used simply regurgitate features and benefits, cross my fingers, and pray that the person wanted to buy what I was selling.

Then came the big shift: I began using criteria and everything changed. I didn't have to cross my fingers anymore because I was selling, selling like crazy, selling like gravity, selling like averages, selling like magnetic attraction.

If you're in sales, odds are you were taught this SAD way of sales. Think back to when you first started this. Do you recall times when your prospect would identify with something that you were saying and they would say, 'Yes! I want what you have to offer.'

Do you recall the elation that you would feel? I hit on something they want!! I think we're going to have a deal here!!

This didn't happen as often as I wanted because this was before I understood the power of criteria and I would just get elated. I would think, I really figured it out this time.

The problem was that the elatedness I felt was transient because I didn't figure it out, I lucked into it.

The fact is that we had successes in the past, but they didn't happen with the regularity that we really wanted. So we began the process of working on developing ourselves. And if you're involved with me, then the process of criteria elicitation has changed the way you sell.

There's an assuredness that came over me which is something I wish for you too.

It's a shift, an emotional difference was one of having the tools and the ability, and it's a foregone conclusion that I would use them to the benefit of my clients and myself, to really ensure that I could do something to help them.

So to that end, I want you to begin to take on that emotional quality as you start to use the tools of criteria. It's a foregone conclusion that you know how and will use these tools to help your client and you come to an understanding of what can be done. And as you do that, you're setting in motion profound levels of rapport and belief in the mind of that client that will easily get them to give you all of the information you need to rapidly secure their criteria, and more importantly even, their high values.

Until Next Time,

Kenrick E. Cleveland

Hi Persuader,

Because I have a teenager, I'm hip to some of the more . . . well, hip things going on out there. And because my business is primarily virtual, I am well aware of the extreme power of the internet. In combining both the cutting edge hipness and the extreme power of the internet, I've recently (I know, I know, it's a little after the fact) become acquainted with Facebook.

I had heard about Facebook, but didn't really understand what it could bring to me, or what I could bring to it. And now I'm sold (despite the fact that it's free).

This site along with Twitter (which I recently blogged about) are social and business networking sites, Web 2.0 style, that absolutely have the ability to revolutionize business.

It all starts out like kids in schoolyard, sort of sweet, like, 'Will you be my friend?' People you've worked with in the past, current clients and potential prospects, people with similar interests, friends that you may have in common, even strangers who just like the look of you or the message you're putting out -- you can respond to their friend requests (or they can respond to yours) and you will get a little message on your thread that simply says that you and that person are now friends.

As I write this, I now have 183 friends and growing, and that after only one month on Facebook. (If you want to be my friend, here's my page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=715037097)

What are the possibilities here? I happen to think the sky's the limit. (I always think the sky's the limit.) I am looking for people who have their hands raised. This is the real core of marketing and networking. I am looking for people I can connect with who I can truly help to flourish and grow with persuasion training. My intention is to reach as many people I can for mutually beneficial relationships.

On a side note: another aspect of marketing I'm exploring is that I now offer my clients 20% of every student they bring me. That's 20 % of every Elite Coaching Club member, every Persuasion Factor member, and any future program I offer. What does this mean to my students? Well, as long as they're in the program, if they bring me five Elite Coaching Club students, they can be in my Coaching Club for free. WOW!! That's huge.

I have really exciting plans for 2008 that I will be unveiling in the coming months that I'm absolutely thrilled about and that I am certain will thrill you too. As always, I am eager to hear what is on your mind, my students, and what I can do to improve your experience and learning of persuasion and the benefits it is bringing to your life.

So for now, I'd ask you to sign up on Facebook, look me up, become my friend, and stay tuned for the amazing things to come.

Until Next Time,

Kenrick E. Cleveland

"It is your work in life that is the ultimate seduction." -- Pablo Picasso

Hi Persuader,

Sometimes in persuasion, the thing to do is to get provocative. I'm not talking about being inappropriate or crass, I'm not talking about being overtly sexual, but I am suggesting that you access the core drives a little, those primal drives that link each and every one of us as human animals, and specifically I'm thinking of the drive to reproduce.

Seduction need not be limited to the realm of mating or luring someone away from accepted principles or proper conduct. Being seductive in all aspects of your life is really a very deeply persuasive attribute. Being seductive is to win over and attract, enticing someone into our desired mindset or position.

Someone once told me that they flirt with everyone -- men, women, all ages, all nationalities, all shapes and sizes, all the time. This struck me as deeply odd until I realized they were not flirting in the sense that they were looking to 'hook up' (as the kids put it) but to charm. Once I reframed it in my mind, I realized that this is a great way to be in the world. How fascinating it is to allow everyone you come into contact with the deeply charming version of you which is usually reserved for attractive person you're trying to "get closer to", so to speak.

Here's another way to view this: it's rapport with a twist.

Now, this isn't for everyone. For example, for women, this can be a rather messy can of worms if not done with very clear boundaries. Men are highly susceptible to being flirted with or being charmed and the best bet is to be extremely obvious that this is how you interact with everyone, not just them.

Everyone loves to be given special attention and this form of rapport and criteria elicitation incites that very delightful feeling of being given that special attention.

Here's another way to access this powerful motivator. Insert into your conversation words of a titillating variety. This is a roundabout way of stimulating these drives that will give sometimes vague, sometimes intense triggers of that core drive.

Phew. . . sorry about that. I was just giving an example and got a little carried away, but now you get the idea.

Don't go too off the charts with this one or people might think you're creepy, but there is great benefit in turning on the lights and bringing these things out into the open to expose how they can turn us into better persuaders.

So while I may not exactly admit to being a flirt, I will say that I do enjoy the process of charming as a way to persuade and, in general, a way to make people feel good.

Until Next Time,

Kenrick E. Cleveland

Hi Persuader,

Try this: I'm sure you'll get it real quick but because you're all such good folks out there, I want you to spell the word 'folk' three times. Do it right now in your mind. Spell the word 'folk' three times as fast as you can.

Now what do you call the white part of an egg?

Did you say yolk? Really?

Are you asking your prospects the right questions to get to their deepest values and criteria? When we elicit criteria, if we're doing it right, our prospects don't understand what they are really giving us.

So how can we make the most of each question we ask? An extremely important thing to remember is that the questions cause the answer. What does that mean? It means that as we learn to better ask the question, we're going to be a lot better at making persuasion happen.

If I were to look at you as a brand new client, and you've never bought anything from me before and let's say I'm an advisor and I'm there to help you with wealth planning throughout your generations and I say, "Would you just tell me the two or three things that you need to hear me say today to make you buy? Just tell me so that we can get this part out of the way. Go ahead. I'm listening."

What would happen? That's right. Nothing. They'd probably either tell you to leave or they'd get up and walk out. Yet magically, when we elicit their criteria, they gladly give that very same information to us.

Why? Well, to an extent, it's disguised.

Your prospect does not understand what they're giving you when you ask this way. They don't get it. Once in a blue moon you'll find someone giving you resistance to this, but it doesn't happen often.

Even if they did understand what they were giving us, it is socially correct and absolutely acceptable to find out what they need prior to recommending a product or service. Doctors don't just prescribe medicine prior to finding out about your history, finding out if you have allergies or without finding out why you're there to see them. Neither do consultants, lawyers, or sales people. We simply cannot give people any recommendation if we don't know what they want or need.

Here's the point and this is important: we're setting people's minds up so that we can enter them and we can get them to do what we want them to do. We can set them going along a direction that when we interrupt that direction, we can cause them to immediately, as if it was always so, go along with what we're saying. (What's the white part of an egg called?)

When I ask you 'what's important about X?' or 'if I were a magician and I had a magic wand and I could wave it and get you anything in business you want, what would it be?' I'm listening very intently for where you have the strongest emotional reaction to one of the words that you're saying.

We're opening the people's minds. We're opening them to their own desires, to their own things.

Until Next Time,

Kenrick E. Cleveland