'Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.' --Albert Einstein

The concept of change is a difficult one to define.  Sometimes things seem to stay the same for huge periods of time. Many people do their absolute best to hold on to things vehemently hoping to stave off the inevitable—their houses, way of dressing, hairstyles, friends, familiar belongings surrounding them all remaining the same giving them a sense of comfort, security.  This is a sad misconception. Holding on to outdated ways does not keep us more secure.

The world around us is constantly changing. The weather changes, time changes, seasons change… there is absolutely nothing we can do to hold back and working against it is incredibly detrimental to our growth.

I’m now in my late forties ready to make personal and professional changes which both excite me and scare me. And I face this thrill/fear with an eagerness to embrace the inevitable growth these changes will bring.

Now that we’re a little way into the New Year, it’s time to take inventory of what needs to change for you.  I wrote a little bit about resolutions at the beginning of the year. This is a basis for change for some people, a nice trigger. However, larger changes come at you at unexpected times, not on a predictable timetable, many times without our consent. (Scary.) And managing our fear over these changes is really the key to happiness and fulfillment on all fronts.

If you’re one of the many people with the fear of change, this is for you, a new start, a chance to stop robbing yourself of the opportunities available to you with a little risk.

The first thing to realize is that your resistance to change is emotional. And emotional resistance is really difficult to overcome. It can be done.  Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about emotions and how each and every emotion we have is a choice. This has really struck a chord in me and given me a new found sense of freedom over what I choose to feel.

Sometimes this resistance is ennui, a general weariness (not to be mistaken for laziness) and what is required in this instance is a sincere desire to push past. For other people change is a fear losing something valuable and a fear the unknown. Valid, both, but remember, regrets are seldom about things we tried, and often about the things we were too afraid to try, the chances we didn’t take.

Part of what I am changing has to do with really exciting developments soon to come in what I am offering at MAXpersuasion. Please stay tuned for new classes, new opportunities to expand your persuasion and your life.  If you would like more information about classes starting soon, please contact Kim at kim@maxpersuasion.com and ask for a run down. Otherwise, stay tuned… there are many exciting changes to come.

Here's to your success!

Kenrick E. Cleveland

We live in a world of distractions and this, I feel, is an understatement. We have so much coming at us from all arenas. . . Even as I sit here typing this, I’m getting alerts that I have new e-mail, I’m getting instant messages from my assistant,  the dog wants to play, nature calls, I’m thirsty, the phone rings.  Phew.  It’s exhausting just to write a paragraph with all of the other things intruding on concentration and focus.

There’s an old saying, ‘If you chase two rabbits, both will escape.’  By scattering our energy, we are not giving adequate attention to the important task at hand.

Alexander Graham Bell once said, ‘Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus.’

There are so many things we can and may be thinking about when we are interacting with a prospect or client. Our internal dialogue may have us worried about our breath or maybe we’ve got something stuck in our teeth. We might be worried about what the mechanic is going to tell us when we call them back or if the kids got to school on time. Issues large and small will battle for our attention and really what we need to be doing is focusing on our prospects and moreover, focusing intently on our prospects criteria and values.

I think of this focus as a flashlight. For example, if we aim our flashlight at a wall out in front of us, we might think we’re seeing quite a bit.  But say there’s something on a shelf that you really want to see. . . what do you do? Well, if you have a flashlight like mine, you have the ability to make the beam wider or narrower. When it gets narrower, it penetrates further. And when it’s wider, it shows me more space, but less distance.  By beginning to focus laser-like on one aspect, we can see more clearly what we want to see (in this case, what we want to know is what our clients want).

As persuaders, I would say one of the things to focus with our flashlight upon is the identity of the person that we’re talking to.

What did I just do? I adjusted the flashlight. I got clearer about where I wanted to focus.

I like to imagine that the client is a white board, I’ve wiped clean, wiped myself clean, and now they’re writing themselves onto that board of which I’m becoming a part of.  If we can focus on identity as persuaders, this would be a key area for which we can develop parts, a key area that we can frame and reframe. It’s a very powerful area.

The whole point of what we’re s persuaders is to learn to shine that light in various ways to best understand and provide what it is that our clients and prospects want. So take a deep breath the next time you are interacting with a prospect, and really focus that beam on them shutting out all other distractions.

Kenrick

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,

Okay, so sometimes I just don’t feel like writing. And sometimes I just don’t feel like working. And on occasion, I’ll admit it, I just don’t feel like going to the gym. And I can always think up so many other things to do, like organize my receipts, or walk the dog, or catch up on my TiVo viewing. . .

And sometimes I even procrastinate on one thing by doing another thing which I was previously procrastinating on. For example, sometimes I don’t want to write so much that I’ll choose the gym as an alternative.

For the most part, though, I’m lucky. I love what I do and I have overcome my minor bouts with procrastination by working with my other-than-conscious mind and working with my intention to set my daily, weekly, monthly and yearly courses, setting watermarks along the way to make sure I am succeeding in my goals.

Procrastination is avoidance. But sometimes there is value in procrastination, sometimes avoiding one thing can push you into another.

In the business world, time is of the essence, so time management and getting things done is king. Having a way to manage any serious procrastination problem is vital. Procrastination is a habit and habits can be broken and rerouted. When you break an old habit, however, it’s important to have a new one in its place, a system for dealing with the ruts that we’ve gotten into over time. (Many times you’ll see a smoker nibbling on carrot sticks as a temporary alternative to get them over the hump where their hand/mouth habit is concerned.)

Understand that your intention is what is setting you on the path to avoidance. And by switching this intention and having a solid resolve for what you want to do and how you’re going to do it, you are setting your other-than-conscious on a mission. This works only if you train your other-than conscious mind properly.

Try this: have a conversation with your other than conscious. Ask it for its help in turning a new leaf on getting things done. Set small goals at first, goals that you are certain you can keep, because you are training your other-than-conscious to work on your behalf. So if you say, ‘I’m going to take out the garbage’, take out the garbage. That’s totally doable. And if you say, ‘Okay, tomorrow I’m going to make two phone calls which I will follow up on with letters’, make those two phone calls and write those two letters.

Visualize yourself keeping your appointments with yourself, following up on your intentions, and getting things done. By creating this synergy with your intention, other-than-conscious, imagination and your deep desire to accomplish what you need to accomplish, you have the ability to push past any procrastination problems you might encounter.

Here's to victory over procrastination!

Kenrick Cleveland

Binds are a fascinating strategy in persuasion which should be used sparingly (especially in writing), a little ‘persuasion seasoning’ so to speak.

Binds are language patterns and like all language patterns there’s a formula.

For single binds there are two formulas: the first is, ‘if X, Y’ and the second is ‘the more you X, the more you Y.’

As a general rule, the X will be a pace (something that is verifiably true) but it can also include a suggestion or a challenge, and the Y will be a lead, how you want them to think or respond but they’re not currently doing, necessarily. (For more on pacing and leading, stay tuned.)

In other words, you can think of X as the set up, and Y is the punch line.

‘If you develop a deep understanding of the power of binds, you’ll feel compelled to sign up for The Persuasion Factor.’

Okay. . .that’s a pretty obvious example. Very transparent, I know, but you see that the first part of the sentence ‘if you develop a deep understanding of the power of binds’ is a suggestion or challenge, and ‘you’ll feel compelled to sign up for The Persuasion Factor’ is the lead, what I want you to do which you may not currently be doing.

Here’s another example: ‘The more you read what I’m explaining, the more you’ll understand the power of using it.’

Let’s break that down a little. The more you read about something, i.e. the more you read about using binds, the more you will understand how powerful they are to use. Is this true? Possibly. I think it is. But it’s more of a presupposition than it is solid, hard, cold fact.

Binds do not have to in any way make sense or be logical.

For example: ‘The more you hear about this piece of property, the more you will be compelled to buy it.’
Is that logical? Not necessarily. In other words, hearing a lot about something doesn’t compel people to buy. Hearing the right things about something might compel someone to buy, but the suggestion here is that that there is a logical link between hearing about the property and being compelled to buy it. You’re creating that link, you’re creating the truth, and you’re making it so in their minds.

Here’s where we start to get into some really interesting ways of using this. ‘The more you try and object, the more you will find yourself going along with these ideas.’

What are we really doing here? We’re issuing a challenge. The more you try and do something we don’t want you to do, the more you’ll find yourself doing what we want you to do.

Here’s another one: ‘The more you want to feel good about yourself, the more you’ll need to act now on this proposal.’

You might say, ‘Kenrick, you can’t just say that to people.’ Well, yes I can. And I do. And it works great. It helps if you make them sound natural. And it also helps to understand them and the related strategies that can make their acceptance even better.

My advice: write some samples out before you try using this technique. It is something that needs to be delivered smoothly or you will get an odd reaction.

Questions? Comments? Login to the blog and let me know.

One of the things I'm hearing quite a bit about these days is that you'd like more people to persuade. The question is how.

Another thing I'm hearing is that people are working more hours than ever before.

I'm not and I'll tell you why and hopefully it will be of help to you too.

Confucius said, "Find a job that you love and you'll never work a day in your life". That's so very true.

Raymond Aaron reiterates this in his book: Double Your Income Doing What You Love. (This is a great book and I highly recommend it. It is full of strategies to implement this process. I'm finding it extremely valuable.)

So the first reason I'm not "working" harder is that I am doing what I love. Yes, I spend a good amount of time doing it, and it is time that is enjoyable.

That said, nobody wants to "work" 16 hours a day.

Nobody wants to be stuck at their computer, or doing grunt work to keep the wheels of their business turning.

The reason you got involved with my materials is so you could be more efficient, persuade easier and close a bigger percentage of those you talk with. In other words, persuasion is a shortcut for you to more success.

My materials will do that for you with helping you master the process of persuasion. But it's the other side of this that trips most people up.

Without the people to talk with, your persuasion skills don't help you as much as they could. Of course, one of the saddest things that I hear (on an all to regular basis) goes something like this: "Kenrick, I have a BIG client that I am going to see in 7 days, which of your materials should I study so I will be able to be as persuasive as possible?". It's sad because Persuasion is not something you learn in 7 days.

The study of persuasion, human nature, influence and selling is something you get into and stay with so you are always sharp. That said, building your business is where you'll create the people to be able to persuade so you can grow your income.

In other words, you have to focus on both sides: learning the art of persuasion and growing your business.

Let's talk about the growing of your business part for a moment.

First let's talk about WHAT a business is. In my opinion, it's a way to leverage the knowledge you have to create bigger results than you could do solely on your own.

If you believe that too, then the next step is to begin to leverage more effectively than you are currently are doing.

The problem many have is creating a "business" that is really nothing more than a job. And that's about how much it pays too. There's no leverage and thus little income.

So what's the key to this leverage? It's getting other people to do the work and create more profits for you so you can focus on doing what you love. (Again, you gotta see Raymond's book.)

And a big key to that could be: Outsourcing.

You might have thought about this before and concluded it's too hard, too expensive, too risky, too time consuming etc.

For me, that's where Marc Lindsay and Daniel Turner came to the rescue.

These guy are the Masters Who Run Multi-Million Dollar Businesses on Outsourced Labor…

Marc and Dan have built their multi-million dollar (per year) web empire using outsourcing.

They currently have over 140 websites, over 100 “staff”, 3 companies (including one of the world’s most respected SEO companies), and offices on 2 continents - and have several sites and companies that make 7-figures per year.

The Key is Their Systems

This was where I was going wrong and where Dan helped set me straight.

The brilliant part about Dan and Marc’s business is everything runs on systems.

That means Dan and Marc didn’t take on the role of being “outsourcing managers” as their new job title - everything runs by itself, according to the system.

And this means their businesses run themselves, grow themselves, improve themselves, and become more profitable - making Dan and Marc more and more money with practically no time and effort required. Wow.

Dan and Marc’s “Outsource Method”

If you want to find out more about how they did it, Daniel and Marc have just released their “Outsource Method” - their “how-to” guide that gives you the systems and techniques that they use in their own business.

It will show you how they started their business for $50 while they were flat broke - and how you can get started the same way (hiring staff who will take the load off you for just $50 per month).

I have the program and LOVE it. It is changing my life and my business. I'm doing exactly what they say and already have outsourced a number of tasks. (Just doing the work to put together one of the systems I've created was incredibly liberating and immediately showed me how I can benefit.)

The $1 Introductory Trial

The price will be going up to $995 on October 15th. But if you get in before Thursday, you can try the full course for $1 (paying $297 in 5 days time if you like what you get.)

If you want to find out more, or get access to Dan and Marc’s Outsource Method at the $1 trial price, here's the link, outsourcing. This is a direct link, not an affiliate link. If you decide to keep the course, we do not profit (other than to feel good knowing we've been of service).

Make sure you get it at the $1 introductory trial price (before Thursday October 15th) - this is incredible information that you won’t want to miss. Check it out and see if you feel like I do with the materials.

If you think this might help you, go check out How to Outsource.

Log into the blog and let me know your thoughts. Are you using outsourcing - either locally or abroad? What are your thoughts?

To having more people to persuade,

Kenrick

I've recently gotten e-mails from people asking if I were still alive and if so, what's happened to me.

Thus, this e-mail and blog post.

First off, yes I'm still alive.

And I'm doing better than ever -- as you'll soon begin to see.

Before I explain, first I simply want to say -- I'm sorry. I should have been staying in touch. There simply isn't a very good reason for my lack of contact. I'm grateful you're a part of my group and I intend to change my ways effective immediately.

Having said that... let me fill you in a little more.

This year, I turned 50. And it's been an incredible year. In a few short months it feels as if I have lived an entire additional lifetime. It's been extremely challenging and it's been very rewarding. My personal life has been down and up. Thankfully, mostly up.

But one thing has continued to go down (which is a positive thing) -- my weight. I weigh less now by more than 20 pounds than I did 13 years ago. And that's really saying something!

I'm by no means there yet, but step by step I'll get there. And I think it's enough that you'll begin to be able to tell as well.

And to that end I'm excited to let you know a few things.

I promise to begin communicating with you much more than I have been. I have so many strategies and ideas that will help you with your persuasion and personal development skills and I can't wait to begin giving them to you.

How you might ask?

Videos.

It's going to be exciting to be able to talk with you in this new format that to date, I haven't used much. I can't wait to get started and even more, I can't wait to hear your thoughts.

In the meantime, you may be wondering what I've been doing to accomplish losing more weight than many people have. LOL

I have to admit to starting my weight loss program using less than healthy strategies. But it got me going. Finally, I realized that the whole reason I was wanting to lose weight was to be healthy and have a good quality of life. So I switched to eating the most healthy, vibrant food I possibly could.

What I eat today is approximately 85% raw food.

I'm passionate about this and will be sharing more with you as I can from time to time. It is changing my life and looks.

Today, more and more people are looking to improve their health. So I'll share my struggles, difficulties and successes with you which hopefully will motivate you.

Expect great things to come.

Kenrick

P.S. My friend Trever is going to be doing an interview with me about how I've accomplished the shedding of these unwanted pounds in the immediate future and I'll let you know where you can hear it. In the mean time, he has created an amazing program that is nearing ready to start on how to eat for better health. It's amazing and I'll be participating. Check it out here: http://www.maxpersuasion.com/recommends/natural

Recently I began looking for quotes that show the power of belief.

What I found surprised me.

While I prefer to focus on the positive, these show just how powerful beliefs can be. (I'll be posting more of these on Twitter so be sure you are following me there. And of course, I'll follow you back. Just click here to add me.)

Here's a few of what I found.

"Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible." (Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895)

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." (Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943)

"There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home." (Ken Olsen, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977)

"The telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." (Western Union internal memo, 1876)

"Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value." (Marshal Ferdinand Foch, French commander of Allied forces during the closing months of World War I, 1918)

From a persuasion standpoint, you can clearly see the problem you'd have if you needed persuade any of these people. Their beliefs would clearly need to be addressed. But it goes beyond merely addressing them. This effects their entire world view. And if others had bought into their positions, where would we be today?

But the bigger lesson here is the realization that beliefs (including values) really do run our lives. They shape what we see and what we don't see. They enable us to be rich and successful or poor and limited.

The great thing is that WE HAVE CHOICE.

Examine what you believe about why you are where you are today. Examine why you do or do not have the money you want. And examine why you are creating the life of your dreams or are manifesting the excuses as to why you don't have it. It's your choice - choose well.

Now, tell me your thoughts. I'd love to hear from you. And while you're at it, share this post on Twitter, if you would.

Kenrick

Sure enough. Tony Robbins said that to a woman crying her eyes out when
we worked with her on stage.

And guess what happened.

She stopped crying.

In fact, she just stopped.

Finally she stammered, "What do you mean?"

And Tony told her she was crying so hard it looked like someone peed on her
face.

She was silent and than began to laugh.

Tony was able to move her to a place where he could work on her problem.

A lot of the people you meet as a persuader are stuck in their own minds.

And we as persuaders need to be able to ask them - "Who Peed On Their Face".

However, I suspect if you aren't on stage like Tony AND you don't have
Tony's leverage,
that might not be the wisest strategy.

Instead, let me show you how I persuade today using Kenrick's Persuasion
Interrupts.

Go here to view the short video:

http://www.maxpersuasion.com/persuasion_interrupts

Gordius, who was a poor peasant, arrived with his wife in a public square of
Phrygia in an oxcart.

An oracle had informed the populace that their future king would come riding
in a wagon.

Seeing Gordius, the people made him king.

In gratitude, Gordius dedicated his oxcart to Zeus, tying it up with a
peculiar knot.

An oracle foretold that he who untied the knot would rule all of Asia.

Many people tried to undo the knot but all to no avail. The penalty for
failing to untie the knot was death.

In 333 B.C. Alexander the Great had invaded Asia Minor and arrived in the
central mountains at the town of Gordium;

He was 23 years old. Alexander was undefeated, but without a decisive
victory either.

He was in need of an omen to prove to his troops and his enemies that the
outcome of his mission - to conquer the known world - was possible.

In Gordium, by the Temple of the Zeus Basilica, was the ox cart, which had
been put there by the King of Phrygia over 100 years before.

The staves of the cart were tied together in a complex knot with the ends
tucked away inside.

Having arrived at Gordium it was inconceivable that the young, impetuous
Alexander would not attempt to tackle the legendary "Gordian Knot".

Alexander climbed the hill and approached the cart as a crowd of curious
Macedonians and Phrygians gathered around.

They watched intently as Alexander struggled with the knot and became
frustrated.

Alexander, stepping back, called out, "What does it matter how I loose it?"
With that, he drew his sword, and in one powerful stroke severed the knot.
Alexander the Great went on to conquer most of Asia before his death.

This story isn't about Alexander the Great.

It's about YOU.

It's about cutting through all of the nonsense and making more sales.

It's about connecting with your customers in a new way.

You've never experienced the power of my all new program.

Here's the sword that's working today. Click here to watch the video