How Home-Based Business Owners Can Get What They Want

How Home-Based

Business Owners Can

Get What They Want

Perfect Marketing Equation

© All Rights Reserved.

Being able to persuade others is

critical to an entrepreneur’s

success.

www.perfectmarketingequation.com © All Rights Reserved.

I was talking with one of my friends

about this and the funny thing was

when I mentioned having a talent to

easily persuade others, she took that

as a negative thing.


I found it interesting how she

related persuading others as

deceptive which is completely

false.


Sure, there are slimy people out

there that are trying to make a

buck off people dishonestly,

there’s no doubt about that.


But if you’re a home-based

business owner, you’re going to

have to sell your product.


If you’re going to sell your

product, you’ll need to talk people

into it.


As a Home-Based Business

Owner You’ll Need to

Understand the Art of

Persuasion


I decided to talk about this topic when I

watched a television program a few days

ago on the National Geographic

Channel called How Can You Get What

You Want a segment from the series The

Numbers Game.


I was fascinated by the program

which stated the entire world was

built on persuasion.


Doctors persuade patients to take

medicine, teachers persuade students to

learn, TV persuades us to do just about

everything, and as a business owner you

must persuade someone to buy

something.


Here are some examples of

persuasion used on the show:

(Content credit to the National

Geographic Channel.)


1. Give a reason


If you’re standing in line and want move

ahead of the person in front of you the

study showed that 94% of the time when

someone gave a reason versus just

saying the word please they actually

would allow you to jump ahead of them.


2. Dress the part


A recent study found that people

were 3.5 times more likely to follow a

man wearing a business suit across

a busy intersection than the same

man in casual attire.


Dressing professionally makes

people think you’re more credible

than if you are dressed normally, and

so they are more likely to believe you

and trust you as an authority figure.


3. Present a visual


Get those PowerPoints ready!

Presentations that use visual support are

43% more persuasive than those that

don’t because visual aids help people

remember and understand things better,

which improves their chances of acting in

a certain way.


4. Grow a beard


A recent study in the Journal of

Marketing Communications found

that men with beards were deemed

more credible than those who were

clean shaven.


5. Speak fast


Studies have found that speaking

quickly, like at around 200 words per

minute, is more effective in short-

term persuasion.


Fast talkers give listeners less time to

come up with their own arguments, and

so the listeners are more likely to just

agree rather than embarrass themselves

by stumbling over their words. So I guess

this is why auctioneers talk so fast?


6. Body language is

powerful


One study found that you can convey

80% of a word’s meaning using

nonverbal cues such as posture,

facial expressions, and hand

movements.


Is Persuasion Manipulation?


I think that many people feel that

persuasion is a form of manipulation

which is why there was a negative

implication when I discussed it with

my friend.


According to an article written for Forbes,

called The 21 Principles of Persuasion

written by Jason Nazar, persuasion is not

manipulation – manipulation is coercion

through force to get someone to do

something that is not in their own interest.


Persuasion is the art of getting

people to do things that are in

their own best interest that also

benefit you.


So stop thinking about those slimy

snake oil salesmen when you think of

being persuaded, it’s actually a

mutual process. Let’s face it,

everyone is selling something!


I’ve filled an entire practice by doing

one thing really really well. I KNOW

my ideal client. I know them

intimately.


Everything I do in my business down to

the website that I designed was from their

point of view, based on what I knew they

needed. I constantly say out loud, “this

isn’t about me” just to remind myself.


If you really believe that, then what

you sell doesn’t really need to be

sold but instead just needs to be

explained so that your client clearly

understands the value.


Now, as long as you’re confident that

you’ve created a product that aligns with

your passion and is of great value to your

ideal client you should make a conscious

decision to release yourself from any

concern of over-selling.


The confidence you have in your

product and your process will

shine through, thus attracting

your client.


Persuasion Isn’t

Manipulation – It’s Science


When conducting research on

this topic I came across a great

video on YouTube called Science

of Persuasion by Influence at

Work.


Wow, this video gave an excellent

perspective!


The video explains that researchers

have studied what influences us to

say yes at the request of others for

over 60 years.


They mention that it would be nice to

consider that we make an educated

decision based on all the available

information. But the thing is, that isn’t

the reality.


They reference to the increasing

information over-loading lives that we

now live and as a result we create

short-cuts to make our decisions.


I thought it would be fun to identify

these 6 short-cuts which they refer to

as the Universal Principals of

Persuasion and then I will elaborate

on them from a home-based

business owner perspective.


Understanding these short cuts and

using them in an ethical manner, as

they explain, can significantly

increase the likelihood that someone

will be persuaded by your request

and say yes.


1. Reciprocity – Simply put, people feel

obligated to give back what they receive.

If you do someone a favor for example,

they feel obligated to do a favor for you.

People are more likely to say yes to those

that they owe.


So from a business perspective if

you provide your audience with great

information that’s valuable and helps

them in some way, they feel

obligated. As a result, they’re more

likely to buy from you in the future.


2. Scarcity – It’s a known fact that

people tend to want more of the

things they can have less of. This is

why so many businesses make a big

deal out of going out of business

sales.


I have a furniture store down the street

from me that I know has went out of

business at least 5 times in a few years.

This can also explain why we tend to buy

things at the last minute – the threat of

losing an opportunity that’s valuable

actually encourages us to buy.


The video explains that it’s not enough to

tell people about the benefits they’ll gain

for purchasing your product. You’ll also

need to point out what is unique about

what you sell and what the potential

customer stands to lose if they don’t buy.


3. Authority – This is the theory that

people will follow the lead of credible

knowledge experts. People are more

likely to trust a doctor that has diplomas

on the wall for example, or a fitness

instructor that is very buff and healthy

looking in appearance.


The science of authority is, it’s important

to signal to others what makes you a

credible and knowledgeable authority

before you make your persuasion

attempt. This theory is why testimonial

marketing is so powerful.


It would be a bit boastful to go

around telling others how great you

are. But what if someone does it for

you?


4. Consistency – You should always be

consistent with things you’ve said and

done in your business. So in essence

when seeking to persuade someone

using the consistency principle, people

will look for active commitments

preferable in writing.


5. Liking – People prefer to say yes

to those that they like. But what

causes someone to like you?

Research tells us there are 3 very

important factors.


First of all we like people who are similar

to ourselves. Secondly, we like people

who pay us compliments. Finally, we like

those who cooperate with us toward

mutual goals.


This principal is why it’s crucial to choose

an ideal client target instead of selling to

everyone. It’s so much easier to create

this bond first with potential customers

that we really understand and secondly

that we share common ground with.


6. Consensus – When people are

uncertain about something they will

look to the actions and behaviors of

others to determine their own.


How good at you at influencing

others to buy? Will this information

help you to do better? If so please

leave a comment! I would love to

hear your thoughts on this slideshow.


If you need some help picking a

niche market I just launched a new

training product that will tell you how

to make that choice step-by-step. It’s

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Click here to check it out.


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Visit my website for more entrepreneur

training courses.

www.perfectmarketingequation.com


http://www.perfectmarketingequation.com

If you’re bootstrapping

a business and need a

roadmap look up my

book, Yanking

Bootstraps, on

Amazon! It’s a short

but powerful read that

will give you strategies

to use right away in

your business.


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I hope you found this slideshow helpful in your business please visit me at perfectmarketingequation.com for marketing training and educational information for entrepreneurs.

Tammy Hawk-Bridges is an author, entrepreneur mentor and marketing strategist. She provides education and marketing training for entrepreneurs. Connect with her on Twitter @thawkbridges.