How to persuade and avoid being persuaded

Mes amis,

Thanks again for your support last week.

It means a lot to me having you come to my side 🙏🏿 

My knee is still sore, but it’s better.

My hope is to be training again by the end of next week. I’m losing my mind watching everyone from the sidelines.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programme.

Persuasion (Part 1)

Recently, I’ve been reading the book Presuasion, by Robert Cialdini

It’s on every marketer’s must-read before you die.

But, you know what? It is a must-read. 

Well, you should definitely know and understand the principles and how:

• They’re used against you

• To defend yourself against them

• You can use them to get yourself ahead

This week we’ll look at 2 principles and 3 methods.

It’ll be a good starting point to develop our awareness ahead of next week’s issue, where we’ll look at the other 4 principles.

First up: Likeness - compliments and mimicry

Compliments

We like people who like us. What better way to communicate this than with our words? 

By the way, thanks again for supporting this newsletter - you spoil me with your kindness 🥹

Did your guard loosen up?

It’s a sales tactic used to build rapport, identify pain points, and close the deal.

Compliments warm you up to new people. 

To counter this, accept the compliment, let the emotion show and genuinely be grateful to have received it.

But be aware of the context they said it in

Are you buying something from this person?

Then they probably want to close the deal.

Not every person will compliment you looking to profit, so remember to apply context.

Mimicry

Another subset of the likeness principle. 

People will mimic our:

• Accent

• Tone

• Body language

• Cues

• Gestures

To fit in and become a part of the group, similar to how you revert back to your old mannerisms with family and old friends.

We will lower our guard and, like a new person faster, if they feel like they’ve been a part of the group forever. 

It is also why people have a natural prejudice towards unknown groups or people.

Your brain is trying to keep you safe, analysing this new encounter for trouble.

It’s also why nepotism exists and will continue to exist, as well as subconscious biases. 

A person is more likely to hire you than your ethnic counterpart, even if they have matching CVs.

We’re at ease with things which look like us.

Reciprocity - Give first (be positive and go first)

When you give, the recipient is mentally obligated to provide you with something of equal or more value back to you. 

Cialdini uses the example of the salesperson he shadowed. The salesperson would always start the interaction by giving the homeowners a free fire extinguisher upon visiting their home.

Before trying to get them to buy an expensive smoke alarm.

Awareness again is key.

Think about the context you’re in when receiving this gift.

It’s also important to remember there is a time threshold. If the gift is large, then you have a longer window to call back a favour.

If the gift is small, then the window to receive that favour is a lot smaller.

It’s all about value.

We shall leave it there for now. Next week, we will explore the other 4 principles.

A bientot 👋🏿

Oooo, what’s this then?

This is new 🤩

I got some new furniture for the house 😏

From now on, I’ll be sharing more about my interest

Excited?

Let’s do it 🔥

Music of the week

This week’s album SZA’s latest album, SOS.

My rule of thumb is to always listen to an album twice before sharing my opinion; you need to let the album marinate.

I was quick to judge SOS because I don’t think it tops Ctrl but this is still a great listen.

Podcast of the week

Mine! The Work in Progress Show. 

Yep, I have a podcast.

With my good friends, Pandeni (Dan) & Felix, we share our experiences on our journey to success in our careers, giving young people insight and tips.

This week we talked about networking sharing our worst experiences, our best and our wtf moments too

You can watch it here: 

Or listen to it here: 

Send me your thoughts afterwards too!

Wall of Inspiration

Be bold.

Pray for:

• Courage

• Confidence

• And wisdom

As preached by Pastor Efe Efeturi

You can watch that sermon here (watch from 59 min):