THE NINE BIGGEST MISTAKES MADE IN RESUMES, COVER LETTERS, AND INTERVIEWS AND HOW TO ELIMINATE THEM IMMEDIATELY
Welcome to this exclusive, free report, brought to you by Arial Marketing, Inc. and The Cleveland Institute, Inc.
The information in this report is probably far more interesting than what you're expecting. It's not about the kinds of things you probably already know you should do to get the job you want -- like use your existing network of contacts, practicing your interviews, researching the company you want to hire you, and so on.
Instead, this report teaches you SKILLS OF PERSUASION that you can immediately implement in every aspect of your job search: in your resumes and cover letters, your interviews, and even in moving up in the company once you GET the job!
Unless you've studied with Dr. Cleveland before, you've probably never seen or heard about anything like this. That's why you'll really want to FINISH THIS REPORT COMPLETELY before forming any ideas about some of the many ways it can benefit you, okay? There's also a form at the end that you can e-mail back to us to receive a FREE subscription to, "e-Persuasion," a monthly electronic newsletter that brings you more helpful techniques every month!
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NOTE: We're starting with the simple strategies first. As you progress through this report, the strategies get more powerful while also requiring more participation on your part. So PAY CLOSE ATTENTION and take breaks throughout the lessons in order to ABSORB THIS more fully.
HERE'S SOME OF WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO LEARN RIGHT HERE IN THIS REPORT:
* What the Quotes Pattern is, how and why it works, and how to use it to increase your persuasive power in every situation
* How to covertly compliment someone else using the Quotes Pattern without looking like a "brown-noser"
* How to covertly flame someone else using the Quotes Pattern without taking the heat
* How to add impact to another person's compliment using the Quotes Pattern
* Dangerous Word # 1 and why it kills your persuasive impact
* How to read between the lines of other people's words to find the REAL meaning of what they're saying
* How to replace Dangerous Word #1 with a powerful, persuasive word
* The basis of Rapport: where trust really comes from and how to make people trust you in every situation
* How to build trust in writing: e-mail, letters, faxes, memos, advertising, etc.
* How to use Rapport skills in combination for greater impact
* Why the "old fashioned" way of selling a product, service, idea or benefit doesn't work and how to use the technology of Criteria to convince anybody of almost anything
* The actual sequence for obtaining anybody's Criteria, and detailed instructions on using their own Criteria for persuasion
* Dangerous word #2, why it kills your persuasion message and how to get rid of it
* Why "slamming" your competition is a dangerous tactic and how to avoid it
* How to use emotional anchoring to your advantage in all persuasion situations
* Why disagreeing with people's objections, rejections, or disagreements actually hurts you
* How to agree with them while changing their minds
* The six categories of the 18 Most Powerful Words in the English Language and why they make your communications so powerful
MISTAKE # 1 - FAILING TO USE THE "QUOTES PATTERN" TO SAY SOMETHING GOOD ABOUT YOURSELF
One of our favorite subjects to teach here at The Cleveland Institute is something we call, "Language Patterns." These are techniques for modifying your language in order to be more influential and persuasive.
We teach over two dozen different language patterns, and the "Quotes" pattern is one of them. The "Quotes Pattern" is a way to say something good about yourself while maintaining your humility. It's a way to convince your prospect that something you're bragging about is actually true! This is a perfect technique for use in e-mail and faxes as well as all spoken communication, and it's especially useful when you're looking for a job or a raise in your current job!
WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO LEARN IN THIS SECTION
In this section, you're going to learn:
* What the Quotes Pattern is
* How and why it works
* How to use it yourself
* Real-world examples of this pattern
* How to covertly compliment someone else using the Quotes Pattern
* How to covertly flame someone else using the Quotes Pattern
* How to add impact to another person's compliment using the Quotes Pattern
* A little about "Emotional Anchoring"
* Places where you can use the Quotes Pattern
Where would you want to use this? Anywhere that you want to say something good about yourself to sound impressive: good things about your products, testimonials from your happy customers, something impressive about your company, etc. Here's how it works:
Suppose I'm in a conversation with you and I want you to believe that I'm the most powerful persuader alive. I could simply say:
"I'm the most powerful persuader alive."
But is that believable? Doesn't it sound like I'm tooting my own horn? A statement like that doesn't really carry a lot of credibility, does it?
So, using the Quotes Pattern, I'll change it to this:
"Many of my students tell me I'm the most powerful persuader alive."
Suddenly, the sentence is a lot more believable. Instead of me saying that I'm powerful, my students are saying it. This is automatically more believable.
It's amazing how simple this is, yet it works because it's actually an "implied testimonial." When companies want to sell you a product or a service, why do you think they always show you what their current customers are saying about the product or service? Because we tend to believe what OTHER people say a lot more than what a person (or company) says about themselves.
Also, realize that in general, we don't question whether or not it's true that "my students" actually said I'm the most powerful persuader alive. We simply accept it. (That's partly due to a special way in which we interpret language. This is covered in more depth in the Home Study Course.)
Here's another example. Suppose you're in a job interview and you want to mention that you graduated first in your class, but you don't want to sound self-important. Instead of saying:
"I graduated first in my class."
...say this instead:
"My friends tell me that since I graduated first in my class, I should easily be able to find the right job."
Do you see how this pattern informs the listener of the exact same information without you sounding like a snob? The entire idea behind this is to take what you want to say about yourself and put it into the words of someone else. Just put quotes around it, see?
As an exercise, rewrite the following sentences using the Quotes Pattern:
"This is the best price you'll find on this product anywhere."
"I have over a hundred satisfied clients."
"I can do this project better than anybody else."
REAL-WORLD EXAMPLES OF THE QUOTES PATTERN
Writing an e-mail to your boss, requesting better computer equipment: "Many of my coworkers have mentioned that it's almost a miracle how I can get anything at all done with the kind of out-dated equipment I'm working on. They said I should immediately demand a top-of-the-line computer system. So I've been thinking about how much more I think I could get done with a system like that, and I thought I would run the idea by you."
Trying to get a new job (talking to the interviewing person): "My last employer said I was such a valuable member of the team that they would do anything to keep me there."
Getting a raise (talking to your boss): "Some coworkers are telling me they appreciate the way I work with them so much that I should get a really big raise. But I tell them I'm just doing my job!"
Selling your product or service (talking to a potential buyer): "Many customers tell me this is worth TWICE what they paid for it. It almost seems ridiculous, then, for me to be offering it to you at a discount, doesn't it? Hmm..." (Then wait for them to jump in and say, "Oh no! Your price is very reasonable!")
Convincing your banker to give you a loan: "The loan officer over at ABC Bank said they would LOVE to have the chance to offer a loan like this to a person with my kind of perfect repayment history, but I told them I had the obligation to check with my main bank first. That's why I'm here!"
And you can easily think of your own examples where you could USE THIS PATTERN to enable someone to believe something really great about yourself or your company. Are you having fun with this yet?
USING THE QUOTES PATTERN TO COVERTLY BROWN-NOSE SOMEBODY ELSE
Here's another very powerful way in which you can use the Quotes Pattern:
How many times have you found yourself in a situation where you wanted to say something good about someone else without causing them to think you're a "brown-noser?" Perhaps you want to pay your boss a compliment as your year-end evaluation draws near. Or perhaps you just want to make someone feel good about themselves in a covert way.
Here's how you do it:
1).Decide what you want to say.
2).Put it in the Quotes Pattern.
For example, suppose you want to tell your boss she's doing a fantastic job. The non-persuasive, direct way would be:
"Wow, you're a really good boss. You're so amazing -- how you can get so many things done at once."
That's what we call, "Spreading it thick." It's a deep-down brown-noser comment, and it's not likely your boss will think you really mean it (whether or not you actually do!).
So to smooth it over and give the same compliment while being taken seriously, USE THE QUOTES PATTERN like this:
"Wow. I've had so many coworkers tell me you're such a good boss. They say it's amazing how you can get so many things done at once. And I agree."
See what a difference this makes? And it doesn't matter that you're really saying "someone else said this" because the net effect is that she will feel very good about what you're saying, and she'll begin to experience strong, positive emotions about you.
EMOTIONAL ANCHORING
This is a phenomenon called "emotional anchoring" and it works every time. When you raise the listener's emotions to a strong positive state, they will automatically attach those good feelings to you at a subconscious level. (I explain exactly why this works and how you can use it to control people's emotions in the Home Study Course. See the end of this report for more information.) And the next time they see you, they will automatically feel good about you (more on this later in the report).
The more you can bring up positive emotions with other people like this, the more positive they will actually feel about you! I find this to be fascinating how human psychology works.
Here are more examples of using the Quotes Pattern to covertly say good things about other people:
EXAMPLES OF USING THE QUOTES PATTERN FOR COVERT COMPLIMENTS
Saying something nice to a customer in a sales situation: "A lot of people would say, Mr. Carey, that a person with your stature, your natural handsomeness, would look even better in this $500 suit. Want to try it on?"
Selling over the phone: (After they say something positive about your product or service.) "If my boss were on the phone right now, Mrs. Rose, he would say you are the most intelligent, observant person he has ever talked to. You're absolutely right, this IS the best quality service you can get anywhere."
At work (talking to the President of the company): "A lot of people are telling me this is such a well-run company, from the President on down, that they wouldn't even THINK about buying from someone else. I just tell them, 'That's right!' We're proud of this company and our President."
Interviewing for a job (talking to the interviewer): "My best classmates are saying some wonderful things about your hiring practices -- that you only hire the best, and that you're really looking for the person with the highest skills no matter what degree they have. And I'm beginning to see that they are right!"
For exercise, practice writing three sentences using the Quotes Pattern for covert compliments!
USING THE QUOTES PATTERN TO FLAME SOMEBODY ELSE
You can also use this same language pattern in another powerful way: to tell somebody something you don't want to directly say to them.
Suppose you want to verbally thrash somebody who's interrupting your presentation in a business meeting. The direct approach would go something like this:
"You know, John, you're extremely rude, and I personally take it as an insult that you would talk so much during my presentation."
Chances are, after you say this, John will spend the remaining hours of the presentation figuring out how to ruin your day. You'll also appear extremely harsh to the other participants in the room. Basically, it would be a bad move in the game of "office politics."
However, by being able to use the Quotes Pattern, you can easily say something like this:
"You know, John, I think that if Mr. Jones were here right now, he would say, 'You're an extremely rude person, John. How DARE you make such noise in this meeting and interrupt all the other people who are trying to listen! What ATROCIOUS behavior from an employee of this fine company!' But that's not my style. I'm simply going to ask you to be a little quieter, okay?"
Isn't that GREAT? Do you see how you simultaneously manage to verbally thrash the heck out of the guy while maintaining your own poise? You'll score big points at the office with this one! And one reason I like this pattern so much is because it's actually fun to use it where appropriate!
Here are more examples:
Collecting an unpaid debt: "You know, a lot of freelancers would say you were an outright LYING BASTARD for doing what you did, and they would probably report you to the Better Business Bureau AND the Attorney General's office for refusing to pay them! But I'm different. I understand you, so I'm willing to wait 30 more days for the payment, but ONLY IF you will make a commitment in writing, right now, to pay me in full before those 30 days are up."
At the bank: (Talking to the banker who refused your loan.) "Most people might storm into your office and say something like, 'How DARE you act like such a stuck-up all-important person by not granting this $10,000 loan. Unless you GRANT THAT LOAN NOW, you're proving that you're a complete *$%*!' But you know what? That's not my style. I'm simply going to ask you to review that loan application again because I think you might have missed something."
In public: (Talking to someone who cuts in line in front of you.) "You know, a lot of people would call you a real ASS*$%* for doing what you just did. They might say you're a complete IDIOT with no care at all for other people. But I'm simply going to nicely ask you to go to the back of the line, okay?" (By the way, don't try this if the person looks dangerous -- i.e. carrying a large, blunt instrument. Use some common sense with these patterns, okay?)
Now, practice writing sentences using the Quotes Pattern for verbal thrashing. Here's an example for you:
"If my business partner were here right now, he might say, 'You're a real JERK for discriminating against us simply because we're a home-based business. I don't know if what you did was illegal, but I'm going to FIND OUT!' But fortunately, you're dealing with me. And I understand your position very well -- do you now understand ours?"
Are you now beginning to see how powerful this is? Think about your own situations for using this. Add a little creativity, and WHAMMO! You're suddenly having fun with persuasion!
USING THE QUOTES PATTERN AFTER A POSITIVE COMMENT
Here's one more tip for the Quotes Pattern: using it after you get a positive comment. When you're talking with a potential client or a current customer and they say something positive like:
"Your service is really good."
You can leverage their statement to hit them with some really powerful persuasion! The common, boring way to answer a positive statement is to simply say, "Thank you." However, there's nothing special in giving thanks. It's courteous, sure, but it's not blow-me-away powerful!
The way to turn their own words into a more powerful persuasion message is as follows:
1).Repeat their compliment followed by "Isn't it?" or "Doesn't it?"
2).Use the Quotes Pattern to say that someone else said even better things about you.
Here's an example:
Client: "Your price is really low."
Reply: "Our price IS really low, isn't it? In fact, another customer I was just talking to earlier today said that our prices were the LOWEST in the country!"
See how this works? You just repeat what they said, follow it with, "Isn't it?" or "Doesn't it?", and then use the Quotes Pattern. And the real beauty of this pattern is that it's entirely based on what the person already said. Thus, it's BELIEVABLE. If they said it, it MUST be true, right?
Here are a few more examples:
(In a sales situation.)
Your customer: "You product seems very unique."
Reply: "Our product really IS unique, isn't it? Many customers tell me they can't find this ANYWHERE else. We really have the best, don't you agree?"
(At a job interview.)
Interviewing person: "You have some excellent job experience."
Reply: "I really DO have excellent experience, don't I? In fact, the last company that interviewed me said that my experience was SO excellent, they would hire me in a minute if they could only afford my asking salary."
(On the job, during your job evaluation.)
Your boss: "You've finished a few projects very nicely over the past year."
Reply: "I really HAVE done well on some projects, haven't I? In fact, some coworkers said that I'm so good at this, I should look for a better-paying job. But you know what? I'm happy to keep working for you."
Now, for exercise, practice responding to these positive comments using this twist with the Quotes Pattern:
Example:
Customer: "You have a very wide selection."
We really do have a wide selection, don't we? Just today, one customer told me that we had the very best selection they have ever seen, and they wouldn't even THINK about shopping anywhere else but here!
Now, do these exercises:
Customer: "You have a very fair return policy."
Customer: "You have a good quality product."
Customer: "Your service is excellent."
Customer: "You're one of our best employees."
Customer: "This is the best report on persuasion I've ever seen."
WHERE YOU CAN USE THE QUOTES PATTERN
Remember that just because I'm using "conversational" examples in this booklet doesn't mean you can't use this in writing. In fact, this is one of the best language patterns to use in writing faxes, e-mail or letters. Readers have no idea that you're actively using these persuasion strategies because the pattern sounds completely natural!
Use it in your writing, your e-mail, face-to-face conversations and phone calls! You can even use it in your speeches or promotional materials. And the more you USE THIS MATERIAL, the more persuasive you'll be!
SUMMARY OF THE QUOTES PATTERN
You just learned about the Quotes Pattern, WHAT it is and HOW it works. You also learned how you can use it yourself, and in what situations it's useful.
You learned how to covertly compliment someone else -- or flame them without taking the blame -- using this pattern. You also learned how to add impact to someone else's compliment to you.
And finally, you learned a little about emotional anchoring and places where you can use the Quotes Pattern.
Is this getting fun yet?
MISTAKE # 2 - USING "BUT"
Did you know the word, "But" can actually be a dangerous word? If you use it during your negotiations, e-mail, phone conversations, sales letters, or any other form of communication, you're probably weakening your ability to persuade others.
WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO LEARN IN THIS SECTION
* Why "But" is a dangerous word
* What people really mean when they use "But"
* Reading between the lines of other people's words
* What happens if you use "But"
* How to replace "But" with a better word
How? First, let's look at what happens when other people use "But" as they are talking to you. Suppose I tell you this sentence:
"I agree with you, but your price is too high."
I used the word "But" in the sentence, and what happened to the meaning? When I said, "I agree with you, but..." what was I REALLY saying?
Think about it. What I'm really saying is, "I don't agree with you."
That's because the word, "But" tends to negate what was said before it.
When people say, "I agree with you, but..." you automatically know the next thing out of their mouth will be something that proves they don't agree with you.
If I say, "I like you, but I can't go out with you.", what am I really saying? I'm really saying, "I don't like you."
WHY "BUT" HURTS YOUR PERSUASION MESSAGE
When other people use the word "But," doesn't it feel like they're not telling you the whole story? There's something they aren't expressing... something they aren't saying.
So you get left with a feeling of "What else is wrong? What else am I not aware of?" And your brain performs something 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 are leaving out. And in most cases, this leaves you assuming they disagree with you.
NOW YOU KNOW WHAT OTHER PEOPLE MEAN WHEN THEY USE "BUT"
Now when people say things like the following, you'll know what they really mean:
"I realize you're a business with integrity, but I still can't loan you the money."
"I really like your company, but I still think your price is too high."
"I think you're a neat person, but I still don't want to buy."
"Your service seems really good, but we just don't need it right now."
"Yes, you have good enough credit, but we just don't loan money to small businesses."
"I like your credentials, but we aren't hiring right now."
"I agree with your assessment of the situation, but you've left something out."
When other people use BUT, think carefully about what they REALLY mean!
A SECRET OF PERSUASION: READING BETWEEN THE LINES
Take a moment to distinguish between the actual words that are coming out of people's mouths and the real, underlying intention -- the meaning -- underneath those words. Because THEY ARE HARDLY EVER THE SAME.
If I come up to you with a smile and pat you on the back and say, "You son-of-a-bitch!", what's the meaning there? It means we're buddies, and we're glad to see each other. (Assuming we're men...)
However, if I scowl and say, almost under my breath, "You son-of-a-bitch!", then that's entirely different isn't it?
The WORDS are the same, but the MEANING is different.
So an important lesson in persuasion is to begin thinking about the MEANING underneath your own words and underneath other people's words.
"But" is a perfect example, because when people use the word "But," it often has the OPPOSITE meaning of whatever preceded the word "But."
When people use the word "But," then, PAY ATTENTION to what comes before the word "But." You'll automatically know they don't mean it.
DON'T USE YOUR "BUT" EITHER
Now that you've learned how to detect the weakness of other people's statements when they use the word, "But," you'll want to think about removing this word from your OWN vocabulary!
THE EASY WAY TO ELIMINATE BUT
There's a very easy way to eliminate "But" -- replace it with the word, "And."
Consider these sentences:
Old way: "I agree with you, but I still think I'm right."
New way: "I agree with you, and I still think I'm right."
Hear the difference? The "new way" is the complete opposite of the "old way." It's far more persuasive and will always be more readily accepted by your listener. It means that you agree with them and you think you're right.
So REPLACE "BUT" WITH "AND" in all the sentences in which you want to be persuasive. Some examples:
"I really want to hire you but we can't afford what you're asking."
Revised: "I really want to hire you and I can't afford what you're asking."
"I see your point, but let me say this..."
Revised: "I see your point and let me say this..."
"I understand you can only afford $5000, but that's too low for me."
Revised: "I understand you can only afford $5000, and that's too low for me."
Do you see how this gives you more credibility when you speak with others? It makes your persuasive message far more powerful and avoids a conflict with the other person.
So ERASE "BUT" FROM YOUR VOCABULARY right now, and replace it with "and."
PRACTICE WITH "BUT" AND "AND"
Practice replacing "But" with "And" in the following sentences. This is easy, so do them mentally or say them out loud. (The later exercises get a lot more difficult, trust me!) Imagine you're using them in a business:
"I trust you to read my e-mail every day, but you haven't been doing it so far. Why not?"
"I like your offer to loan me $10,000, but I need $20,000."
"I understand you don't sell health insurance to small companies, but I still want to discuss this with you."
"I realize I neglected to get the right permit for doing business here, but you can probably let this one slide, right?"
"I bought a 28.8 modem, but you only shipped me a 14.4 modem."
"You said you wanted to hire me, but why didn't you?"
SUMMARY
You just learned why "But" is a dangerous word and how it gives you insight into what other people really mean when they use it. You also learned that you should eliminate "But" from your own communications, replacing it with, "And" for greater persuasion power.
Now, the REAL FUN BEGINS with the section on rapport:
MISTAKE # 3 - NOT USING RAPPORT SKILLS TO BUILD TRUST
Have you ever met somebody to discover that your friendship (or business relationships) just seemed to "click?" For some reason, you seemed a lot alike. You shared similar opinions and values. And you "fell into rapport" with them quickly.
What makes this happen? And why can't we make it happen ALL the time?
That's what this section on rapport is all about -- gaining trust with your prospects or clients in a PREDICTABLE way. In other words, when you have rapport with people, it's sometimes called, "Chemistry" between you. Right now, we're going to tell you how you can create that "Chemistry" on your own, with EVERY person! You can use these skills in ALL forms of communication: e-mail and faxes, phone conversations, one-on-one conversations, speeches, presentations, negotiations and sales situations.
WHAT YOU'RE ABOUT TO LEARN IN THIS SECTION
* Where this "chemistry" really comes from
* How to create this chemistry all the time, with anyone
* Why doing this builds trust with people
* How to mimic their actions
* How to pace their voice
* How to pace their writing in e-mail, letters, etc.
* Using them in combination for greater impact
WHAT'S CHEMISTRY?
To explain how to create this trust with another person, we must understand what makes up this chemistry in the first place. We could fill a book on this subject alone, so let me save you a week's worth of reading and jump right to the conclusion we've reached after YEARS of researching this: "Chemistry" happens when two people look, think and act alike.
Did you get that? Let me repeat it: Chemistry happens when two people look, think and act alike.
Therefore, to create this chemistry with other people, all we need to do is look, think and act like them!
Unfortunately, we probably don't look exactly like a lot of other people. We probably don't really think the same, and we sure don't act like everyone else, right? We're unique individuals, right?
HOW TO CREATE CHEMISTRY
So to "artificially" create this chemistry, we're going to -- in a way -- "mimic" the other person. In other words, to gain rapport (and therefore, to gain trust) with the other person, we're going to adopt some of their behaviors and conversational tendencies in order to look and act more like they do.
When we teach this material in live training, a lot of students start scratching their heads at this point. They say, "Can this really work?" YES! Stick with us on this, okay? It only begins to make sense after you read through it and PRACTICE IT once or twice!
As strange as this may sound, it's really quite natural. Think of it as "social etiquette" taken to the extreme. When you're at a formal party or some formal social gathering, you generally don't take certain actions (such as sitting down or taking a drink or even speaking) until someone else does first. That's because we're attempting to conform to other people's actions in order to be what society calls, "Polite."
Now we're taking that politeness even further -- down to the one-on-one level. In order to gain the trust of another person you're talking to, you're now going to DO WHAT THEY DO. In other words, you're going to "be polite" around them, according to THEIR definition of what's polite.
And to do this, we're going to mimic two things: the way they act and the way they talk.
HOW TO MIMIC THEIR ACTIONS
Don't get carried away with this -- we're not actually going to do everything they do. Instead, we're going to start by positioning our body in the general way the other person positions theirs. If they fold their arms during conversation, you fold yours. If they gesture with their hands when they speak, you gesture with yours when you speak. Okay, this may sound strange, but believe me, once you DO THIS, you'll find it feels perfectly natural! And, more importantly, it will cause you and your prospect to fall right into rapport!
There's more: you're also going to adopt the same posture as the other person. If they lean forward, you lean forward. If they sway back and forth, YOU sway back and forth! Whatever general types of behaviors they use, you adopt the same general kinds of behaviors and WATCH what happens!
QUESTION! Will you ever get "caught" doing this? As amazing as it seems, No! You won't ever get caught doing this. People truly will not notice this. It's okay to be skeptical about this right now. Most people are at first. Then they go out and try it and WOW themselves right into believing that it works!
By the way, this is called "Pacing" or "Mirroring" the other person's behavior, and it's taught in many courses on gaining rapport with people. We didn't invent this particular method, but we did EXPAND ON IT and TAKE IT FURTHER than the creators. There's plenty of additional information about rapport in our Home Study Course.
So, to summarize the non-verbal rapport, you're going to "pace" the following:
Their overall body posture
Their gestures
Their stance and body position
As you do this, you'll find that rapport begins naturally. It may take you anywhere from 1-3 minutes to start to feel the rapport once you begin mimicking the other person's body movements, so STICK WITH IT during the conversation!
HOW TO PACE THEIR VOICE
To make your rapport even deeper, you can also PACE THEIR VOICE PATTERNS by altering your speaking speed, your volume, tempo and pitch.
In other words, if the other person starts talking very quietly, you should talk quietly, too. If they slow down, you should slow down. If they get loud, you get loud right with them and you'll experience a remarkable deepening of your rapport with the other person.
When you do this, you will begin to sound more like the person you're talking to. The effect? They begin to feel that you are more like them, and improved trust and rapport naturally follows. This is a powerful technique for building rapport with people on the phone.
HOW TO PACE THEIR E-MAIL OR WRITING
To build rapport with someone through e-mail, simply write like they do. USE THEIR VOCABULARY -- their words and phrases. Use the exact same words or phrases (or similar ones) in writing e-mail or letters back to them.
If they use emoticons (those characters like :-) or ;-) and so on), you can incorporate them, too. You don't have to use the same ones they use, just use your own versions.
PACE THEIR WRITING STYLE: if they use short sentences, you should adopt short sentences, too. If they use a certain category of words more often, you'll build rapport by adopting those words.
One good way to do this is to imagine what kind of person is sending you e-mail or writing to you: where do you think they are from? How old are they? What kinds of hobbies do you think they have?
Once you've answered these questions, imagine you ARE that person! "Put yourself into their shoes" and begin to think and act like them. Then, when you sit down and write the letter or e-mail, with their characteristics firmly and loudly implanted in your mind -- like a big picture -- you'll automatically establish greater rapport by "pacing" their writing style.
USE THEM IN COMBINATION
To GAIN STRONG RAPPORT with the other person, use all these techniques together. For practice, use just one technique first until you GET GOOD AT THIS, then add the other techniques. When you USE ALL THE METHODS together, your rapport with the other person will be EASY to find and EASY to maintain!
This is especially useful in an office environment where you're often sending e-mail to someone AND talking to them in person at other times. By pacing them in person and in writing, you'll have DOUBLE the rapport impact.
WHY THIS WORKS
This works because of a rule of human nature: people generally dislike (or distrust) people who behave and appear very different from themselves. Think about your friends. Aren't they more like you than people you dislike?
And, as a rule, people LIKE those who are more LIKE them! This helps explain why people form "social circles" of friends with similar looks, behaviors, values and beliefs.
Therefore, in using rapport for persuasion, we're actually creating a likeness with the other person in order to move inside THEIR "sphere of comfort" so they realize we are like them and they can trust us. That's why this works so well -- because it appeals to a NATURAL process of that "chemistry" between people.
GO OUT AND TRY IT
The first opportunity you get, go out and test this with someone -- anyone! Prove to yourself that rapport is indeed a very powerful tool for increasing your business and gaining trust with anyone.
SUMMARY
Okay! You just learned about the origins of this "chemistry" between people and why people are attracted to those who are more like them. You then learned how to CREATE this rapport and trust with anybody by becoming more like them -- pacing their body, their voice, their words, etc. By being able to USE THESE SKILLS ALL THE TIME now, you'll notice a DRAMATIC increase in your natural chemistry and trust with other people.
Remember that rapport BY ITSELF isn't enough to convince someone to do something. Rapport is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, yes, and you also need to adopt some other speaking strategies in order to appeal to the other person's logic and emotions. And we cover more of those right here in this report. For the full training on this, investigate our Home Study Course (more information at the end of this report).
MISTAKE # 4 - FAILING TO FIND OUT THEIR CRITERIA BEFORE EXPLAINING YOUR PRODUCT, SERVICE, IDEA OR OPPORTUNITY
This is probably the most common mistake of all -- trying to "sell" your product, service, idea or opportunity based on the old "features and benefits" sales techniques. Those old-fashioned sales training courses were fine for selling in the 70's, but today, all convincing happens inside something called "values-based" strategies, or, "Relationship marketing."
The mistake people make is spilling out their long list of "features" before finding out what's really important to the listener. For the examples in this section, we're assuming you're a business owner, selling a product or service. However, the exact same technique is fully available to you whether you're an employee, a consultant, negotiator, or any person who needs to BE MORE CONVINCING with other people.
WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO LEARN IN THIS SECTION
* Why the "old fashioned" way of selling a product, service, idea or benefit doesn't work
* How to quickly find out their highest Criteria for anything
* How to use that Criteria to convince them
* The actual sequence for obtaining anybody's Criteria
* Actual real-world examples of using Criteria
* How to start the conversation to get to Criteria
Suppose you market a resume service, and you get leads from ads in the newspaper. When people call you asking about your service, you might say something like:
"Yes, we offer 24-hour service, a satisfaction guarantee, a very low price, high-quality resume output and skilled writers. Which one of those interest you?"
At this point in the conversation, you've merely established yourself as a "salesperson" rather than a "relationship marketer" with your prospect. So far, you haven't asked a single question about their needs.
FIND OUT WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO THEM FIRST!
Instead, doesn't it make sense to find out what's important to them about your service first? In other words, what if you could immediately discover the "hot button" of your prospect BEFORE you start describing your service? Suppose you could "mind read" their most important criteria for buying your service. Would that be valuable?
That's what this method, "Criteria," does for you. Using the techniques you'll learn right here, you can get this vital information from your prospect BEFORE you start talking about your resume service. Here's how to do it:
HOW TO GET THEIR HIGHEST CRITERIA
Start by asking the question:
"What's important to you about a good resume service?"
The question here is: "What's important about _______" and then fill in your product or service.
Once you ask the question, listen very carefully for their answer. It may be something like:
"I need to get a job real fast."
or
"I need to impress people with my credentials."
...or something similar. Whatever answer you get, WRITE IT DOWN. As you GET GOOD WITH THIS, you can instead just memorize it. But for now, write it down.
Next, you REPEAT BACK TO THEM their own answer, plus a bit of "fluff" to fill in the gaps. For example, if they say:
"I need to get a job real fast."
... you might say:
"You need to get a job real fast. That's right. In this economy, we all need to find jobs as quickly as possible."
Now, HERE'S THE TWIST. So far, you've found out their MAIN criteria for wanting to use your service. Now you're going to take that criteria and use it to dig even deeper to find even more important criteria. So, take their answer to the first question and ask what's important about that:
"What's important to you about getting a job real fast?"
Then, be quiet again and listen. The answer they give you is a HIGHER CRITERIA that you can use to sell your service! And I'll show you exactly how to do this in a minute, but first, WRITE DOWN this answer above their first answer. They might answer something like:
"Well, I need to make some money to pay all my bills."
Write this down! If you've been writing this down so far, your "criteria list" would look like:
------------------------------------
Need to pay all his bills
Wants to get a job real fast
------------------------------------
So far, you've learned one important "hot button" for his buying decision and then one LARGER "chunk" of criteria above that!
Now, we're going to do this ONE MORE TIME to get their HIGHEST criteria:
"I agree, paying all your bills is sure important. I wish I could pay all mine right now. Just out of curiosity, though, can I ask, what's important to you about paying all your bills?"
Then listen again for their answer. THIS IS THE BIG ANSWER that's going to make your sale. It will probably be something big and all-encompassing like "freedom" or "security" or "happiness." In this case, the person might say:
"It means I can be free from the bill collectors."
So, in this particular example, we have a LIST of criteria as follows:
------------------------------------
Freedom from the bill collectors
Need to pay all his bills
Wants to get a job real fast
------------------------------------
This is the MASTER LIST that's going to help you. Now you've learned EXACTLY what this person needs to hear to be sold on your product. And, by the way, if you're using the voice-mimicking "rapport" that we taught earlier in this rapport, you'll be able to ask these questions easily and comfortably. If the person feels uncomfortable with you asking these questions, it means you're not in rapport yet -- and you need to PRACTICE RAPPORT more!
HOW TO USE THE LIST OF CRITERIA
Now that you have the list, you're ready to USE IT. And this is the easy part: you simply describe your product or service USING THEIR CRITERIA. This example might go something like: (I'll use capitals on the criteria in order to bring them to your attention.)
"Okay, Joe. Thanks for calling and I really appreciate you sharing that information with me. Let me start by saying we offer a 24-hour turnaround on our service to enable our customers to GET A JOB REAL FAST. In fact, that's why most customers choose us -- because we can help them get their resumes very fast in order to GET A JOB and PAY THEIR BILLS as quickly as possible. And when you allow us to handle your resume, Joe, that's exactly what we'll do for you, and won't that give you the FREEDOM FROM THE BILL COLLECTORS that you're really looking for?"
Whatever Joe says, he's already sold on the deal. You've just appealed to his own highest criteria, and as long as you have a price anywhere within reason, the job is now yours!
See how this works? Can you hear it yourself? Can you imagine being able to DO THIS with your current prospects? It's really not as "pushy" as it sounds. In fact, they won't even notice it because, from their perspective, you're simply VERY CONCERNED with their own interests and desires! This is the ultimate application of "relationship marketing!"
For your review, here are the actual steps:
THE ACTUAL STEPS FOR GETTING AND USING CRITERIA
1: Ask what's important about ________
2: Listen for their answer and write it down
3: Repeat their answer and agree with it
4: Ask what's important about (fill in their answer)
5: Listen for the second answer and write it down
6: Repeat their second answer and agree with it
7: If necessary, ask what's important about (fill in their second answer)
8: Listen for the answer and write it down
9: Agree with their answer
10: Now describe your product or service using their three criteria
By the way, asking "What's important about" even ONE TIME will already give you a HUGE advantage over the sales techniques most people use! Most salespeople don't even bother to find out even ONE thing their customers want! By being able to USE THIS TECHNIQUE, you're already leaps and bounds ahead of your competition!
ACTUAL EXAMPLE OF GETTING AND USING CRITERIA
Here's another full example for you. Keep track of the criteria and listen how I feed back their answers. For this example, suppose I sell computer systems from my home office, and I have a client on the phone who is interested in a system. Unfortunately, I don't know yet what's really important to them about a purchase.
Me: "May I ask, Jan, what's important to you about buying a computer system?"
Jan: "Sure. I don't know a whole lot about computer, so I need someone who can not only sell me a system, but who can also give me some lessons on using it."
Me: "You want some lessons on using it. That's great. I think that if more computer stores included lessons in their purchase price, people would be able to use their computers far better than most do today. Just so that I understand you better, may I ask another question? What's important to you about getting lessons with your computer?"
Jan: "Well, frankly, my kids are learning computers at school, and I want to be able to at least keep up with my kids."
Me: "You want to keep up with your kids. That's great. It's always nice when you can really spend time with your kids doing something they can do, too, isn't it? That's fantastic. Out of curiosity, what's really important to you about keeping up with your kids in computers?"
Jan: "Well... [pause] ... it shows my kids that I care about them."
Me: "That's great. I can really tell you care about your kids and I truly admire that. Few parents have the kind of care that you've shown right here. Thank you for being so honest with me about why you're looking to purchase a computer system, and let me assure you that with any system you purchase from me, I ALWAYS include lessons so that people can really learn how to use their equipment. And in your case, when you get these lessons from me, that's going to allow you to keep up with your kids and share your computer knowledge with them. And like you mentioned, I think that really shows your kids that you care about them. So please understand that EVERY system I sell includes all that. What kind of system are you wanting to buy now?"
Do you see how smooth that is? And we didn't even begin to talk about the PRODUCT until AFTER we sold Jan on her criteria!
By the way, YES, it really does work just like this. With practice, you'll be able to GET PEOPLE'S CRITERIA this smoothly and use it this fast. It's really this easy, and it works just like I described in the example.
HOW TO START THE CRITERIA CONVERSATION
Many people ask, "Yes, this looks powerful. How do I begin the conversation and get to the criteria question anyway?"
When you get on the phone with the person, or get together with them in person, you simply ask this question:
"So, what was important enough for you to give me a call today?"
or
"What was important enough for you to get together with me today?"
This question alone will often elicit their FIRST criteria. Then, you can continue with the procedure from there!
EXAMPLES OF "WHAT'S IMPORTANT" QUESTIONS
"What's important to you about hiring a good consultant?"
"What's important to you about buying a computer system?"
"What's important to you about a good employee?"
"What's important to you about a caring relationship?"
"What's important to you about a business opportunity?"
"What's important to you about find a good person to work with?"
SUMMARY
Great! You're really getting into this material now. You just learned why the old method of using "features and benefits" doesn't work. You learned that Criteria -- values-based selling -- is the key to persuading other people to "buy" your product, service, idea, opportunity, or even YOU!
You learned how to quickly find out their Criteria by asking, "What's important about..." and following the question sequence, and you learned how to immediately apply that information as you "sell" that person on your idea -- using THEIR Criteria!
And finally, you learned how to start the conversation to get INTO Criteria and some real-world examples of using it.
How are you doing with this information? Can you see how valuable it can be in your own career, business, and life? What you're reading in this report is just the TIP OF THE ICEBERG on what we teach our students. If you think these techniques are powerful, you'll probably DROOL over what's in our other training courses. Here's some contact information so you know how to reach us when you want to find out about them: (we also offer a free lifetime subscription to our electronic newsletter, "e-Persuasion" for people who read this report. See the end of this report for more details.)
To request additional information, e-mail us on CompuServe at 74274,2612 or the internet at clevelan@teleport.com. Or call 1-800-794-6541 or 503-645-6994 with your product questions or literature requests. You can also reach us by fax at 503-690-0620. Our internet WEB site is http://www.teleport.com/~clevelan/index.htm. Additional information about our other courses is located at the end of this report.
Now, let's move on to the next mistake:
MISTAKE # 5 - USING "TRY"
Here's another language mistake that most people make every day: using the word "Try."
What if I say, "I'll try to teach you about this..."
What's the assumed meaning? (The presupposition?) It's that I couldn't teach this to you. When you use the word "Try," you assume failure, and your listener assumes failure also.
WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO LEARN IN THIS SECTION
* Why "Try" is a dangerous word
* What other people mean when they use "Try"
* What you mean when you use "Try"
* How to eliminate "Try" from your speaking, writing and thinking
WHEN OTHER PEOPLE USE "TRY"
When other people tell you they are going to "try" to do something for you, you will from now on automatically know they don't intend to actually succeed at doing it. Consider these sentences, suppose someone is saying:
"I'll try to have that report done by Monday."
Translation: "I'll begin the report, but I'll fail to get it done by Monday."
"I'll try to pay you back in two weeks."
Translation: "I'll be unable to pay you back in two weeks, yet I'll make it look like I'm trying."
"I'll try to stop by tomorrow."
Translation: "I won't make it tomorrow."
Do you see how this works? When people use "Try," they are actually assuming the failure of the task. Your job -- when people use "Try" -- is to nail them down and get a real answer. Or, if you really don't care about it, just ignore their statement. If it's important to you, however, here's how you can nail them down:
"I'll try to stop by tomorrow."
You: "Does that mean you will or you won't?"
or
"I'll try to pay you back in a month."
You: "I'll need it in two weeks. Will you commit to paying me back in two weeks?"
As an exercise, think of your own replies to the following sentences:
"I'll try to call you back today."
"I'll try to see if I can get my boss to place an order tomorrow."
"I'll try to read over this contract by tomorrow."
"I'll try to pay you by the end of next month."
"We'll try and see if your price is okay."
WHEN YOU USE "TRY"
When you use the word "Try," it makes you sound like a weak person to the listener. You'll seem non-committal, almost as if you're lying.
If someone asks you:
"Can you get back to me tomorrow?"
And you say:
"I'll try to."
... what's the assumption here? It's that you won't call them back, right? So instead of weakening your speech with this awful word, replace it with the word "Will!" In other words:
"I will have that report done by Monday."
"I will pay you back in two weeks."
"I will get back to you tomorrow."
And when you ask questions of other people, never ask if they will "try" to do something for you. Instead, ask if they will!
"Will you finish your homework?"
"Will you stop by tomorrow night?"
"Will you read this contract right now?"
Doesn't that sound a lot more powerful? Isn't that more compelling? It's especially true when you stick to what you say and actually follow through with your promise! People will find that you are a real "go-getter" type of person who keeps their promises!
A FUTURE PACING EXERCISE WITH "TRY"
Here's a little exercise that will help you REMEMBER TO ELIMINATE "TRY" when you're speaking. Take a moment right now and imagine a situation in the near future when you might be talking to someone. Imagine that you accidentally let the word "try" slip out
of your mouth. Now see yourself suddenly taking NOTICE! and immediately repeating the sentence with the word "Will" instead!
Can you see yourself making the correction? Really -- DO THIS right now. Close your eyes for a moment and imagine it.
Now imagine yourself in another conversation and see yourself catching your error BEFORE the word "try" ever gets out of your mouth. See yourself using the word "Will" automatically, in every situation where you want to be persuasive!
ELIMINATING "TRY" FROM INTERNAL CONVERSATIONS
Do you realize the way we speak to other people is very similar to the way we speak to ourselves? In other words, the way we "represent" reality -- our word choice, our frame of reference -- is actually the same on the inside as on the outside.
So if you were using the word "Try" with great frequency in conversations with other people, chances are that you were also using it in your internal conversations as well. That's dangerous, because it presupposes failure.
What if you say, "I'll try to become a millionaire." That pretty much assumes that you won't, doesn't it?
We have to get rid of Stinkin' Thinkin' by eliminating these dangerous words from our internal conversations as well as our external ones. You see, every technique that you LEARN WITH THE CLEVELAND INSTITUTE must first be used on yourself! That's right! You
want to persuade yourself first -- to be successful at using the patterns, to BE MORE CONFIDENT, to be a better person in every way that you know how to be. And then, once you PERSUADE YOURSELF with the techniques, you can go out and PERSUADE OTHER PEOPLE
using the exact same techniques!
PRACTICE ELIMINATING "TRY"
For practice, rephrase these sentences to be more self-empowering:
"I'll try to work harder in order to succeed."
"I will really try to contact five customers today."
"I'm trying to make an extra $10,000 by Christmas."
Is it getting easier to ELIMINATE "TRY" from your internal thoughts and conversations now? You must be decisive in your thinking and your actions. If you really need to do something, do what Nike says -- "Just do it!" If you don't need to do something, don'
t try to fool yourself with the word "TRY." Instead, just say, "This thing isn't important, so I won't even commit to it."
Be decisive. DECIDE what's important to you and what isn't. Then act appropriately!
SUMMARY
In this section, you learned why "Try" is a dangerous word, and why you should eliminate it from your speaking, writing and thinking. You learned what other people really mean when they use "Try" and how to get a real answer from them.
MISTAKE # 6 - SAYING BAD THINGS ABOUT YOUR COMPETITION
Here's a MAJOR mistake that almost everyone makes at one time or another. The sad part is that few people realize the damage they do when they say bad things about their competition or another company (or person).
WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO LEARN IN THIS SECTION
* Why downgrading your competition is a dangerous tactic
* How emotional anchoring works
* The common mistake of linking it to what you're selling
* How to avoid the mistake
Here's why this is so dangerous to your business or career. First, I want you to begin to understand the concept of "linking" emotions to things. People naturally link emotions to events all the time. For example, for most people, the smell of fresh-baked b
read smells like "home." (That's why real estate agents sometimes put fresh bread in the oven when they're showing a house.) When you smell the bread, it brings on the emotions of "home" or "safety" or "familiarity."
We also link emotions to people. When you see somebody that you really love, for example, you'll begin to feel the emotions of love and excitement. When you see somebody you hate, you'll feel anger. Understand that once you've established your "default" emo
tion with this person through past experience, these emotions are brought on simply by SEEING the person, even BEFORE they say anything or do anything! If you're familiar with the work of Pavlov, the famous Psychologist, you know why this works!
Thus, emotions are linked to sensory cues -- something we see, something we hear or feel or smell. What kind of emotions do you link to the sound of a police siren right behind your car when you're driving 70 on the highway? For most people, it's a strong e
motion of FEAR!
DEGRADING YOUR COMPETITION BRINGS UP BAD EMOTIONS
Here's how this all fits together. When you say ugly things about your competition, you're actually APPEALING to a bad emotional state in your prospect. By talking about how bad your competition is, you will actually CAUSE your prospect to begin experiencin
g that feeling!
Imagine if I'm selling you long-distance phone service, and I start talking about how bad the competition is:
"Oh, I wouldn't even consider doing long-distance service with ABC company. Their networks are always down and you can never get through during peak hours. And you know, when you call their operators, they're all so mean and nasty. I just hate talking to th
ose people. Their service is awful and their rates are unfair, and they really make me so angry every time I have to talk to them..."
Now what happens to the person you're telling this to? They go right into the state of frustration and unfairness! They begin to EXPERIENCE exactly what you are describing to them!
THE FATAL BLOW -- LINKING IT TO YOUR COMPANY
And here's the FATAL BLOW. Once the prospect is all angry and experiencing this negative emotional state, some people turn right around and say:
"Okay, now here's MY company!"
... and what happens? Remember the emotional linking we showed you earlier? This negative feeling goes -- WHAMMO! -- and links itself right to your company or product. Now, your prospect has linked a powerful, negative emotion to YOUR product.
At this point, you're in a mess. And every time you bring up your company or product, your prospect will link it to feelings of frustration and unfairness. Oops!
HOW TO AVOID THIS MISTAKE
So how to avoid this? Simple. Don't slam your competition. Speak with respect and understanding about your competition. You'll gain credibility for doing so. Consider this example: suppose your prospect says, "But what about ABC company?"
Instead of degrading them, say something nice! Say:
"Oh, I think ABC company offers fine service and excellent quality. I would recommend them to anyone if my service wasn't already even better."
See how this "disarms" their objection and shows your credibility at the same time? Now you're beginning to get your hands on some of the power available to you in what we teach -- The Cleveland Method. And let me just insert our contact information right h
ere: if you want more information about our available training courses and how they can help you be even more persuasive in your business or profession, call us at 1-800-794-6541 or 503-645-6994. Our fax is 503-690-0620 and our internet e-mail is clevelan@t
eleport.com. Or reach us on CompuServe at 74274,2612. We're happy to assist you in any way possible!
SUMMARY
In this section, you learned why degrading your competition is a dangerous tactic, and why it actually hurts you more than it helps. You learned how emotional anchoring works and how to avoid linking bad emotions to what you're selling.
Finally, you learned about speaking with integrity and professionalism about your competition in order to add credibility to yourself!
Now we're really picking up speed. Can you imagine how much more persuasive you'll be now after correcting 6 of the 9 biggest mistakes made in trying to get more business? Imagine using just Criteria! Or imagine just using the Quotes Pattern! Now think abou
t being able to PUT IT ALL TOGETHER and USE THEM ALL in every persuasion situation where YOU WANT TO WIN! That's what The Cleveland Institute is all about, because WE WANT YOU TO WIN in every situation where you're going to USE THIS WITH INTEGRITY.
Now, for mistake #7:
MISTAKE # 7 - USING THE WORD, "IF"
Here's another common mistake people make in persuasion. The word, "IF" can be deadly!
WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO LEARN IN THIS SECTION
* Why "If" is also a dangerous word
* What "If" actually presupposes
* How to replaced "If" with a better word
Why is "If" deadly? Suppose I'm a marketing consultant talking to a client about hiring me:
"Mr. Prospect, if you hire me, you'll really like the results I get for you."
What's wrong here? Think about it. What's missing?
Here's the answer: I'm assuming that Mr. Prospect might not hire me! In other words, in my own mind, I'm not convinced that I will get the position!
And if I'm not convinced, how in the world can the prospect be convinced?
This may seem like a very tiny difference to you -- and it is a small difference when you only look at the words. But inside the mind of the speaker and the listener, this is a huge difference!
"IF" PRESUPPOSES "MIGHT NOT"
Anytime you use the word "If", you are presupposing that whatever follows the word might not be true or might not happen. Sure, there are plenty of times when using "If" is perfectly normal and correct, such as when you're planning for uncontrollable events
in the future, "If the stock market hits 4500, we'll sell..." But don't use "If" in your persuasion messages where you're presupposing failure.
What if I were to say, "If you like this FREE report, then you'll really love our other products so let me tell you about them!"
That's kind of weak and wimpy, isn't it? I'm assuming that you might not like this free report. And that's obviously silly, right?
HOW TO REPLACE "IF"
So here's how to change it: Replace "If" with "When" or "As."
The solution is real simple. Just use "When" or "As" instead. Like this:
"As you read through this FREE report and find yourself liking it even more, you'll naturally become interested in the other persuasion training courses we have here at The Cleveland Institute!"
Hear the difference? Here are some more examples:
"If you like my presentation today, you'll really want to talk with me after the meeting about how we can work together on future projects."
Corrected: "As you find yourself liking my presentation today, you'll really want to talk with me..."
"If you finish the report, you can go out to play."
Corrected: "When you finish the report, you can go out to play."
"If my prices look good, you'll really want to buy from me."
Corrected: "When you soon decide that my prices are the best, you'll naturally find yourself wanting to buy from me."
For practice, rewrite the following thoughts to make them more powerful and self-confident by replacing the word "If" with "As" or "When."
Example:
Old: "If you liked my resume, you'll love me as an employee."
New: "As you find yourself liking what's on my resume, you'll realize that you'll love me as an employee!"
"If you want the very best, you'll want to look at my services very closely."
"If our department reaches $100,000 in sales volume this month, we'll give everybody a color TV."
"You'll really want to work with me if you like even a little of what you've already seen."
"If my bid seems reasonable, we should get started right now."
SUMMARY
You just learned why "If" can be a dangerous word because it presupposes "Might not." You also learned how to replace "If" with more powerful, persuasive words!
MISTAKE # 8 - DISAGREEING WITH THEIR OBJECTION
This is a mistake that few people ever realize they're making -- perhaps you've even made this one a few times. When people offer an objection to your product, service or idea, the biggest mistake you can make is to start arguing with them about it.
WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO LEARN IN THIS SECTION
* Why disagreeing with their objection actually hurts you
* How agreeing with their objection works in your favor
* How to reframe objections to gain agreement
* Actual examples of using this skill
The Cleveland Method demonstrates how we can disarm their objection by first being able to AGREE WITH THEM. Yes, that's right. First, we're going to agree with them, THEN we're going to handle their objection.
Handling the objection requires some real skill, and this report doesn't have enough room to cover all the details of gaining that skill, so let me at least tell you the NAME of the skill and give you a crash course in using it.
The skill is "Reframing." This is a way of turning around ANY objection someone may have about your product, service or business, and appealing to their higher values in order to find agreement. The Home Study Course covers this in more detail, yet let's lo
ok at some example of how to use it correctly right now so you can see it in action.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARGUE
For the sake of contrast, listen to what happens when you try to argue with the objector:
Customer: "Your price is too high."
You: "No it isn't. It's low for around here."
Customer: "Wrong! I know of three other stores with lower prices..."
At this point, you're in trouble. You've:
1: Fell completely out of rapport with the customer
2: Made them angry
3: Ruined your credibility
4: Probably lost the sale
Instead, try this:
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU AGREE
Now, we're going to START by agreeing with the customer. We're going to actually REPEAT THEIR WORDS back to them and then search for "higher ground" on which we can REALLY agree.
Let's use the same example:
Customer: "Your price is too high."
You: "Our price IS too high. And every time I say that, I think, 'Compared to what?' Because I know that no one else in this city offers our level of service at this price, even though some low-service companies certainly offer lower prices."
Isn't this smoother? At this point, you can then move forward with your conversation:
You: "By the way, what's important to you about ___________."
NOTE that if you've properly gained rapport with this person and found out their buying criteria, you'll probably avoid any objection in the first place! USE ALL THESE TECHNIQUES in combination for best results!
AGREEMENT EXAMPLES
Here are a few more examples for your reference. Once you begin to USE THESE TECHNIQUES on your own, you'll easily find that agreeing with their objection is much easier than arguing about it! When you AGREE, you actually DISARM their objection! How can the
y argue when you're agreeing?
Examples:
Banker: "You don't have enough good credit for this loan."
You: "We don't have enough good credit for this loan, and that's why we've brought all these testimonials and letters of credit from other banks to prove our credit-worthiness to you. As you begin to look at these, and you start thinking about being able to
simply overlook the credit report, isn't it nice to know that people like us are so well prepared?"
Customer: "Your business is too small to handle an order like this."
You: "Our business IS too small to handle an order like this, and that's why we've already taken an amazing number of additional precautions to handle this, such as hiring temporary people and extending the workday to 7 PM, just to handle your order! Isn't
it nice to know that a company like mine will handle your order with such determination? No BIG company can offer that attitude!"
Unhappy consulting client: "Your solution didn't work at all! Our computers are a mess!"
You: "Our solution DIDN'T work, did it? And whenever that happens, I'm the first to stand up and say, 'That's not right! I'm going to do everything it takes to fix this problem.' So when would you like me to come back and find the solution to this problem f
or you at no charge? "
Unhappy boss: "Your idea for changing the marketing plan really stinks."
You: "It really does stink, doesn't it? Even when I looked over it again, for the hundredth time, I started thinking, 'There's really room for improvement here.' And, you know, I think that the people best qualified to make improvements to the plan are thos
e who can really see what's obviously wrong with it. So what slight modifications would YOU suggest we make to this plan to make it stop stinking and be a really strong, effective, smart marketing campaign?"
... and so on! Aren't these fun? For your own practice, here are more objections for you to handle on your own:
"I don't like to work with small businesses."
"I can handle this project myself, I don't need you."
"I don't believe you can stand behind your guarantee."
"Your presentation material was awful. I don't agree with anything you said."
"We don't hire people with your qualifications."
SUMMARY
In this section, you learned how to deal with one of the most fearful situations facing most people: dealing with objections (or RE-jections!). You learned why disagreeing with the other person hurts your ability to persuade them, and how you can AGREE WITH
THEM to add more persuasive power to your communication.
You learned how to reframe their objection once you agree with it to find some common ground. And finally, you read some actual examples of using this skill.
Now, for the section our students enjoy the most...
MISTAKE # 9 - NOT USING THE 18 MOST POWERFUL WORDS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
One of the most powerful -- and fascinating -- things we teach in the Home Study Course is the "18 Most Powerful Words in the English Language." And if you're not using these words in your persuasion message, you're missing out on some real opportunities fo
r persuasion.
WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO LEARN IN THIS SECTION
* The six categories of the 18 Most Powerful Words
There isn't room to go through each word right here, so instead, let me describe the CATEGORIES they represent. You can then begin to SEE SOME OF THE WAYS you can use this in your own business activities. The interesting thing about these words is their UNL
IMITED USE. They are easily applicable not only in speaking, but in writing as well! These are some of the most useful tools for ANY persuader, and they're especially useful in writing (e-mail, faxes, letters, memos, etc.).
The 18 words fall into 6 categories of 3 words each. Each category is a language "pattern," a special way of arranging your sentences around these words to ADD POWER to your overall message. The six patterns are as follows:
ADVERB / ADJECTIVE : This category of words has the effect of causing anything that FOLLOWS them to be understood as TRUE, automatically! The very act of comprehending the sentence causes your listener to accept what you're saying as true. Naturally, this i
s a very powerful pattern to learn!
CAUSE AND EFFECT : These work with "rules of logic." Using this category of words causes your listener to CONSTRUCT a causal relationship between any two things you wish. You could, for example, help your listener realize that the act of simply thinking abo
ut your company causes them to want to hire you (or buy your products, etc.). This is EXTREMELY powerful.
COMMANDING WORDS : These words allows you to actually COMMAND your listener to do things -- like STOP thinking about something bad or START thinking about something you want them to think about. A very useful pattern when used in combination with the other
15 words!
TEMPORAL : (Time pattern.) This pattern leverages the sense of TIME with your listener. Using this pattern, you can literally MOVE things you don't want them to think about into their past. Or move things you WANT them to think about into the present! Right
now! (Such as making a buying decision.) You can also attach certain thoughts to FUTURE events, causing them to REMEMBER your company, for example, at some specified time in the future. As you put this technique to work for you, you'll be able to control p
eople's sense of time to your advantage. Wasn't that neat?
SPATIAL : These words help your listener understand the relationship between your company (or products or services) and other things through their sense of SPACE and spatial arrangements of objects or ideas. Using this pattern, you can cause your listener t
o expand their belief in your company or move BEYOND any objections. This one has a huge variety of uses. Very powerful!
AWARENESS : This pattern is my favorite. Simply using the 3 words in this pattern causes your listener to become immediately aware of anything you put in the sentence after the words. You can USE THIS, for example, to brings certain facts directly into the
immediate awareness of your listener -- such as the fact that you offer the best service, for example. Or the fact that they are not reaching their buying decision. There is NO DEFENSE against this pattern. Obviously, you can realize the usefulness of this
pattern, right?
Do you see how even ONE of these patterns can now make a world of difference in your ability to GET MORE SALES? To FIND MORE CUSTOMERS or EXPAND YOUR BUSINESS? That's how excited I get about these, too. The 18 Most Powerful Words have brought me more busine
ss than ANY other single technique in The Cleveland Method.
Our Home Study Course covers all 18 words. Part 1 of the Home Study Course (which you can get right now on a FREE TRIAL basis -- please see below!) covers the first 3 words. So instead of making this report any longer than it already is, I'll let you hear t
hem right from the tapes!
MISTAKE # 10 - NOT GETTING A FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO E-PERSUASION AND FREE INFORMATION ABOUT THE 30-DAY FREE TRIAL FOR THE HOME STUDY COURSE, PART 1
This is an "extra" section for this report, and in my opinion, it could have been your biggest mistake of all if you weren't already giving it strong consideration. After learning these nine powerful techniques for increasing your persuasive ability, it's t
ime to FIND OUT MORE about the 25+ additional skills that can ADD EVEN MORE POWER to your persuasive ability.
To GET FREE DETAILS about our free, 30-day trial offer for Part 1 of the Home Study Course, and to get your FREE subscription to "e-Persuasion" (see below), simply copy and paste the form below and e-mail it back to us here on CompuServe.
When you CONTACT US, you'll also be added to our electronic newsletter subscription list for "e-Persuasion", a powerful monthly electronic newsletter packed with even more techniques on persuasion and influence as well as information about new products and
special offers from The Cleveland Institute. You'll receive this free of charge for as long as you wish. Note: We do NOT sell, rent or trade your e-mail address to anyone else. (We hate junk e-mail, too!) You can easily remove yourself from the subscription
at any time. E-Persuasion is sent out about once a month -- you won't be barraged with e-mail from us, we promise!
*********************** CUT AND PASTE ME *************************
Please send me the Home Study Course Free Trial Offer #C7440-1821690-69 and a free subscription to "e-Persuasion"
E-mail to us on CompuServe at 74274,2612 or the internet at clevelan@teleport.com. Or fax to 503-690-0620 (be sure to write your e-mail address if you fax it to us).
Note: if you're a CompuServe subscriber, you will be charged by CompuServe for receiving e-Persuasion because we send it via the Internet. The charge is normally around 16 cents for each issue, or about $2 a year for all twelve issues. This is CompuServe's
charge, not ours.
WHAT'S IN THE HOME STUDY COURSE, PART 1?
The Home Study Course, Part 1 offers SIX HOURS of instruction, plus a workbook and manual covering:
3 OF THE 18 MOST POWERFUL WORDS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE : you'll learn the first 3 of the 18 most powerful words, complete with exercises for practicing and using them. These three words can be used in your e-mails, telephone conversations, presentations, a
nd marketing materials! Everything that follows these words in the sentences you'll soon learn how to construct will be AUTOMATICALLY assumed to be true by the listener -- due to little-known rules of comprehension and grammar that Dr. Cleveland will demons
trate for you right on tape #4.
VAK CODING SYSTEMS : once you learn this, you'll be able to quickly discover the "coding system sequence" used by anyone you're speaking with. Armed with this information, you can INSTANTLY switch your own speaking and writing coding system to match theirs!
The result? Everything you say makes more sense to them, and rapport is deepened! You'll learn exactly how to listen for coding systems and adapt to them on tape #3.
NON-VERBAL RAPPORT : We've covered this a little bit here in the report. In the Home Study Course, you'll get the FULL TRAINING on non-verbal rapport, including information on how to "lead" instead of just pacing. Includes an abundance of useful exercises a
nd tips -- even advice for exactly what you can do to deepen the rapport if someone ever "catches" you using this! Everything you need to know to USE RAPPORT POWERFULLY in every situation is covered in tape #1.
CRITERIA : With the Home Study Course, Part 1, you'll learn even MORE about criteria and how to elicit it and use it to get what you want -- in a win/win context, of course! Aside from teaching you the techniques, Dr. Cleveland takes you through exercises i
n this, instilling in you the ability to do this naturally on your own! Armed with this material, you'll be able to quickly and easily determine the criteria of ANYONE, and all this is covered in tape #2.
USING THIS WITH INTEGRITY : Because this information is so powerful -- and it could easily be abused by people -- Dr. Cleveland devotes an entire section to using this with integrity. How to find a win/win situation, sticking with your own values and belief
s, etc. A very enlightening section of the Home Study Course that will actually add power to your ability to persuade others. (We explain why in the course.) Learn these "Rules for Persuasion" on tape #1.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT DR. KENRICK CLEVELAND
"Dr. Cleveland is the best. The most timely, practical and powerful information on influence and sales I've ever heard." -- Robert Allen, author of Creating Wealth
"Dr. Cleveland embodies the most powerful, enduring, effective and masterful techniques of persuasion and influence that have ever been taught!" -- Jay Abraham, author of Your Marketing Genius at Work and who the Wall Street Journal calls, "The world's most
expensive marketing consultant at $3,000 an hour."
"I've taken many sales seminars from Zig Ziglar, Tom Hopkins, the Xerox Sales Course, and also Tony Robbins courses and by far Kenrick Cleveland's course is the best I've ever taken." -- Ken Sollaman, vice-president of an insurance company
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
QUESTION: Can I send this free report to my friend?
ANSWER: Yes. You may freely distribute this free report, in any form, as long as you do not modify it in any way. Please keep our contact information intact.
QUESTION: How do I order the Home Study Course, Part 1 right now?
ANSWER: Call us at 1-800-794-6541 (503-645-6994) with a credit card. We'll give you full details about the course over the phone, in person!
QUESTION: How can I get more information about the products and services offered by The Cleveland Institute that will help my business or career?
ANSWER: Just e-mail us your e-mail address with your request! We're happy to add you to our subscription list of "e-Persuasion" and give you full details on any products in which you're interested.
THANK YOU AND GOOD LUCK!
From all of us at The Cleveland Institute, we THANK YOU for your interest in The Cleveland Method and our free report. Please, go out and USE IT! I wish you the best in whatever business you're involved. And as you begin to USE THIS MATERIAL and SEE THE VAL
UE of it, remember where you learned it! Take care! -- Dr. Kenrick E. Cleveland Ph.D.
(c) Copyright 1995 by The Cleveland Institute. You may freely distribute this information provided it is maintained in its entirety. You may not modify it in any way. You may NOT charge for this information. As we do not charge for this information, please
respect our efforts and leave our contact information intact. SYSOPS: You may freely offer this file to anyone or make it available on your BBS. INTERNET USERS: You may freely e-mail this file to other users. WEB AUTHORS: You may include this file as a free
download from your web site. CD-ROM SHAREWARE PUBLISHERS: You may include this file on any CD-ROM collection, provided it is maintained in its entirety. BUSINESS OWNERS: You may freely make copies of this information and distribute it to your employees or
salespeople. Copyright questions? Call 503-645-6994 or e-mail clevelan@teleport.com.
