What will make you more persuasive? Thinking less about what you want and more about what you deliver for others. Think about delivering benefit instead of trying to win over your clients/prospects.
A benefit exchange is the heart of persuasion. It answers the question from the radio station-WIIFM, “What’s in it for me?” for the person you are seeking to persuade. In other words, it’s a benefit you promise in exchange for someone taking your desired action.
The old school way of marketing is nothing like WIIFM. It was clearly a neglected concept in communicating a business’s products and services to the market. But benefit exchanges are useful for all kinds of situations, such as getting someone at work to agree to your proposal, inspiring people to change their habits or compelling someone to buy your product.
We so often get the benefit exchange wrong. The number one error is we talk about attributes vs. benefits. We get lost in the qualities of an idea or a product rather than translating those attributes into the benefits they deliver for a prospect or customer. Telling me that a proposal addresses a problem in workflow is citing an attribute; demonstrating how it saves money or increases efficiency is showing a benefit. Rack and pinion steering is an attribute of a car; responsiveness that makes you feel safer on the road is a benefit.
Good benefit exchanges focus on what your audience wants – not what you want. That’s the second common error most small businesses make. Don’t fall into the trap of communicating based on the benefits you desire. Think from the perspective of those you want to influence and speak to that world view.
Those are ways we go wrong. So how do we do it right? If you want to be more persuasive, here are five ways to build a strong benefit exchange and win hearts and minds in the process.
Make the Benefit Immediate: Few of us take action based on a benefit that we expect to receive in the far future. It is human nature to seek instant satisfaction over distant gratification. How can you make your case that if someone does what you want, they will reap immediate rewards? Answer the question: what will be better tomorrow?
Make It Personal: A compelling benefit needs to make people feel their lives will be better as individuals or within their tight circles of friends, family, community or work. At the end of the day, the personal connection, not the grand concept, grabs our attention. Make sure you’re focused on why your agenda is specifically relevant to the person you wish to persuade.
Speak to Your Audience’s Values: We can’t easily change what other people believe, but by plugging into their existing mind-set, we unleash great power behind our message. Make sure the benefit you are communicating is something others seek – not just what you want. Those two things are rarely the same, but we often imagine they are.
Know What You’re Up Against: Think competitively about your benefit. Is it better than what people get for doing nothing – or something else instead? Don’t forget there’s a reason people aren’t taking the action you seek. They may be deriving benefits from those alternate behaviors. How can you shape a benefit better than sticking to the status quo?
Be Real: Last, you need to make sure your benefit exchange is credible and honest. People need to believe in what you communicate. Ask someone who is respected to back you up. Or show other people gaining the promised benefit. Or tell a good story that is a true example of the benefit in action. You want to persuade by keeping your promises.
If people aren’t doing what you want, you may to speak to someone and get an outside perspective. Maybe you are thinking the WIIFM is you, when the WIFFM is your customers. What outcomes are you providing to your prospects and clients? How will you and your company’s products or services solve their problems, needs and wants?
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Steve Feld, MBA, Certified Business Coach, Author, provides training and business performance coaching to business owners, professionals and executives. Steve also speaks to organizations, conducts workshops and training. Focusing on the lead generation and revenue creation to get growth results for the business.
Contact Biz Coach Steve today to see how he can assist you get the results you want in your business, [email protected], or www.bizcoachsteve.com. He is in the business of growing businesses. Need a speaker, contact Steve today. #bizcoachstevef #entrepreneur #smallbusiness #business #smallbiz #coaching #businessowner #businesscoach #leadership #marketing #speaking #keynotespeaker #meetingprofs #eventprofs #meetingstoday