Entries by Mark Rodgers

Show Off Your Expertise and Hear ‘Yes’ More Often

Do you know that where you make your request is just as important as how you make that request? For proof, I refer you to a study by Robert Cialdini — one of my favorite psychologists and the man who developed the six principles of persuasion. Cialdini evaluated the effectiveness of medical professionals by comparing […]

The Persuasive Art of Requesting Testimonials

Often, the most important tools in your toolbox are customers’ and clients’ opinions of you. In a word: testimonials. In the science of persuasion, this is often referred to as social proof. We follow the lead of similar others. How do most people choose with whom they do business? They ask their friends or professional […]

How to Escape the ‘Either/Or’ Dilemma

“Either/or.” That’s a turn of phrase passed down from generation to generation of people trying — unsuccessfully — to persuade others. And it brings to mind such negative stereotypes as white shoes and plaid pants. But if you look at the phrase intelligently — and apply the psychology of persuasion — it can be transformed […]

Why ‘Yes Success’ Is So Hard for Some People

Many professionals take (at best) a mindless approach to persuasion. What I mean is that, either consciously or subconsciously, they simply assume that just because they’ve heard people say “yes” to them — and they’ve given the same response to others — they understand the complexities of attaining agreement. That supposition couldn’t be further from […]

Persuasion vs. Influence: What’s the Difference?

LinkedIn analyzed thousands of job postings and listed “persuasion” as one of the top five in-demand skills for 2019. But to the uninitiated, that term “persuasion” has negative connotations. After all, when someone says, “You’re not going to persuade me!” it’s usually spoken in defiance. Or a well-intentioned person might proclaim, “I would never try […]

Here Is the Best Conversation Starter on the Planet

Effective persuasion requires relationships. Successful relationships are built on conversations. So in order to be better at persuasion, you need to get great at speaking with others. Here’s how: Take a page from best-selling author Jim Collins and start with this question for someone you don’t know: “May I ask, where are you from?” You’ll […]

Do You Wear a Halo or Horns?

What if the first impression you leave is far from angelic? If positivity is the halo effect, then the opposite impression must be the “horns effect.” Something about you is off-putting to someone else. And much like the halo effect, the horns effect can color your interactions with others. Here is a quick way to […]

How the ‘Halo Effect’ Impacts the Way We See Others

The “halo effect” — or, as it’s scientifically known, “exaggerated emotional coherence” — doesn’t receive the attention it should. The halo effect occurs when we judge others positively in one aspect of their lives (appearance, wit, charm, industriousness) and then apply positive feelings to them for other, often unrelated areas (problem-solving, leadership, sales prowess). Edward […]

How Resilient Are You?

What’s the single most important skill that a sales professional — and, really, all professionals — can have? This is a question I often ask workshop participants. And I often receive the usual responses: Product knowledge! Adaptation! Listening! When that happens, I nod as I move the conversation from person to person. When I finish, I […]

Why You Should Be the Last Person to Whisper in Somebody’s Ear

We all have tendencies of thought, patterns that influence our thinking. These are often referred to as cognitive illusions or biases. But perhaps the root of all biases is availability bias — meaning we give the most credence to what we can most easily recall. If we remember an occurrence quickly without much effort, we […]