I was sent an excellent article on by Larry Fredericks on the subject of getting people to do what you want.
What a great application for sales people looking to convert sales leads! Here's the advice from Larry:
Let's say you have the opportunity to buy a million-dollar piece of property at 70 percent of its appraised value... if you can plunk down $700,000 within 24 hours. There's only one problem: You can come up with only half the amount in such a short time. So you need to get someone to go in on the deal with you.
You make a list of everyone you know who might have that kind of money. Question is: How do you convince one of them to invest with you?
If you come right out and ask if they will invest $350,000 in a real estate deal that needs to close in 24 hours, you'll probably encounter a great deal of resistance. Instead, start by asking your potential investor how she'd handle a hypothetical situation. Something like this: "As an experienced investor, if you came across a piece of real estate that was being offered at 30 percent below market value, would you think it'd be a good idea to snap it up if you could?"
The chances are extremely high that the investor will tell you she most definitely would. And the primary reason she would do so is because it really would be a good business deal. Of course, the reason she was so quick to say yes is because the question was hypothetical. But it allowed her to answer based purely on the business logic.
Once you've gotten the investor to agree that she would snap up such a property, tell her that the reason you asked is because you know of one, but you don't have enough available cash to buy it before someone else does.
Obviously, there'd be a lot more to this story before a check actually changed hands and a deal was made. But this investor would almost certainly proceed with the deal.
It may seem a little sneaky to use a hypothetical question to gain a commitment from someone. But remember that you're only asking them to agree to something that makes sense to them, something they would want to commit to even if it had nothing to do with helping you out. That is, in fact, why this persuasion technique is so effective.
Now the challenge: Applying the principle to your sales lead campaign. Can you paint a compelling picture for your prospects and make them want to buy?
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