English
The Art of Persuasion: Listening, Agreement, and Rapid Response.
Persuasion:
Persuasion involves understandingโโ the customer’s needs, building trust, and providing suitable solutions. The chapter focuses on listening, seeking agreement, and quick response to achieve tangible results in sales and marketing.
1. Effective Listening:
Effective listening involves understanding the meaning behind the words and showing genuine interest. It is the basis for building trust and understanding customer needs.
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Social Exchange Theory: Human relationships are based on the exchange of benefits and resources. When customers feel listened to, they tend to interact positively, increasing the likelihood of a long-term relationship.
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Skills:
- Full concentration (avoiding distractions).
- Non-verbal communication (eye contact, gestures, smiling).
- Open-ended questions.
- Restating what the customer said.
- Summarizing main points.
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Practical Applications:
- Harvard study: Sales representatives with high listening skills achieve 20% higher sales.
- Real estate example: An agent addresses a client’s concerns about selling a house at a suitable price and offers practical solutions.
2. Seeking Agreement:
Seeking agreement involves building common groundโ with the customer by finding points of agreement and providing suitable solutions. It helps reduce resistance and increase trust.
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Cognitive Dissonance Theory: Individuals seek harmony between their thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors. By seeking agreement, you help the customer reduce the contradiction between their needs and the solutions offered.
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Strategies:
- Agreement questions (“Isn’t this true?” or “Don’t you agree?”).
- Prior assumption (assuming agreement on some points).
- Trial closure (testing the customer’s readiness to decide).
- Assumed closure (making proposals based on the assumption that the customer will agree).
- Linking (showing the relationship between customer needs and solutions offered).
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Practical Applications:
- Instead of saying “This product is the best,” say “This product is designed to meet your needs and save time and effort, isn’t it?”
- Stanford study: Using agreement questions increases the likelihood of obtaining customer agreement by 15%.
3. Quick Response:
Customers expect a quick response to their requests and inquiries. A quick response indicates interest and professionalism and increases the likelihood of building a strong relationship.
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Behavioral Psychology, Present Bias: Individuals tend to prefer immediate rewardsโโ over future rewards. A quick response provideโs the customer with an immediate reward, increasing the likelihood of preferring you over competitors.
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Strategies:
- Prioritizing the response.
- Using technological tools (CRM, automated email, SMS).
- Providing multiple communication channels (phone, email, live chat, social media).
- Setting response standards (“All emails must be answered within 24 hours”).
- Training and development on quick and effective response skills.
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Practical Applications:
- Many companies provide live chat on their websites.
- Zendesk study: Companies that respond to customer inquiries within one hour receive 25% higher customer ratings.
Related Formulas (Latin Notation):
- Conversion Rate (CR):
CR = (Number of Actual Customers / Number of <a data-bs-toggle="modal" data-bs-target="#questionModal-343186" role="button" aria-label="Open Question" class="keyword-wrapper question-trigger"><span class="keyword-container">potential</span><span class="flag-trigger">โ</span></a> Customers) * 100 - Customer Retention Rate (CRR):
CRR = ((Number of Customers at the End of the Period - Number of New Customers Acquired During the Period) / Number of Customers at the Beginning of the Period) * 100 - Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV):
CLTV = Average Purchase Value * Number of Purchases per Year * Average Customer Lifetime (in years)
Mastering effective listening, seeking agreement, and quick response helps convert potential customers into loyal customers.
Chapter Summary
The chapter aims to clarify the importance of effective persuasion in converting potential clientsโ into permanent customerโs, focusing on listening, agreement, and rapid response.
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Active Listening: It is the foundation for building a strong relationship with the potential client, allowing understanding of their needs, concerns, and desires. It involves asking questionsโ, repeating what the client said to ensure correct understanding, and expressing genuine interest. The goal is to gather sufficient information to identify the client’s problem and provide appropriate solutions. Active listening contributes to building trust and credibility.
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Seeking Agreement: Building a series of small agreements (“yes”) before reaching important decisions increases the likelihood of obtaining the client’s final approval. Techniques include:
- Trial Closes: Asking open-ended questions to assess the client’s alignment with the proposals.
- Assumptive Closes: Presenting statements that assume the client’s prior approval.
- Tie-downs: Using short phrases that encourage the client to agree. The goal is to alleviate the psychological pressure associated with making large decisions and turn the persuasion process into a series of small, agreed-upon steps.
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Rapid Response: Clients expect an immediate response to their inquiries. Delaying the response may lead to losing the client to a competitor. This involves using tools like email templates and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems to capture callers’ phone numbers and provide initial property information. The goal is to provide excellent customer service and demonstrate attention to the client’s needs in a timely manner. A rapid response increases the likelihood of obtaining a consultation appointment and building a long-term relationship with the client.
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Personal Communication: Direct meetings allow for building a stronger relationship and deeper understanding of the client’s needs and motivations. It involves conducting a direct conversation instead of relying on email to request an appointment.
Effective persuasion is not a coercive process, but an art of building a relationship based on trust and mutual understanding. Active listening is the foundation of persuasion, allowing understanding of the client’s needs and providing appropriate solutions. Seeking gradual agreementโ alleviates psychological pressure and makes the decision-making process easier for the client. A rapid response reflects attention to the client’s needs and enhances the chances of building a long-term relationship.
