The
ancient Greeks taught that all conversation involved three ingredients: Ethos,
or the character of the speaker; Pathos, connecting with the emotions; and
Logos. The logos refers to the factual content of a message, the words used. It
refers to the argument that you present on behalf of your point of view.
(However, we know that the facts themselves, although they are important, are
not as powerful or as influential as the emotions are.)
The Selling Process
In
selling, we know that there are three parts to the process. These are, first,
establishing rapport with the prospective customer, second, identifying the
problem or need that the prospective customer has and, third, presenting the
solution. These are the ethos, the pathos and the logos of selling to someone.
Build Good Relationships
Your
success in every area of life will be based largely on the quality and quantity
of relationships that you can initiate and develop over time. In the world of
business and sales today, relationships are everything. We often call this the
"friendship factor." We have discovered that a person will not do
business with you until he or she is convinced that you are his or her friend
and are acting in his or her best interest. In other words, you cannot
influence someone unless he or she likes you in some way. Of course, it's often
possible for you to influence a person if he fears you, but that type of
influence lasts only until the person can rearrange his situation and escape from
the circumstances that enable you to have control over him.
How to Influence and Persuade Others
The
way to influence people, then, is to earn their liking and respect, to appeal
to the friendship factor. This requires spending time with him, caring for him
and respecting him. The more time that you are willing to spend with the
person, the greater will be his tendency to trust you and to feel that you are
acting in his best interest. The more obvious it is that you care about the
person, about what he really needs, the more likely it is that he will be open
to your influence. This is even more important in your personal relationships,
with your family and friends. The more that people feel you care about them,
the more open they will be to your influence.
Action Exercises
First,
slow down when you first meet a person in a business or sales situation. Take
some time to build a relationship with him or her before you proceed to
business matters.
Second,
appeal to the friendship factor that underlies all good business and personal
relationships. Ask questions about the person and his or her life and concerns.
Listen attentively to the answers. Focus on the relationship first.
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