There is a significant difference between having some thoughts about something and being convinced about it. When it comes to your clients and customers it can make the difference between saying a clear ‘Yes’ or just a ‘Maybe’. The ability to convince others is critical to business success.
For example, it could be providing a strong enough business case for your pet project or proposal to the board, getting buy-in from your team about the direction you need it to go in, or judging whether a new employee is good at their job or not.
Is seeing believing?
It’s not uncommon to hear people say “I’ll believe it when I see it” and while this may be true for many, it is not true for all. In fact when it comes to becoming “convinced” of something, only 55% of the population will be convinced by seeing it (this is based on the research done by Rodger Bailey in a work context). So what’s going on with the others?
What channel are you tuned into?
Whilst we have five senses, we tend to use only three of them to make sense of the world; only chefs need to use all five on a daily basis! Depending on our particular individual sensitivities and previous experiences we develop sensory preferences, and these preferences become our main ‘input’ channel. This channel will need to be activated in order for us to become convinced. If our particular preference is not stimulated, the information received (if it is even noticed!) may be mildly interesting but not really that engaging. It will certainly not convince us.
For the majority of people the main preference is ‘seeing’ and they will certainly agree with the saying “seeing is believing”. The research by Bailey states that 55% of the population use this channel to become convinced.
For others it is hearing. This means they will need to discuss, ask questions and listen to answers or hear comments and arguments presented verbally. Bailey’s research shows that for 30% of the population, if it doesn’t sound right they won’t be convinced.
Some people need to ‘do’ something in order to trigger being convinced. They need to feel it, to have an internal sensation or experience that lets them know. If this is not activated in some way they will remain doubtful. For them it is often a matter of working with someone to become convinced that they are good at their job; they need to be involved and have a ‘hands-on’ experience. According to Bailey 12% of people use ‘doing’ as their primary convincer channel.
Finally, there are a few people who are only convinced by reading. It has to be in print to be believed. For them there is a certainty about the written word i.e. when the data, facts and figures are in a report. Bailey says that only 3% of the general working population need this as their primary channel. I have found that this percentage increases amongst Senior Executives because will often rely on reports and financial data in order to be convinced.
What is your preference? What channel do you need activated to become convinced? Is it a combination of more than one?
More importantly, what are the convincer channels of your key clients or the people in your team?
How to identify a Convincer Channel
Both the iWAM and the LAB Profile are very powerful tools that enable you to discover people’s motivational traits and working preferences. The beauty of the LAB Profile is that it allows you to do it conversationally. There is no need to get the person you are profiling to complete any paperwork. The iWAM is an online tool that takes about 30 minutes and produces a variety of very useful reports.
But you don’t need to do a whole profile. You can easily discover this particular trait (it’s called the ‘convincer channel’ in the LAB Profile) with a simple question that you can drop into a conversation at an appropriate moment. The question is: “How do you know that someone else is good at their job?”
The way a person answers will give you clues to their preferences. For example:
See: “Once I’ve had a chance to watch them do it.” “You can just see it.”
Hear: “You can tell by the way they talk, the questions they ask and how they respond. It lets you know what they are thinking.”
Do: “When I’ve worked with them on a project.” “It’s intuitive, I can feel it.”
Read: “I can tell by the quality of the reports. The figures don’t lie.”
Self justification
It’s very interesting to hear how people will express their own preferences and discount the other channels. A high ‘Read’ client recently said something like “People will say anything to you – you can’t believe a word. The reports don’t lie, they can be checked”. Then a high ‘Hear’ client (on the same team as the previous one) said “Reports are useless, you know that people are just writing them in a particular way for a particular audience. It’s much better to have a chat with them – then you will know for sure.”
One client, the CEO of a Software company, wanted to diversify and move beyond his current product range. When his iWAM Profile showed very high ‘Read’ he recognised that it was holding him back because he was only convinced that a particular idea was worth pursuing when he had read some articles in the trade press or software journals about it. Of course, in the very rapidly changing environment of software development this was not very helpful; by the time anything was written up and in print the opportunity had usually passed! He then realised that he needed to change by developing the other convincer channels rather than habitually dismissing them.
Use appropriate language to influence
Once you have established the convincer channel of your client (or whoever you want to convince) you can simply use appropriate language and examples for that Channel. This means using visual, auditory or feeling language, or referring to written data, facts or reports.
Why not give it a try and see the results for yourself; just ask the question mentioned above and listen to the answers you get. There have been many books and articles written about this so if you would like to read more about it just Click Here. Finally, once you have had trialled this a few times, you can check how it feels and notice the difference it makes. Just keep experimenting until you begin to recognise and match their preferences.
If you would like to discuss a particular issue further please give me a call on 07970 134964 or write to me by Clicking Here.
If you are interested in a short cut to discovering your convincer patterns or the patterns of your people you may be curious about our iWAM Profiling tool. It is a simple online questionnaire and produces a 16-page report about 48 motivation patterns and working preferences. For more information Click Here or contact Amanda at Info@InspiredWorking.com.
With best regards
David Klaasen
www.InspiredWorking.com
David Klaasen is director and owner of the niche HR consultancy, Inspired Working Ltd. (www.InspiredWorking.com)
If you have a communication or performance problem and would like some objective advice drop him a line at info@InspiredWorking.com.
