Persuasion techniques – child’s play!

Your 4-year-old daughter comes running to you just as you are leaving the home. ‘Where’s the teddy bear you promised me?’ she asks. You don’t know what she is talking about, and just before you can say so, she makes a sad little face and says ‘you promised’. That’s when your heart melts, and you give in. Sure enough, your darling daughter is tucked in at night cuddling her brand new stuffed toy!

There is a lot we can learn from children. They have really great ways of persuading us to do exactly what they want. If we take this, and apply it to a sales pitch, it would work really well, wouldn’t it?

Here are a couple of leaves we can take out of a child’s book:

•    If you want something, ask for it. Subtle hints are now a thing of the past. Direct communication is the key to getting exactly what you want, and there are no two ways about it.
•    If you give people a reason, it is easier for them to say yes. For example, it would be better if you substituted ‘may I have the last bite of cheesecake’ with ‘may I have the last bite of cheesecake because I am hungry’. People will be more willing to give this way. The keyword here is ‘because’. Once you give a people a reason, it is very hard for them to say no.
•    If you add a time limit to something, it shows the need for urgency. Take a sale for example. If you suddenly see a sale at your favourite store that says ‘Flat 50% off, limited time only’, you will obviously jump with joy. This is why you need to give readers a time limit. There’s a higher chance of sales happening if you do this.

So, the next time you sit down to write sales copy, keep these points in mind, as they will surely help.