Countless books have been written about it. Marketing icons have made their names with it. They swear by it. Sales and Marketing gurus fairly worship at its alter.
The icon of Persuasion.
Well, it may be all-consuming, but in the shifting sands that make up our global culture, it is fast losing its luster.
Here’s what some crazy ones believe will take its place.
If you try it, you might even be the first on your block!
10 replies to "Which Sells Best…Attraction or Persuasion?"
Had a hearty laugh seeing the “proto-Steve” and totally agree with your philosophy. In fact, I wish more Christian Evangelists would employ it in lieu of the turn-or-burn pitch I often hear. Jesus isn’t out to sell salvation as a panacea, He’s offering it as free bonus to Life. (Have you ever considered teaching a class for church outreach?)
Edward,
I got into watching Steven Washer’s videos while getting a wine business (winery) up and going out here in California. But I’m also a pastor (Lutheran) and the ideas behind what he is saying is directly transferable to how a church should market its message & service in the community.
Steven Washer hit another home run with this video! I’ll need to watch it a few more times to let the message sink in and process it out.
I didn’t include the image of young “proto-Steve” reading the Bible while holding a baby, praying to be delivered from bizarre jobs. 🙂
Too bad persuasion has received a bad rap. I wrote an article on persuasion as posted to LinkedIn with a follow-up video suggesting there are two sides to this topic. One is the manipulative side that is toxic and self-serving to the manipulator in question. The other is taking the convincing approach that shares why this is the better option of choice. This approach comes from the Servant Leadership Model created by Robert Greenleaf and with additional insight by Larry Spears. No doubt when looking up synonyms for persuasion, most of the results do not sound appealing. I would suggest maybe using strength-based phrases like “positive collaboration, personal advantage, or optimal alignment.” Words make worlds, let’s tell the best story we can.
-Earle
Thank you, Earle! There are many sides to every issue, no doubt. But there are also the fundamentals. No matter how erudite or logical, persuasion remains me-based. Attraction is of necessity other-based. And takes quite a bit more work. 🙂 Having said that, there does come a point on the continuum where persuasion can morph into attraction. But it doesn’t generally happen in the moment. It happens as a result of planning and executing many, hopefully, valuable touches.
I whole heartily agree. This is why I feel the terminology needs changing to a strength-based title that focuses on what is beneficial for others versus self. As leaders, presenting a value-added proposition that “attracts” and educates people can contribute to the win-win, so they can make an intelligent decision based on confirmable facts versus smoke and mirrors.
Thanks for what you do. Remain encouraged.
-Earle
Another great piece of work Steve. One can imagine a ‘sweet spot’ where attraction and persuasion intersect, which acts as a focal point for the strategy. But of course this doesn’t factor in the z axis of time which makes things much more complicated (and interesting)!
Another great piece of work Steve. One can imagine a ‘sweet spot’ where attraction and persuasion intersect, which acts as a focal point for the strategy. But of course this doesn’t factor in the z axis of time which makes things much more complicated (and interesting)!
Thanks, Jeremy! We’ll probably tackle time in a subsequent video as it’s one of the factors that influence how these strategies are chosen in the first place.
We can agree that successful selling is nothing more than finding a solution to a problem. Or, as my first sales manager would say, “Find an itch and scratch it!” Too many sales environments offer a solution in search of a problem; those are the ones that need persuading.
The all-time classic was Tim Allen’s, “Folks, folks, folks; take the worry out of sharpening scissors at home…”
Great video, as always Steven. Video should be booming in this age of Zoom. Hope you are well.
Tom Caruthers