This week we continue our journey to peak performance as a leader with step 6 (and chapter 6 of my soon to be launched book) – how to influence people to reach decisions speedily and close sales.

Your skills as an influencer are fundamental to how well you sell and reach agreement with others.

So in this week’s blog I’d like to share a few thoughts and ideas from my new book on how you can ensure you’re influencing from a place of integrity whilst getting decisions.

PI Selling and influence is about seeing what you do for others in a positive way. It is also about seeing the need to move people into action in a positive light too.

I’ve referred to the term “human selling” before, but this means keeping a focus on your purpose and the big “why” you do what you do. It comes from a place of service rather than manipulation. Many people bristle when you talk about sales, but we all need to influence others to get decisions made in all aspects of life – business and personal.

Keeping a strong eye on why we do what we do, will help us influence without manipulating. When we sell we should always be solving a problem or helping someone else with a product or service that we truly believe is of value to that other person. If we come from this place, then using some influencing skills to help move people out of procrastination and into helpful supportive action is a good thing.

Here are examples of just 4 influencing techniques, which originate from the famous book on influence by Robert Cialdini

1. Scarcity – we are all more likely to move into action if there are only so many of something or they are only available for a period of time. So where can you build scarcity into your sales process?
2. Authority – People are influenced by perceived authority. So how can you raise your game and your level of authority? Writing, speaking, results?
3. Recommendations – How many strong testimonials and recommendations do you have and how extensively do you use them?
4. Contrast – How you can you show what can be achieved working with you in comparison with another way of getting the same results that would take more time and/or money?

The book goes into influencing techniques in more detail, but just check what you are doing against these and think how you can change your approach.

Also, when selling and influencing we need to keep a strong focus on the results we bring to others. Not features and not even benefits as such. Results with hard evidence are the very best. I have worked with a client over a 12 month period when their turnover has gone up 109%. I have worked with another client who has now reached the top 100 companies to work for in the Sunday Times. These are tangible results that others will want. Keep tracking the results you bring and make sure you use them to influence others to make decisions and work with you.

If you know you are coming from a place of integrity, it is good to use closing techniques in your sales process too. Have you ever heard of the Ben Franklin close? Otherwise known as the balance sheet close. You can find out more about all of these in in the full book, but for now have a look into some closing techniques that you can use to get agreements to work together rather than have people thinking about their options forever!

We are all selling and influencing every day, even if we don’t fully realise it. Working on your influencing skills to ensure this is done with integrity, from a place of serving and helping others, is extremely important to your long term success.

If I can support you in improving you with your influencing skills, please drop me a line.

If you would like to join me for the exciting book launch on June 10th, to hear about the 7 steps in much more detail, then please click here.