With a lot of writing, most of us want to persuade with our words. As a manager or CEO, your goal is to get your employees or clients to either buy something or to consider you as a person of influence – an expert they can trust with their most pressing problems. Right?
Well, many people have written a lot about persuasion, so what follows is just a quick guide to writing persuasively.
1. Your opening and closing should emphasize benefits to your customer/employee. This is the tough thing for many people to understand. They are so interested in proving their worth, they forget that no one cares how many years the company’s been in business or if they’ve won awards for selling the most cars in a given year. Sure, that matters, but first you’ve got to give it a reason to matter.
2. The problem/solution approach might be a good approach. Start out, if you’re a car salesman, by emphasizing that now may be one of the best times in history to buy a car. Prices are at the bottom, the inventory is high, and car dealerships are in the mood to dicker. Then introduce a problem your client/customer may have, say, looking for a car with better gas mileage, or a car that fits your growing family, and then offer a solution. You could write about your no-pressure sales process, that every car on your lot is available for test drive and special deals, and that if there are any questions the customer has, please just ask. Don’t push for the sale on your time frame, don’t force them to work with you; offer them a tempting solution that is a true solution.
3. Two-side structure is also something that works for people who may be making difficult decisions about money or major purchases. If you only present your side, a wary customer may see through that and find arguments to ignore your communication. Thus, present the negatives first. Show that you are paying attention to their needs by putting them at ease. Tell them "yes, I understand that you may not feel that hiring movers is for you because it seems like an unnecessary extra step as you are forced to vacate your home, but perhaps we can make it easier on you during this difficult time." Get the idea?
4. The ask for less approach. This allows you to get your foot in the door. If you’re preparing an autoresponder email to potential clients who express an interest in your graphic design services, why not just ask for their email address and permission to add them to your monthly email newsletter list? This allows them to get to know you and helps later when you’re attempting to get them to hire you for a website redesign at the cost of several thousand dollars. The odds of you actually persuading these clients to hire you increases the better they know you and the more comfortable they feel around you.
5. The ask for more approach. Some persuasive writers champion this approach, but I admit I’ve never been really a fan. It’s when you ask for a huge commitment upfront, get rejected, and then are able to get a more moderate commitment on the next request. I am not comfortable with this outdated approach to sales. I’d much rather build my credibility with an "ask for less" approach. However, there might be some instances when the ask for more structure would work well. It’s up to you and your conscience.
