Persuasion in the Digital Age: Tips for Effective Communication

Persuasion is the art of convincing people, but how do you achieve it?

Many believe it is a thing of negotiation or, in a not-so-bright point of view, a thing of manipulation. While using both of these can work out from time to time, there is a better ability to master this art, which is effective communication. 

Effective communication goes far beyond expressing your ideas clearly; as a business owner, it will make the path to leadership much easier if you master it. At the end of the day, all interactions occur through communication - obviously - but we must emphasize that when you master this skill well, it can be easier for you to redirect the conversation to the point you want to get to and make everything seem like a mutual agreement. You will be involved in many "discussions" throughout your professional life, but if you have good skills, all of these can become a "negotiation."

Now, the digital age has added a wall, which, although it facilitates interactions from anywhere in the world, can also make them blurry since there is nothing more straightforward than good face-to-face conversation. Even carrying your brand's message and making your speech engage and, therefore, persuade your audience is something that becomes more complicated with the overstimulation of messages and content that happen on the immense world wide web. Business leaders have to talk and persuade their clients, but also, very importantly, with their work team, so you must handle these tips and tricks on effective communication that we are about to share.

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The Importance of Effective Communication

Regardless of the advancement of technology, personal communication will always be necessary to build relationships with your clientele and work team. In this area, there is still no artificial intelligence that can handle it like we humans do.

Chatbots can save you time with routine questions or pretty common issues, but there is a point where your audience needs to be served by someone of their kind, someone who can empathize with them and solve their problems.

Persuasion is the skill that makes you look like a cobra whisperer when talking to your audience and team.

We usually associate the issue of persuasion with cheating or inflating the interlocutors with so many words that after becoming dizzy from so much speech, they have no choice but to accept our proposal. This style of "persuasion" has been around since the beginning of advertising, in which all the infomercials and salespeople harassed buyers with the consistently effective method of finding a problem, offering a solution, and assuring them that you, of all the competition, are the best one for the job.

Now, let's not fool ourselves; marketing remains faithful to its origins in solving problems and selling itself as the best, but be careful; convincing people today requires a little more "empathic persuasion," less eloquence, or a salesperson attitude.

But how can we define a smooth talker? What attributes does a persuasive person have? 

It varies and depends on what you are selling and also what you want to achieve. Nonetheless, there are three characteristics that you should focus on developing:

• Charisma: The ability to sell your vision and ideas with words. Not only sellers but artists and even politicians use this aspect to charm their interlocutors not only by what they say but by their captivating personalities and the way they say things.
• Positive Manipulation (Persuasion): Don't misunderstand the term manipulation; we will clear up this debate in a moment. Now, in the first instance, the ability to persuade, or "positively manipulate", is to redirect arguments to a common point in which both parties benefit.
• Empathy: The ability to connect with people, to make them feel understood, and that you can solve their problems.

And be careful; the fact that you could feel you do not possess any of these characteristics does not mean you cannot develop them. You can learn to be a better communicator through practice and study, which is why we are here to help you with that.

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Connect Emotionally.

The first step to persuading people is to connect with them emotionally.

Although we love to consider ourselves sensible and logical people, the reality is that we often make decisions based more on our emotions than logic perse.

Considering this aspect of human behavior, you have a better idea of how to begin treating each interaction with a person, taking the time first to understand what ails them and how it makes them feel.

This information, in the first instance, is gold to be able to convince them since you are elucidating what they need, and thus, being able to put your business or service as the perfect solution for that problem. 

For example, in B2B, this tactic is essential since all companies have particular problems, so you must give them a solution tailored to them, just as we do at Codedesign.

When they feel understood and that you genuinely care about their case, they lower what could be defined as "a guard" against sales and are more open to you helping them with their case.

Listen Actively.

Although listening is one of our primary senses, it is incredible how many do not really know how to listen to people and, therefore, end up giving empty answers that do not connect with what the person needs.

Listening goes beyond understanding what they say; there is a subtext in what they say and how they say it.

This is almost an acting exercise, but it is essential to detect how people share their ideas and act accordingly.

If they are saying it sadly, give them comfort, and if they are frustrated, give them a perspective that can get them out of that loop of failures.

Ultimately, we get almost all the answers we need by actively listening to the people we talk to; we just need to be really interested in what they want to say.

People like to feel heard; if you do it right, they can lower another barrier when purchasing. To achieve this in more practicable terms:

• Ask about details from the conversation.
• Repeat information that seems interesting to you.
• Ask them to repeat to clear up any doubts.

Listening to people goes along the same lines as studying the data and acting accordingly since, by seeing it, you can also get a more accurate vision of your audience's general feelings and what you could do to improve their experience.

Convey Credibility

At this point in the conversation, when you already have information about your audience, is when you can take your tricks up your sleeve and thus begin to persuade them that you are the best option.

By this point, the clients have let their guard down; they have passed the threshold between suspicion and protecting your money, and now the listener is completely on your side, so it is the ideal time to bring out your charisma and "show off." " a little about what you've accomplished.

This is like the main part of a relationship, in which the person who wants to fall in love must show that he is a good candidate for his partner, so you must start talking well about your work and everything you have achieved.

Speak from your experience and show all your company's achievements. If you have dealt with a case similar to your client's, do not hesitate for a second; tell them, and they will feel more confident about your business.

Show Benefits

Why are you different from others?

Why should they pick your option among others?

This part of the process can be good for selling or solving an issue. 

On the one hand, when selling, your idea is to show, above your accomplishments, how you solve things better than others so they can better appreciate why you are the best choice. At this point, they are hooked, so you only need the final step to persuade them.

On the other hand, if it is a discussion or inconvenience that you want to solve, then you have to take another perspective about the benefits of your option.

When dealing with a mistake, the worst thing to do is to point out who is to blame or what the company "should have done." Should, could, and would are often hypothetical scenarios; if things are already done, there's nothing to do with them. It's what it is, but you should try to go on.

For this scenario, the best thing is to find a solution for the problem and show the benefits of it so they can feel they are rewarded after a sour taste.

Focus on Timing

Timing represents the fine line between persuading someone and letting them cool down. In the same way, this can apply to two scenarios: making more sales or resolving an issue.

New leads must receive a quick response. Otherwise, the rush of the novelty will wear off, and they may cool off and never return. To help you automate this process, we recommend having chatbots that receive them but always have a human who can better adapt to the person's needs.

On the other hand, when it happens, you also have to resolve it as soon as possible. Obviously, the digital era adds extra anxiety to the client since the conversation is not face-to-face; they may think they will not have an answer. That's why timing is essential to solve this. Now, depending on the severity of the problem, we recommend that you resolve any significant issue by video call, as this makes communication more fluid and more accessible to solve. Faced with this problem, the same process mentioned above applies to seeking a solution that benefits both parties.

Responding late to an inconvenient is quite problematic since it can increase the customer's annoyance, making it much more challenging to convince them.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, persuasion is not a matter of tricks or manipulation; it is a strategy that, through the understanding of our audience, seeks to provide a solution that benefits both parties. By having this idea in mind, you can build lasting relationships with your audience since your conviction is not only about words, but you also demonstrate it with solutions that make their lives even easier.

If you need further advice on digital marketing issues, contact our group of professionals to help you.

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