How to master the art of influence.

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Think for a moment about how skillful you are at influencing people. Influence is the most important attribute of a successful person, brand or organization. You simply must be influential, if you are to achieve any goal or desire. Influence is not something with which we’re born. It can be learned, and with focused diligence on your part, you can become a master at influencing people and their desire to do business with you.

Let’s begin our discussion by defining what influence really is. First off, influence is not coercion.  Influential people have a highly developed skill that has a direct impact on the thinking, decisions and behaviors of others. This influence moves people in a positive way that instills trust and respect. Influential people have a vivid picture in their mind of how they want others to respond to them, and a high percentage of the time, they make that picture become reality.

As an creative entrepreneur, you already know the value your influence skills have on making every aspect of your business massively successful.  Within the context of marketing and sales, influence is essential for success. How can you be more influential in creating demand for your offerings?  The following principles represent the most powerful “guidelines” to master the art of influence with others.

As you read each of them, assess your strengths and weaknesses. Which principles already shape how you interact with your colleagues, customers and prospective customers every day? Which of these principles do you know to be true, yet don’t practice (and why not)? And which ones are new to you, that provide inspiration you can act on to grow your influence right away?

Balance your desire for results with strengthened relationships.
To be influential, you must achieve your results while strengthening your relationships with others. You can push too hard, achieve a result but damage the relationship by being forceful and coercive. On the other hand, if you are timid and passive, and avoid standing up confidently, you diminish the respect people have for you, which in turn diminishes your influence significantly. In selling situations, both are the kiss of death. Influential people have a knack for balancing both their desire for results with actions that build stronger relationships.

It’s all about them and never you!
To be truly influential, create opportunity for others first. People do things for their reasons, never for yours. In every conversation with colleagues and customers, put your focused energy on making them successful first.  Your growing influence will be a natural result. You’ll know you are growing your influence when you hear yourself saying “you” more than “I” in your conversations.

People do things for emotional reasons, not logical ones.
Ultimately, people act (buy) for emotional reasons – even those who seem completely logical by nature. Most of us want to experience pleasure and avoid pain. If you can show people why your ideas, products or services will help them feel pleasure and not pain, your influence with them will grow significantly.

People want more of what is in short supply.
When you give the impression that your services are exclusive, that your business is full, and that you only work with a few clients at a time, you will be more attractive to prospects. That’s because people want more of what they believe they can’t have. In creating greater demand for your products and services, you have to be special and specialized. When you (and your business) become the known expert for solving a specific problem, clients with the problems you solve will seek you out. This enables you to be selective about the customers you take on. When you create scarcity for your time, you also create more influence. You also can charge a premium for your offerings.

People are influenced by how remarkable you are.
When others are remarking about you in positive ways, you become remarkable!  All influential people are remarkable. The more your clients-to-be hear of you through trusted third party sources, (the web, friends, colleagues, trade magazines, bloggers) the more your influence grows. To build your influence today, you must engage in the social media conversation that people in your market are currently having. Do more of these things:

Ask for testimonials and endorsements from your current and past clients.

Start a blog on your website, share your expertise, and build your credibility.

Develop case studies as digital downloads on your site, or as links in your articles.

Volunteer your time and expertise with leaders in your target market.

People are influenced by people they like and are like them.
To be more influential, be more like the people you want to influence. Talk about things that they care about, show common ground and shared values. Remember that like attracts like. Being perceived by others as a trusted member of the tribe enhances your influence. Of course, in this regard, your actions must speak louder than your words. To be influential with your clients-to-be, there are two questions they need an affirmative answer to:

can you solve my problem?

do I want to work with you?

The more common ground you have with your clients-to-be will go a long way towards their answer to the second question–and it will influence their answer to the first. It’s not difficult to be likeable when you are genuine, humble, courteous, respectful and show empathy for others.

Pulling is more influential than pushing.
There are two ways to influence other people: you can push them, or you can pull them. In a selling situation, nobody wants to be pushed. I believe in this idea so strongly I named my marketing and brand consulting firm PULL.  Pulling implies there is a magical, powerful, attractive and influential force behind your actions. You pull people into your orbit with the gravity of your caring, listening and sharing of ideas that will serve your customer’s success.  Serve another person’s  success and you will be immediately influential to them.

Stand on equal ground, and then elevate all others.
Finally, you are more influential when you stand as an equal with the person you want to influence. You must project an image of confidence and mastery. In selling, this is essential. More importantly, your influence takes a quantum leap when everything you do elevates and inspires the confidence and mastery of other people, particularly your clients. I believe this to be a prerequisite for leadership. Lighting the way for others by your own example is the surest method for influencing the thinking and behavior of others.

Of course if none of these principles resonate with you, dust off your old copy of Dale Carnegie’s iconic book and give it a good read.

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