How do companies choose representatives?

However, if there is an element of appeal, then listeners and readers will also look for evidence of credibility. The person doing the communicating must appear to know what he or she is talking about, must provide accurate information, must assemble relevant evidence, and must indicate that he or she understands the audience. These are all credibility factors. If you think about advertising,http://www.reviewme.com/?ref=133185 you can see how companies choose representatives on the basis of these qualities. As a spokesperson for athletic shoes or sports drinks, Michael Jordan is both credible-he certainly knows something about sports -and appealing -he's good looking, successful, and apparently a friendly guy. He probably wouldn't be as effective in commercials for lawn fertilizer or dump trucks. He'd still be an appealing personality, but we'd have to question the credibility of his endorsement. Coming soon! How you can establish credibility in your proposals.

Is the source really the person?

The source is the person or thing doing the persuading - the politician making a speech, the sales representative trying to close a sale, the company submitting a proposal, the foundation running a public service announcement. To bee effective, the source must be both credible and appealing. People believe in People they trust, and trust based on a combination of credibilityy and appeal ("rapport" is another way of defining the quality I have in mind here). The audience must like the person delivering the message. They must feel comfortable with the source. They must believe that the person cares about them and understands them. They must respect or admire the company submitting the proposal.These are all components of appeal.If you don't establish a measure of rapport or appeal at the outset of your presentation or document, the audience may tune out and never look carefully at whether you are credible.           

Check this out,Receiver

From the previous post, people process information in different ways. Presenting a detailed and analytical document to a person who prefers the "big picture" will complicate the persuasion process. Presenting information at a technical level that is too difficult for the audience to grasp will also damage the effort. After all, most people tend to say "No" when they are confused or uncertain about the information they are receiving.

           Later in this blog we'll talk about the best ways to adjust the delivery of your message to match the audience's expectations, preferences, and capabilities.

The receiver of the message

The receiver is a vital component of persuasion, because it's the receiver who must take action, who must make a decision, or whose attitudes must change.

       A message that persuades one person may leave another unmoved. Why? For now we can simply note that two of the factors determining how much influence a persuasive message has on an individual are the reciever's personality and his or her personal involvement in the issue. A person who feels threatened by change will be much harder to influence than one who feels confident and secure.Similarly, a decision maker will be particularly cautious in taking action on an issue that will directly affect his or her CAREER.

There is a difference between a belief and an attitude.

From the previous post;that may seem circular:You can persuade people to accept only the things  they already accept or to do the things they already want to do. But that's not quite what's going on here. There is a difference between a belief and an attitude. Someone may issue an RFP for new equipment because he or she believes that production efficiency can be improved by using more modern technology. If you can base your proposal on the same belief and then demonstrate how your equipment will introduce labour-saving enhancements, the receiver's attitude toward you as the most suitable vendor will change in a positive way. However,if you send out a canned proposal, one that emphasizes the ruggedness and durability of your machines, instead of their impact on production efficiency, you will be not be addressing the client's basic belief. As a result, you may not persuade him or her to choose you.

         This is the fundamental problem in submitting boilerplate proposals. Because customers vary widely in their      beliefs and values, using the same text for everybody guarantees that a large percentage of them will find your message irrelevant or unconvincing. We will examine how to develop a client-centered message in the next post. Don't forget to drop a note of comment.

checkout message

The impact of your message depends in part on whether the receiver is receptive to it to begin with. If the evidence or logic in a particular persuasive message is in line with the audience's basic values, beliefs, or biases, the receiver is more likely to accept it and modify his or her attitudes accordingly.If the evidence runs counter to the receiver's basic beliefs,  persuasion is far less likely to occur. Thus, the way you frame your message with regard to your audience's preferences is critical. leave a comment.

Going Deeper Into Persuasion

For thousands of years, people have tried to figure out the best way to persuade other people to do things. We know that persuasion has been the subject of serious study since the days of classical Greece. Plato worried about the rhapsodes' ability to appeal to citizens' emotions and persuade them to do things that were not in the best interest of the city or themselves. And Aristotle wrote one of the great treatises on persuasion. Among the Romans the ability to persuade was considered a hallmark of responsible citizenship.

The message and The receiver

Since world war ii, researchers have worked particularly hard to identify the elements of persuasion. Why? They  have some practical motives: improving advertising and marketing campaigns, motivating audiences, influencing the electorate, girding consumers and voters against propaganda, understanding the dynamics of brainwashing, and -yes-writing better proposals. From all this speculation and research, four elements have consistently been a vital part of nearly every theory of persuasion: the message, the receiver, the channel, and the source. Giving them some consideration will give us a deeper understanding of the process of persuasion.

Prove you can do it

• The last step in Persuasion is to provide the evidence necessary to prove you can do the job on time and on budget. Typical kinds of evidence that you might put in a proposal include references, testimonials, case studies, resumes team members, project plans, guarantees, third-party validation such as awards, details about management philosophy, your company history, and so on. Note that I am not saying your proposal should  contain every one of  these type of substantiation. Include only what the decision  maker needs to see to feel confident about choosing you. That will be determined largely  by the criteria that matter to this decision maker and by the specific requirements of the RFP, if there is one. Also, in a situation where you're responding to an RFP, your actual anwsers will be part of the evidence you provide -basically, evidence of your ability to comply with the customer's requirements and meet their objectives.

Recommend a solution

This is the third step of the most effective pattern for persuasion. Most proposals don't recommend anything. They lapse into informative writing and merely describe products and services you are recommending must be linked to the customer's specific problem. "One of the problems you are facing is declining transaction value in your e-commerce transactions. The aspect of our recommendation that will help increase transaction value is..." Also, when you recommend a solution, sound like you believe in it. Say the words: "We recommend the immediate installation of LeadPoint asset management software." "We urge you"..." "We are confident..." Don't be wishy-washy. Don't depend on telepathy to get your point across.