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What's going on, everyone? I'm really excited to share with you one of my most powerful tactics in persuasion, which allows you to use integrity to build trust with your prospects. This tactic involves owning all of your deficiencies with a single statement.
When it comes to selling something, the degree to which someone will buy is directly correlated with how much they trust you, especially in a B2B scenario. If someone truly believes in what you're offering, they would have no logical reason not to buy from you.
Trust plays a crucial role, whether it's a belief in oneself, the system, or the world. When these three elements align and they have a core belief, they are more likely to make a purchase. This is why referrals are so effective—when someone is referred to you, trust is already established, and closing the deal becomes much easier.
I learned this tactic from Eminem in "8 Mile." It involves using the word "but" to create a damaging admission, which is one of my favorite techniques in persuasion. By being honest and authentic, you stand out from the charlatans who make extravagant promises without being real. Let me give you an example:
If I said, "I'm going to make you a ton of money if you work with me, but it's going to be a ton of work. You'll have to go through hundreds of hours of videos and spend five hours a day executing my strategies." In this statement, I directed your attention to all the effort required.
However, by reversing the statement and using a negative statement followed by a positive one, the "but" acts as an amplifier for the positive part. For example, "If you sign up for Gym Launcher, you'll have to go through hundreds of hours of videos and dedicate five hours a day, but you'll make more money than ever before."
The more negatives you mention initially, the more believable the positive statement becomes. By owning your negatives truthfully, you increase the persuasiveness of your argument. This technique allows you to control where your prospect's attention is focused.
In copywriting and sales presentations, incorporating the "but" statement strategically can make your message more persuasive. By acknowledging the potential drawbacks upfront, you enhance the credibility of what follows.
For instance, Gym Launch has had some one-star reviews, but we also have thousands of five-star reviews. Would you prefer to dine at a restaurant with a 4.7-star rating based on 3,000 reviews or at a place with five stars based on only 19 reviews? The negative reviews give credence to the positive ones.
An excellent example of this technique is the Viagra commercial with the warning label about prolonged erections. By highlighting the genuine risk, they amplified the appeal of the product. The extreme adverse effects of what you promise can make the underlying believability of achieving it seem assumed.
This is one of my favorite persuasion tactics because it's based on integrity. By openly addressing potential concerns, you increase the persuasiveness of your argument. Give it a try in your copy and sales presentations, and you'll notice an improvement in how prospects perceive your message.
I hope you found this valuable. Keep being awesome and experiment with this tactic. I guarantee that prospects will find you more believable and be more likely to buy. Lots of love, and catch you on the flip side!