Do you know how to be more influential and persuasive when negotiating? What factors do you consider to enhance your influence and become more persuasive in your negotiations? In any negotiation, to the degree you’re perceived to be influential, you possess inherent persuasive abilities.
Continue reading and discover 5 factors of influence and persuasion that will enhance your negotiating abilities.
Likeability
- Your likeability can be enhanced by the way you carry yourself and the way you treat others; you should always treat others the way they want to be treated. From a body language perspective, present yourself in an upright position when being viewed by others; project confidence. Let your body say, “I’m someone to follow.” Your likeability can also be enhanced through ‘social proof’. Social proof can be used for such purposes by being seen and/or listed in prominent publications and/or locations, and in the positive way others speak about you. Thus, you should seek to be viewed as favorably as possible by those you seek to influence by being consistent with the demeanor you display in every environment you’re in.
Trust
- I trust him about as far as I can throw him. You’ve more than likely heard that phrase before. When someone has cause not to trust you, their guard is up. It becomes more difficult to negotiate with someone in that state of mind. It’s also more difficult to possess influence and cast persuasion upon such an individual. If you want to be seen and perceived to be a trustworthy person, be consistent with matching your words to your actions. Even if you adopt a position that’s not favorable to the opposing negotiator, if your words are consistent with your actions, he’ll perceive you as being more trustworthy.
Scarcity
- The use of scarcity to gain influence can be a double-edged sword, so be cautious about how you use it. Scarcity can be used most efficiently by restricting direct access to yourself, having limiting numbers of something that’s perceived as being valuable and extending it judiciously, and/or being the ‘gatekeeper’ to an environment that many may want, but only a few have the opportunity to obtain. By the fact that you’re controlling the potential advantages/items/desires that the other negotiator wants, allows you to be viewed as possessing more influence, which enhances your ability to persuade others to follow your suggestions.
Desire to Emulate
- To the degree your negotiation counterpart views you as someone she’d like to emulate, you possess the qualities of a role model. Being perceived as such places you in an elevated position of possessing influence. In such situations, to enhance your persuasion abilities, allow the opposing negotiator to emotionally feel the desire you display per having her best interest at heart. Making her feel such emotionally is the real door opener through which you’ll be able to cast your influence and persuasion. You will be granted the keys to her kingdom. Be respectful of such deference.
Association
- The people you’re around say a lot about who you are. To gain more influence with the opposing negotiator, prior to the negotiation place yourself in the company of those that he aspires to become and/or associate with. Seeing you in that environment psychologically suggests that he too can move closer to acceptance if you were his gateway. Nurture the perception of your influence in such an endeavor by suggesting that the extrinsic value of a successful negotiation outcome will allow him to become closer to that domain.
As you can see, there are ways to shape the perception of the influence you have by what you do during and before a negotiation. By casting the correct perspective of influence, your ability to persuade the other negotiator is enhanced. Use the insights above and you’ll notice an uptick in your negotiation outcomes … and everything will be right with the world.
Remember, you’re always negotiating!