Chapter 11
16 Principles of Influence in Sales
Let no man imagine that he has no influence. Whoever he may be, and wherever he may be placed, the man who thinks becomes a light and a power.
—Henry George
Have you ever wanted something so badly you could barely think of anything else?
You wouldn’t be satisfied until you had it. And you would have done anything to get it.
It’s unlikely that you randomly woke up one sunny morning, got hit with Cupid’s arrow, and started feeling like this. Whether conscious of it or not, you took a journey from not even being aware of your future object of desire, to yearning, pining, and longing to have it.
As sellers, it’s up to us to create the yearn and pine, and help buyers make decisions to satisfy their needs to have it . . . by, of course, buying from you.
Throughout Rainmaking Conversations, we’ve shared with you the RAIN Selling framework—a framework that will help you learn how to sell like a rainmaker. We haven’t, though, spent much time talking about why it all works.
Before we get started, know this: Until you intend to influence, you won’t. Much like becoming a rainmaker, becoming a master influencer takes focus and intent, two things that, when it comes to influence, many salespeople don’t have. One salesperson said to us, “Buyers know what they want. Far be it for me to interject what I think is right. It’s my job to help them succeed with what they decide, not to influence the decision.”
This person never sold much.
Accept your role ...
