The Science of Influence: How to Get Anyone to Say "Yes" in 8 Minutes or Less!, Second Edition

Chapter 11. I'll Think About It

What does that mean? It means the client/customer doesn't feel right in at least one way. The client can't quantify it because it is a feeling (or feelings), so you'd better be prepared!

Let's look at feelings and what they mean in the persuasion process.

The pendulum swings back and forth (oscillation). At each moment in time it's in a slightly different place than it was just a fraction of a second before. And so it goes until it stops . . . where? Right back in the middle: "I don't know." "Maybe."

The nonconscious mind runs off survival instincts, sometimes with success, sometimes not. The nonconscious mind is very different from the conscious mind. It runs on autopilot. It is basically a stimulus/response mechanism that adapts along the way, but slowly. The conscious mind is that computer, if you will, that thinks, calculates, and can make a decision. But those decisions come at a cost. The nonconscious is often drawn in many different directions, not just one or two, and to cut off any option is a threat to the freedom of the being. (Write that down. This will be referred to by people as, "I have a bad feeling," "I'm not sure," "I don't feel comfortable," and so on.)

Eliminating choices to a human (and many other animals) can be quite an experience. You and I hate to see that freedom say goodbye. And for good reason. Although there are options (escape routes), there is comfort in the status quo. When there is comfort in the status quo (what's going ...