How to Coach Yourself and Others How to Influence, Persuade and Motivate | Page 323

with broader entertainment," they immediately achieved more success.
Forty-seven percent of those who were told to imagine cable TV bought a
subscription while only 20 percent of the control group did. The mind is
activated when you help your prospect visualize your product or
service.[5]
In many persuasive situations, your audience may not be interested in
your message, service, or product at all. How do you pull in passers-by?
Many times when we see a persuasive situation, we like to remain
anonymous. We don't want to feel any pressure so we watch from a
distance. If someone at the clothing store asks if we want help we say
"no." We avoid the involvement because deep down we know that
becoming involved will decrease our resistance.
I remember spending some time on Key West in the Florida Keys. Every
night before dusk, everyone would gather at Sunset Pier to watch the
sunset and enjoy the view. It is a great time of the day to unwind and
enjoy nature's beauty. It is also the perfect opportunity for vendors and
street performers to hawk their wares. We saw jugglers, sword
swallowers, magic tricks, the works. One night, as I watched people walk
by, many of them wanted to watch but felt timid unless a crowd had
already gathered around the performers. The performers knew if they did
not get a crowd, they would not make any money. When someone
remains anonymous, they feel little pressure to donate. I saw someone
who was doing a magic act call over to someone who was trying to
remain anonymous. Soon, the performer got the man involved in his act.
This attracted more people to watch and also got a donation from the
gentleman, who no longer was anonymous.
If you see someone around you or in your audience who is avoiding or
rejecting your message, try to get him or her involved. You can get a
volunteer from your audience and by getting him to willingly participate,
you will completely change his perspective. Pet storeowners are famous
for this. They see children come in just to look around. The parents don't
want to have a dog in the house, but their son or daughter still wants to
look. The owner waits patiently to see the child's eyes light up and
instantly fall in love with a new puppy. The child holds and hugs the
puppy and the dad knows he is in for a struggle. The owner is wise and
does not want to fight the father. He just says, "It looks like she has fallen
in love with this puppy. I understand your apprehension about having a
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