More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
Read between
October 31 - November 2, 2018
Magic Words are sets of words that talk straight to the subconscious brain. The subconscious brain is a powerful tool in decision-making because it is preprogrammed through our conditioning to make decisions without overanalyzing them.
Opening a statement with the words, “I’m not sure if it’s for you,” causes the listener’s subconscious brain to hear, “There’s no pressure here.”
By suggesting that they may not be interested, you naturally increase their intrigue.
How open-minded would you be about trying this as an alternative? Would you be open-minded about giving this a chance?
When introducing a new idea, start with, “How open-minded are you?” This will naturally attract people toward the very thing that you’d like them to support. Everybody wants to be open-minded.
The best way to overcome the “I know best” mentality of many people is to question the knowledge on which the other person’s opinion was founded.
you know about...?” that softly threatens their knowledge base and forces them to share the reference on which their argument is based. Often this results in them realizing their strong opinion was unfounded.
The real world tells us that people will work far harder to avoid a potential loss than they will to achieve a potential gain.
the more contrast you can create between where somebody does not want to be and where they hope to be, the more likely you are to get people to move.
“How would you feel if...?” you allow the other person to time travel to that moment and imagine the emotions that would be triggered at that point.
Creating these conditional future scenarios using the words, “How would you feel if...?” gets people excited about their future and gives them a reason to move either toward the good news or away from the bad news. Remember, the greater the contrast, the more likely you are to get that someone to move.
for a decision to come true, you must have first at least imagined yourself doing it.
As you make those statements, they will see the picture of that very thing happening. Now that they have seen the thing, chances are their belief in achieving it goes through the roof.
“When would be a good time to...?” you prompt the other person to subconsciously assume that there will be a good time and that no is not an option.
When you do get around to following up or speaking again at the agreed time, please do not ask them what they thought about what you asked them to look at.
Instead, swap that question with, “So, what do you like about it?” and watch them list the good-news reasons instead.
The preface “When would be a good time to...?” prompts the other person to assume that there will be a good time and that no is not an option.
Open the conversation by allowing the other person to save face, but also by preventing them from using any of the excuses you think they might use.
If you ask, “I’m guessing you haven’t got around to speaking to your partner yet?” it now becomes impossible for them to use that excuse.
By pushing for the negative scenario, you get them to rise to the positive or to tell you how they are going to fix the thing they said they were going to do, because most people are people of their word and feel pretty bad when they are called out for it.
simple change of wording puts you in control. Swap the phrase, “Do you have any questions?” with the improved, “What questions do you have for me?”
When you ask somebody, “Can I have your...?” it creates a permission-based resistance in the other person, which makes it harder to get what you hoped for, since a “yes” or “no” response is required.
question, “What’s the best number to contact you at?” results in people effortlessly giving you the information you requested.
The words, “As I see it, you have three options,” help the other person through the decision-making process and allow you to appear impartial in doing so.
“Of those three options, what’s going to be easier for you?” Finishing with another set of Magic Words means they have to pick one of those options.
start with, “You have three options,” finish with, “What’s going to be easier for you?” and watch people effortlessly pick the choice that previously they were finding so difficult to make.
As entrepreneurs, sales professionals and business owners, we are often tasked with the responsibility of helping people to make their minds up.
the primary job description of all sales professionals is to be “decision catalysts” in the lives of their customers and prospects, yet still the job can be more simply described as “professional mind-maker-upper.”
Decisions become easier when the choices are polarizing. Red or white wine, beach or ski vacation, rom-com or action—all become simpler decisions than the broader alternative. Your goal is to create a statement that presents choice and then to allow the other person to pick.
If you decide to give this a try, then I promise you won’t be disappointed.
By creating these “if... then” sandwiches, you can position guaranteed outcomes that are very difficult not to believe.
“Don’t worry” is particularly useful in high-stress scenarios, when confronted with someone who is panicked—it puts people at ease.
Human beings, people, you and I—we all like to follow others and trust that there is safety in numbers.
“Look, what I think you should do is this,” but you cannot say that because it is kind of obnoxious, instead you can simply state what “most people” would do in this situation and watch how it changes everything.
By prefacing things with, “The good news is...,” you cause people to face forward with optimism and zap any negative energy out of the conversation.
By bringing more positivity to situations with, “The good news is...” and responding with, “That’s great,” you soon start shifting the balance in people’s thoughts.
You need to let them know what happens next, so the Magic Words you require are precisely that: “What happens next is...” This is a perfect way of linking all of the information they need to make a decision, the information you provided when you presented to them, and bringing them through to the completion that needs to follow.
You do not ask them what they would like to do; you just tell them what happens next.
Finishing this process with a question that is effortless to answer is the key to gaining a rapid response and a positive outcome.
Success in negotiating is all about maintaining control in a conversation, and the person in control is always the person who is asking the questions. By treating every objection you face as nothing more than a question, you can quickly regain control of the conversation by asking a question in return.
The worst thing that you could do when such an objection is raised is to respond with your counterargument and make statements that disprove their current opinion.
This shift of control now leaves the other person obligated to give an answer and fill in the gaps in their previous statement.
It prevents you from making prejudgments or entering into an argument, and it allows you to better under-stand their point of view before recommending a next thought or action.
Moving somebody from a “no” to a “yes” is nearly impossible. Before you can move some-one to full agreement, your first action is to move them to a position of “maybe.”
“If I can pick you up and drop you off at home, then will you be able to be ready for seven pm?”
“If I can match that price for you, then would you be happy to place the order with me today?”
This use of words drives the recipient to answer the direct question, and “yes” becomes the path of least resistance.
Yet a direct question involving only the larger option and the Magic Word “enough” swings those odds far further in your direction.
It was in this moment, when the suspect’s guard was now down, that he could ask his next question and receive the key information that he needed—the clue that would lead him to solve the crime.
“You wouldn’t happen to know...” (This throws down a challenge, which makes people want to prove you wrong.) “... just one person...”
