Covert Influence...
Creating Irresistible Impulse
(Part 2 of a multi-part series)
Kevin Hogan
Page 2
Covert....Influence....
Now, I want you to see how to optimize your use of Covert Influence
so you don't find yourself wondering why you lost sale after sale
or found out that your seemingly perfect marketing plan went
wrong when it "should have worked," or that people in general,
simply say "no" to you and "yes" to the few who have the keys
to the human mind and brain.
KEYPOINT: It's important that you have a catalog, collection, a structure,
whatever you want to call it... a couple hundred of these
completely unknown triggers, stimulii, tendencies at your finger
tips.
What truly influences people off the written page (and often on!)
is not so much words, or language patterns which are generally
impotent.
What causes the tumblers to turn in people's brains are a multitude
of responses to various stimulii that all intersect here and now.
I catalog this information.
Marketers don't learn about it at University because the information
isn't in marketing textbooks. Therapists don't learn about it in their
books because it isn't in their textbooks, either. Instead what you
are learning here comes from a different world....from cognitive
neuropsychology, behavioral psychology, behavioral economics,
decision making, social psychology and a number of other places
that no one stops and looks at.
In 1999, I coined the phrase "Covert Hypnosis" to begin the
dissemination of this information to the public. That phrase
best describes the information. However because the association
of "words" and "talking" with hypnosis is so great (when it is
really not 1% as important as is assumed) people thought they
were going to see a bunch of neato language patterns that would
cause change in people's behavior.
There ARE a FEW that actually are important and have some
"potency."
Unfortunately, because the few that are useful don't translate
into other non-English speaking languages a few of us finally
figured out that it wasn't the words but all the different internal
causes that trigger people to say "yes" or "no" behind
what was being said and heard... that might or might not be useful.
The fact is that "language patterns" were speculative and mostly
(though not entirely) unimportant. The vast majority simply aren't
useful...they are inefficient.
After you begin learning about Covert Influence the "reasons"
people say "no" or "yes" or "I'll think about it," become
crystal clear....
...The Most Subtle of Subtle....
Imagine that loyalty card we were talking about...you're holding
it in your hand...
I just took a trip that I didn't have to take, because I needed
one more trip for my annual elite status with my airline that I fly.
That status is valuable in the course of the year and is worth
taking a few days and shifting around my schedule for the purpose
of getting those "miles."
My alternative was to NOT have elite status and that COSTS me
a lot of privileges I enjoy having.
KEYPOINT: I had traveled thousands of air miles and if I stopped
short of reaching the next qualification level, I would lose out on a lot of
cool stuff.
Write that down. Bury it in your mind. When people have
invested a great deal into something, they want to get what they
feel is theirs.
Within the Grasp...
a) When we have a prize, a victory, anything within grasp and
we've done something to get that close, we don't want it pulled
away, no matter how small. We are possessive creatures.
We possess things, ideas, feelings, thoughts and even people.
b) When we have invested into a relationship or a product
or service, or an idea, or a plan, or a strategy, or stock, and
"it" "goes down," we really would like to be even.
[People have $50,000 in their 401k, they lose 10,000 and
refuse to pull the rest out of the market. They become roulette
wheel players instead of investors. They lose another 10,000
and now they are dying to "get even." I see this behavior
when I play cards. I see it a lot...and I see the exact same
behavior in 20 different parts of life, everyday in every setting.]
How can you breed loyalty through Covert Influence?
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