Understanding The Attractive Character To Harness The Power of Persuasion

Aristotle’s Rhetoric And How To Benefit From It As A Marketer Modern marketers are still looking at the same thing today that Aristotle did 2000 years ago – we want people to do things. We want them to buy our products, to read our blogs and to share things with their friends. Millions of jobs are built around this simple idea of persuading people to do things, but often, we overlook the fundamentals of persuasion, that are just as relevant today as they were 2,000 years ago. 

The origin of Digital Marketing goes way back from 300 BCE. Persuasion, at that time, was only in the form of public speaking. Now that communication is also digitized, persuasion and its techniques have evolved.

However, to become a master in this art, you must first go back to basics and apply it to what you know right now. Using Aristotle’s communication theory, I will show you what actually resonates with prospects. It may surprise you that there’s a formula to guide you, and that you’ve most likely lost sight of what’s actually impactful – all too easy once we start pumping prospects through automated marketing journeys.

If you wish to persuade, you need to establish credibility and authority with your audience. A man may have the most logical and well-thought-out argument, but if his audience doesn’t think he’s trustworthy or even worth listening to, all his reasoning will be for naught.

Ethos- Ethos focuses on the credibility of the persuader, whether that be a person or a brand. A way to establish ethos with your audience is to find common ground with them. Human beings are social animals. We have a tendency to trust others that are like us (or at least appear like us). You can establish common ground by acknowledging shared values or beliefs. You can establish common ground by simply recognizing a shared history.

Pathos- For more emotional purchases, you need more emotional persuasion. People are more likely to remember stories than facts because stories tap into our emotions. Next time you give a presentation to a client at work, instead of just slapping up some bar charts and bullet points in a PowerPoint presentation, make the extra effort to weave those facts and figures into an engaging story with conflicts and a cast of characters.

Logos- Logos is possibly the most straightforward element of persuasion, and centres on logical arguments. A good logical argument will put forth a series of premises: statements that are either true or false. Based on these premises, a conclusion must be made.

Following my previous blog about understanding your product and buyer persona, I am sure that you are now tempted to apply the Aristotle rhetoric of Ethos, Pathos and Logos to your Buyer Persona but…….WAIT!

What Is An Attractive Character And Why Bother

The who becomes just as important as what they say!

It is imperative to understand your Buyer Persona but equally important to draw a Seller Persona. Russell Brunson in his latest book talks about the importance of developing an ‘attractive character’. He sees this as a fundamental platform before you get to grips with any clever digital marketing strategies. This is not an academic exercise. It’s a proven model for making money through direct response marketing.

There are 4 elements you need for an attractive character:
• Having a backstory.
• Being able to share your character flaws.
• Is a polarizing figure.
• The ability to speak in parables.

Promise Certainty- Figure out your backstory, character flaws, identity, storylines, and more. Certainty is what draws people to leaders, to experts.

It is said that in any situation, the person with the most certainty wins. I’m not talking about self-confidence. If you want to make an impact, you have to be certain.

Be Interesting- Your audience must be fascinated with you and what you teach. If you’re boring, they’re not going to connect with you.

Care About People- Persuade people but also showing that you actually care about them. There’s an old saying that goes, “They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. If your audience thinks you are just in this to make money, your vehicle for change will not last long.

To craft a good persuasive sales message for your audience, we must consider three things.

1. The character of the sales person
2. The condition of the listener
3. The strength and plausibility of the sales message itself

The character of the sales person is defined by the person’s intelligence, virtue, and goodwill. An intelligent, virtuous man will be deserving of confidence, and he will inspire confidence quickly within the listeners. While Aristotle is speaking of virtue within the context of making a persuasive argument, this small bit of information also supplements Aristotle’s ethical philosophy. Namely that the best life is one that actively expresses virtue.

So if you fancy following in Aristotle’s footsteps double-check your sales copy to make sure it displays your robust character, is backed up with plenty of proof, and stirs your audience’s emotions enough to take action.

Become An Attractive Character And Build Credibility

Are you sat scratching your head, wondering why your dream clients haven’t found their way onto your client roster yet? 37% of marketing agencies say getting new clients is their biggest struggle:

Whether you’re wondering how to drive new clients towards visiting your website, or finding the best way to take an enquiry from potential client to raving customer, you’re not the only one. This is a common problem I see when evaluating and working with brands and small businesses.

Persuasion isn’t coercion or manipulation. Trust is earned. Credibility is built. Without these two foundational elements, most else won’t matter. Begin persuading by building trust and credibility first.

When you set out to share your message and brand with the world, you may think having a large advertising budget and big marketing departments is needed. This is simply not true. For many small brands, creating a consistent feeling and communication style can build instant credibility, developing a deeper level of trust for your brand.

My No. 1 tip for building credibility- Borrow credibility!

When your prospect doesn’t know you or you believe your credibility with them is low, borrow the credibility of another to boost your own. Ask yourself: who could endorse or recommend you? Who has credibility with your prospect and would be willing to call and introduce you? What relevant testimonials can you share that would boost your credibility?

If someone like Neil Patel were to provide you with marketing advice, you would listen and follow that advice. Similarly, SEO tips from Rand Fishkin could make you want to change your entire SEO strategy. We trust advice coming from people we see as authority figures in their line of expertise. This is because we believe the decision based on advice from an authority figure is less likely to go wrong.

The Art Of Persuasion With Your Target Audience

Just because a prospect said “no” the first, second or more times, it doesn’t mean you should give up on someone who is in your audience. It can take multiple points of contact, from multiple channels, before you persuade your prospect to give them permission to act. Persuasion builds. It doesn’t just pop up and present itself. By the time you’ve engaged your audience and you’re moving toward the close, you should already have stimulated and calmed emotions, presented your USP, told a story, and walked your prospective customer or donor through logical reasons to purchase.

But to seal the deal, you need to return to emotion, and you need to persuade.

Promoting a product in a way that appeals to the targeted audience is an aspect that dominates the formation of adverts. To achieve this objective, advertisers muse images and words in a creative and convincing manner. This is because the overall effect of advertising is persuading the targeted audience to consume the product.

I am using the intelligent persuasion system developed by Ray Edwards

Ray thought of the word PASTOR, which he explains refers to the original connotation of the word: to be a shepherd.

Now, before we go any further, I should address the habit that some marketers have of referring to their customers as their “herd.” It seems to paint an unflattering picture. You can use the acronym PASTOR as a framework to create any message you want, whether it’s an update, blog post, the outline for a podcast, or an extemporaneous talk.

Problem – This is a reminder to make sure that you are calling out the problem that the prospect has. Be specific and articulate because this allows you to identify with the prospect on an emotional level. It will make them feel that you really understand what they are going through.

Amplify – The next step is to amplify the consequences of not solving the problem. This is really the key to making sales, and it is probably the most neglected step in the process.

Story- Once you have described the problem and amplified the consequences of not solving it, it’s time to share the story of how the problem can be solved.

Transformation – Overload with testimonies about the transformation brought about by your solution. Let them see the people who are just like them.

Offer- This is where you describe exactly what you’re offering for sale. 80 percent of your offer talk, where you say, “Here’s exactly what you get,” 80 percent of what you say there is also about the transformation. This is where I see people mess this up a lot of time.

Response- While the same rule applies equally to copywriting, you need to be specific in telling your customer exactly what he or she needs to do in words.

Bonus: The Art of Persuasion In Facebook Advertising

Next time you’re crafting any sort of persuasive message, whether it be as part of your job or trying to convince a friend to help you move furniture, think about which fundamentals to focus on. What is your audience’s profile? Will they be swayed by emotion or logic? Or do they need to be sure that you’re an expert in your field? And next time you’re being targetted by advertising, think about how different brands use different persuasion techniques, and which are successful for which products.

We are all in the business of persuasion – whether it is persuading clients to buy our work, consumers to buy the products and services we advertise or make, persuading judges that our campaign is worth an award, or convincing colleagues to choose and make our ideas. But very few of us are ever taught how to be more persuasive.

I’ll elaborate on 3 important principles of persuasion and show you how other businesses are applying them in their Facebook Ads.

1. Authority

It’s human nature that people follow who look like they know what they’re doing. To illustrate the principle of authority, check out the example below.

Neil Patel is the authority figure in the area of Digital Marketing.

Authority is not just based in the positions of power or experience. It can be superficial too. For example, clothing is one factor that help you perceive authority. If you dress like a boss, you’ll get respect from others.

2. Social Proof

People tend to do what other people do. Instead of telling them what to do in a certain situation, it is easier to get someone to change his/her behavior by telling him/her what other people did in similar situations.

3) Scarcity

Scarcity is defined as the perception of products seeming to become more attractive when their perceived availability is rather limited. People love to buy things other people cannot buy. We tend to rush for things that are rarely available. So the question here is: ‘How do I make my product look and feel rare and scarce?’

No matter how you slice it, we’re all trying to seduce, or persuade, our target audience to give our product or service a shot!