Invisible Influence: The Power to Persuade Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere

47

Decide Right Now

In a situation where further analysis and hesitation would be counterproductive, ask, “If you had to decide right now, in this minute, what would you decide?” Then, get them to write the decision down. Then, walk away. Go and do something else or talk about something else. Come back to the decision after a short amount of time has passed and get them to read the decision and see if they still agree. If so, go forward. If not, ask them to make another decision and repeat this cycle.

“If you had to decide right now, in this minute, between getting model A4 with the three-year warranty or model A5 with the one-year warranty, which would you pick?”

A further reduction of choice to just one thing might look like this:

You and your client have spent around four hours up to this point in your discussions about whether to develop an ongoing relationship. You’re eager to close, so you ask, “Okay, do you think you’re ready to go ahead with this plan?” If the answer is not positive, you ask, “So, what’s the one thing you need to get fixed in order for this to work?”