The Single Biggest Way to Be More Persuasive

By Jeff Haden | April 29, 2011  (original post on: http://www.bnet.com/)

First a confession: I don’t like to be touched — loved ones excluded, of course. Naturally that means I don’t initiate any casual touching. Shake hands? Sure. Casual hugs, bro’ hugs, arm patting, or back slapping?

Uh-uh.

So while it may not be news to you, I was surprised by research showing how powerful nonsexual touch can be. (Yes, I am aware sexual touch can be powerful too.) Touch can influence behavior, increase the chances of compliance, make the person doing the touching seem more attractive and friendly… and can even help you sell a car.

Here are a few examples from a summary of research on the very cool PsyBlog. When touched, people are:

* More likely to provide help. 90% of strangers who were touched lightly on the arm helped the experimenter pick up dropped items. If not touched, only 63% helped.
* More likely to comply. 81% of participants agreed to sign a petition if touched, while only 55% agreed when not touched.
* Even more likely to comply if touched twice. Researchers asked strangers to fill out a questionnaire. People who were touched twice were more likely to agree than those only touched once. (Here’s a shocker: Results were highest when females touched males.)
* More likely to generously tip. Waitresses who touch customers are more likely to receive a bigger tip. (From a 1984 study, before the non gender-specific word “server.”)
* Able to perceive unspoken emotions. Participants in a study tried to convey twelve different emotions by touching another blindfolded participant on the forearm. The rate of accuracy for perceiving emotions like fear, anger, gratitude, sympathy, love, and disgust ranged from 43% to 83%.
* More likely to buy a car (maybe). Researchers approached random men shopping for used cars. Half were touched for one second, the other half were not touched. Those who were touched later rated the “toucher” as more friendly, honest, and sincere. Would creating that perception help a salesperson make more sales? You would certainly think so…

Sure, you can misuse the power of touch. Touch can help improve the likelihood of compliance, so a couple of strategic pats on the arm might, for example, help you talk a hesitant employee into accepting a crappy assignment.

So use your new powers for good, not evil. Since touch helps convey sincerity, when you congratulate employees make direct eye contact and shake hands. Or pat them lightly on the upper arm. Show your sincere appreciation not just with words, but with actions as well.

And start hugging your mother more often. She deserves it.


Read the original post on bnet.com


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Traffikd » 13 Reasons Why Social Media Marketing is Worth Your Time

13 Reasons Why Social Media Marketing is Worth Your Time

When comparing social media traffic to other forms of traffic, such as search engine, the numbers typically are going to look rather bleak. While you’ll hopefully see a spike in number of visitors and pageviews, that will often be accompanied by higher bounce rates, lower pageviews per visitor, and a lower average time on the site. With stats like this many bloggers wonder if social media traffic is even worth the time and effort.
Despite the tendency of many social media visitors to quickly exit your site and move on to the next one, there are still some very convincing reasons why you should care about social media and why it is worth your time.

1. It’s Free

Unless you’re paying for a consultant or a link bait specialist (both can be good options), marketing your website with social media is free. It will cost you some time, but that pales in comparison to the value of the traffic that you can get in return. There are countless ways to market a website or blog. Just about all of them involve spending money (which isn’t a bad thing), and of the ones that don’t involve money, the vast majority of them are a complete waste of time. I’ve never tried any other type of free marketing that brought even 1% of the results I’ve gotten with social media at my primary blog. Most bloggers are on a tight, or non-existent, budget when it comes to marketing. If this is the case, social media is for you.

2. Quick Results

Building a successful website takes a considerable amount of time and effort. Search engine rankings, for instance, can take years to build in a competitive niche. On the other hand, with social media you can develop content and be seen by thousands of visitors within the same day. For this reason, social media is a great option for getting a new website or blog noticed right away .

3. It’s Flexible

There are so many different social media websites that just about every imaginable niche is covered in one way or another. There are social news sites, bookmarking sites, and general networking sites. Whatever your needs and your audience, there should be an option to use social media for your benefit.
Also, you’re not stuck to using the same social media sites over and over. If you’re not getting results in one place there’s usually other options that you can try out.

4. It Gets Easier with Time

If you’re new to blogging and social media and you feel like everyone else is getting traffic but you, understand that it takes some time and effort, but it will get easier. Once you have established a bit of a reader base and you’ve hopefully attracted some social media users to your blog, it will be much easier for you to get votes and ultimately get more exposure. The more you use social media the more you will understand about how it works and how users will respond.

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Traffikd » 13 Reasons Why Social Media Marketing is Worth Your Time

High Touch Marketing

High Touch Marketing - The Key to Relationship & Business building
By Marlo Boux of Boux Small Business Coaching

see original post on risingwomen.com

High touch...what does it mean, and why should you care? The term high touch, coined by futurist John Nesbett in the eighties, refers to having human interactions, a personal element or a personal touch. In a world where nearly everything is high tech and automated (or is well on its way to being as such) it is a breath of fresh air to have some ‘old-fashioned’ human-to-human contact. So how does this translate into business networking?

Well, if you attend a networking function in the flesh, you are part way there by having face-to-face interactions. But let’s take it a step beyond just showing up and inject a real personal touch in how you network with others.

I will assume that as a business person, you are aware of the networking basics:
- Having quality business cards on hand
- Crafting a laser-focused 10 to 30 second business message
- Dressing appropriately for the event
- Having a great handshake

These topics will not be addressed any further in this article. What I am about to suggest will turn the typical networking objective on its head. Most of us go to networking events to “get our name out there”, generate leads and build business relationships. Instead of going to an event with a “how will this benefit me” attitude, walk into the event asking “how could my knowledge, resources and contacts benefit my fellow networkers?” This requires a really authentic shift in your motivation.

Listen - When moving from conversation to conversation, ask thoughtful questions and listen to what your peers are saying. Don’t interrupt or start formulating your next thought while they are speaking. You will miss out on nuggets of information that will tell you how you can add value to their business or personal lives. Ask great follow-up questions to get clarification and show genuine interest in them and what they have to say. Focus your attention on their message - both the verbal and non-verbal cues they provide.

Add Value to Their Business - If you know of a useful resource, have a great contact, or have access to some other information that may make their life easier, take special note of this at the end of your conversation and write it down. When you take the time to do something thoughtful for a fellow entrepreneur, you are more likely to be remembered positively by that person - and not just memorable, being “memorable” can carry negative connotations too - you will be remembered and regarded as thoughtful and genuine.

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Five Marketing Tips for Wedding Planners - Small Office/Home Office

Five Marketing Tips for Wedding Planners
REPOSTED FROM: BellaOnline (click to read the entire article)


Wedding planners only make money when they have weddings to plan. That can be fairly easy during the spring, but sometimes you need to drum up enough business to keep you going during the off-seasons. Here are some marketing tips for your wedding planning business to keep your schedule full:

1—Find a niche. Target marketing can really help you focus your efforts. Sure, everyone with enough money can use a wedding planner when they get married, but if you try to market to everyone, you will find your efforts scattered and ineffective. However, if you are the only wedding planner in your area who specializes in second weddings or family weddings or destination weddings or hobby-themed weddings (NASCAR, wrestling, Civil War costumes, sky-diving, and so on) or outdoor weddings or weddings for Senior citizens or Hispanic or Asian weddings, or –see, the niche markets are endless! If you are the “go-to” wedding planner for these markets, you can easily build your market.

2—Find referral partners. The wedding market is heavily referral based. A florist knows bakers who know caterers who know ministers and so on. Get to know these people. Exchange business cards and sample their work if possible. Refer them when you can. Contact them often and drop off your marketing materials for their clients.

3—Exhibit at local wedding shows. Many brides attend wedding trade shows and make buying decisions on the spot. Some of the fees may be costly, but try sharing a booth with another non-competitive but complementary vendor at first. If that isn’t possible and you can’t afford the price, go as an attendee and network with other vendors. Or, offer a gift certificate for another vendor to give away in a drawing if he will share all the entry forms with you to send brochures to. If you can exhibit, make your booth exciting and have contracts ready to go if possible. Follow up all leads immediately.

4—Build a portfolio. Pictures are priceless. Photos of your work can really show brides what you can do. If you have no experience, give away your services so that you can take pictures and get referrals from your “starter” weddings. A digital camera is essential in your business. Take pictures of everything, print good color copies for your portfolio, and have your webmaster put them online, too.

5—Build a brand identity for your company. Pick a similar look for your business cards, website, stationary, thank you cards . . . everything you have printed or distribute to prospects. Choose a slogan or tagline that specifies your niche. For example, “Atlanta’s premier Asian wedding planner” tells everyone exactly what you do. Make sure your collateral (that’s your cards and stationary and stuff) has the tagline if possible, and that it “looks” the part—use Asian colors and art. If you specialize in budget weddings, say so. Ditto if you do blended family weddings or last-minute weddings.

Once you have a niche market and have done your research and are ready to go, create some educational articles that you can give out to prospects and referral partners or even use at trade shows. “Ten Tips for a Happy Blended Family Wedding”, or “Hispanic Wedding Traditions” or “Favorite Irish Wedding Toasts” printed in your brand’s colors and with your logo and contact information becomes a great marketing tool that can bring you business for a long time.

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Courtesy of : BellaOnline


Five Marketing Tips for Wedding Planners - Small Office/Home Office

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