Books On Leadership: The Psychology of Persuasion

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Books on Leadership: First written by Kevin Hogan in 1996, the Psychology of Persuasion is an outstanding book on not just sales, but about general persuasion and influence.

It provides a straightforward framework for you to use in order to use persuasion ethically and effectively.

This section will delve into the book in detail; what it is about and also whether you should read it.

What This Book is About

Kevin Hogan provides a framework for sales and persuasion. He goes into each of these sections in depth and explains the mind-set, techniques and preparation you have to do in order to become a master persuader.

Image Source: KevinHogan.com
Image Source: KevinHogan.com

Foundation
The book starts off importantly with the clarifying of persuasion and influence, and the importance of adopting a win/win philosophy. It’s important to note the distinguishing of manipulation and persuasion and Kevin Hogan here delves a little deeper into the ethics behind it as well.

Fundamentals
The mind-set you bring to persuasion and sales is key to making it work. Kevin Hogan goes into the Laws of Persuasion, some Persuasion techniques, some basic understanding of non-verbal communication and the importance of having outcome based thinking. I find this section of the book the most interesting, especially the Laws of Persuasion. I believe his research into these Laws popularized it in other sales literature as well.

Preparation
This section is about the preparation work you have to do before meeting your client or customer. What is their personality type? With the understanding of personality type, how can you code your message in a way that it appeals to them the most? And last of all, to turn on your energy for the actual presentation so that you are attractive and enthusiastic.

Presentation
Kevin Hogan teaches about building instant rapport with the customer, and how to design and create a compelling presentation for the customer; he ends off with the persistent “Ask-Until” you get the Win-Win result you desire.

Result
The result that you should get through this process is a Win-Win outcome for both parties. It’s important to remember once again that persuasion is used so that both parties can benefit, not just for your own sake. A customer or client who has been manipulated or cheated because of your persuasion will never return to you.

Should You Read This Book?

The first reaction to any book on persuasion is usually, “It’s just for sales people.” Truth is, a leader is selling all the time. He’s always selling his vision, his ideas, his direction to his followers and he needs to be good at it if he wants people to follow him.

Reading about the psychology of persuasion will teach you how to be a better leader. By learning all that Kevin Hogan teaches and applying it to your leadership, you will find more committed and motivated followers that are willing to be part of your dream or vision.

Although some of the literature in this book is slightly outdated because it has been written almost 20 years ago, much of the principles are still intact. The Laws of Persuasion still apply in this internet age of ours and will still be as effective if you know how to apply it today.

I suggest you read this book with a friend so that you can practice the tips and principles that Kevin Hogan teaches chapter by chapter so that you can internalize them effectively.

This book is still available on Amazon, and its one of the books on leadership and persuasion you should purchase!

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