The PROVEN influence model – an efficient way to get your way
Wouldn’t it be great if we could quickly secure the willing cooperation of others, rather than face resistance? Imagine how efficient decision-making, meetings and relationship management could become if you mastered the art of influence.
This is why improving your influencing skills is key – the more effective, the easier it will be to get what you want. Do people mind being influenced? No, usually because if done well they don’t know it just happened. The influencing process can be extremely subtle and discreet ( and there are a number of aids to help with that, including our training negotiation courses). On the other hand, people do mind being coerced or manipulated, so be careful!
The PROVEN model
Let’s consider the PROVEN influencing model. You’ll need to prepare this in advance for best results.
Proposal: The first step is to state your Proposal – what is it you want? You may need them to do something for you, perhaps a favour. Or you may be selling a product or service. Whatever it is, you suspect they will offer resistance!
Reasons: Now you’ve given them the what, they need to know why – give the Reasons. This is where telling becomes selling. Decide on either the carrot or stick approach. To dangle the carrot, you’ll need WIIFM (What’s In It For Me?). This question is a huge motivator for any person. Sell the benefits of your proposal from their perspective – tell them what’s in it for them.
Alternatively, there’s always the stick approach – remind them of the terrible things that could happen if they don’t do what you want. The SIS model is very effective here: explain the current situation (I really need you to do this for me), explain that if it doesn’t happen there could be serious implications (we could be in big trouble), and then offer the solution (if you do this for me, we’ll be fine). When using SIS, it’s unlikely you’ll make people happy – but they’ll understand why they’re not.
Objections: Step 3 is to deal with any Objections. While you’ve been offering reasons why they should comply, they’ll be offering reasons why they shouldn’t. Acknowledge their objections (that’s a good point – but have you thought about..?).
Verify: Now it’s time to Verify that overall, your proposal is still worthwhile. No proposal is perfect, and you’re aware of the downsides, but the positives outweigh them, so we should be doing this.
Evidence: Any Evidence you can provide will also be useful. In his book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Robert Cialdini listed his influencing rules, one of which is social proof. If I can show you that what I’m asking you to do has already been done by many others, then it’s a much more persuasive argument.
Next steps: Finally, assuming your influencing skills have worked, they will want to know about the Next steps in the process. Ok, but what do you need from me?
Conclusion
So, what have we learnt? The ability to influence and persuade those around us and gain their willing cooperation is a wonderful thing. It leads to improved communication and even an increase in productivity.
Use the PROVEN model to state your proposal, and give the reasons behind it. Acknowledge any objections and overcome them by verifying that it’s still a good idea. Provide evidence to boost your argument, and then let them know about the next steps.
And here’s the bonus – this model can be applied both professionally and domestically!