028 - How to ethically persuade people to take action (and buy your stuff).

Have you ever known something you SHOULD do, but you just can't get yourself to do it?

Like reading the Bible or eating right.

We all KNOW that we SHOULD, but we don't all do it.

Why is that?

It's because we don't REALLY have FAITH in the action.

We don't actually BELIEVE it will work for us specifically.

Take my weight loss journey. I had tried losing weight multiple times. But, it NEVER lasted.

Therefore, I had negative FAITH in my ability to do it.

I created this history with myself that said that I couldn't lose weight.

With this, I started to believe that there was something WRONG with my body.

I made excuses.

Shifted the blame to something outside of me.

And, I got fatter in return.

However, as soon as SHIFTED my belief around losing weight, everything changed.

Because I started to believe it was possible, I started to take consistent action.

Right belief led to Right action.

And, right action, done consistently, led to me losing over 25 pounds of weight WHILE I was gaining muscle.

I started wearing my "skinny" clothes again.

And felt amazing.

All this to say, you can persuade anyone to do anything as long as you create the right belief within them.

Sadly, this can be used in very unethical ways.

In fact, propaganda has been used to control society since basically the beginning of society.

In the worst case, you get something like the Nazi party. Propaganda created the belief that Jews were lesser people. T

he belief was so well established that a whole nation of good people were able to cause harm and kill Jews.

All because of belief.

On the opposite of this, you get Jesus.

He established a belief in the Kingdom of heaven being available for all. He convinced people to do good to those who persecuted them.

Therefore, they would walk a Roman soldier's pack an extra mile simply as a way to do good.

In the same way, OUR FOREMOST goal of Spirit-Led Creators should be to create right beliefs for the people we serve.

This is because we KNOW that when people have right belief, it'll lead to right action, which will lead to transformed lives.

That should be our goal.

The question is how can we create these beliefs for the people we serve?

I've found that there are 5 specific beliefs that people NEED to have in order to take action on the things you ask of them.

Let's break them down and how you might establish these beliefs.

BELIEF #1 - Opportunity Belief

If someone comes to me and insists that I can lose weight by eating nothing but ice cream, I won't believe them.

My past experiences have told me that when I eat ice cream, I gain weight.

Plus, I know that ice cream contains lots of calories and is full of fat.

So, unless they can educate me on how it works to where I actually makes sense to me, I'm not going to buy into the opportunity they're presenting to me.

(Even though that would be awesome. LOL)

In the same way, people MUST believe in the opportunity (the action) that you are trying to get them to do.

They must believe the opportunity actually works.

Here's a good example of an opportunity that was presented to me that I ended up buying into. (I'll tell you later, why I'm only buying the 5-day challenge where they explain the opportunity.)

This was the idea behind the opportunity - By creating a podcast where you interview your ideal clients, you can build trust, and they'll want to buy from you afterwards.

After they explained how it worked & showed proof that it works, I thought the idea was brilliant.

Therefore, I paid $100 to be part of a 5-day challenge to learn more about how it works.

I believe in the opportunity.

In the same way, you must create belief in the opportunity that you're presenting to your audience.

You do this through educating them on the opportunity AND then showing proof that it works.

If people can understand it and see that it works, then it'll created Opportunity Belief.

It's really that simple.

BELIEF #2 - Personal Belief

After people believe in your opportunity, they must believe in their personal ability to take advantage of it.

If someone came to me and told me that it's possible to make a full time living as a professional basketball player, I might believe in the opportunity, but not in my own ability.

First, I'm too short (5ft 8in) and too old (33 yrs) to make it as a full time basketball player.

I simply don't believe in my own ability to do it.

However, if we talk about the podcast idea, I have full confidence that I could do that.

I've already coached many people 1-on-1.

And, taking the same thing I coach people with and turn it into a podcast wouldn't be hard for me.

I believe in my ability to speak and coach in a way that would build trust.

But, even if I didn't believe it right now, it wouldn't be that hard to create a belief that I could.

All they'd have to do is address my limiting beliefs and then show me how others (who are just like me) have been able to do it.

You can do the same thing.

Identify WHY someone might not believe in their own ability.

Then, find stories to share and ways to help them overcome those beliefs, if it makes sense.

Convincing a 5ft, 8in 33 year old that they can make a living as a full time basketball player just simply might be a losing battle.

BELIEF #3 - Guide Belief

So far, we've created belief in the opportunity and belief in their ability.

Now, we must create belief that WE (as their guide) has the ability to take them to the promised land.

Who would you trust more to help you go from 6-figures to 7-figures in your business?

Option 1: A broke guy who just finished college

OR

Option 2: A lifetime entrepreneur who has scaled over 10 businesses to 7-figures.

They might be presenting the SAME opportunity and create the same personal belief, but you will ALWAYS pick the lifetime entrepreneur.

It's easy to believe in this guy.

He has a track record.

Again, taking the podcast example we've been talking about, I believe in the guide as well.

He's made over 7-figures with his own podcast and his multiple of his students have made good money as well.

So, when it comes to that opportunity, I believe he can guide me to where I want to go.

In the same way, you must create belief in your ability to guide people.

If you don't have a track record, start by helping people for free.

Get testimonials. Put in the reps.

When you do, then people will start to believe.

Another thing to improve that belief is to sell something small that has a small promise.

Then, do such a great job in helping people reach that small promise that belief is built.

If they can trust you for little, they'll trust you for more.

BELIEF #4 - Timing Belief

If all of the stars are aligning so far, people may still not buy or take action.

This may come down to one of the next two beliefs.

The first one is the TIMING belief.

This is where my belief breaks down when it comes to the podcast opportunity.

And it's primarily why I've already made up my mind not to invest in the next step of the program.

Why?

Because, my focus right now in my business is putting together this newsletter with a weekly Youtube video.

I don't think right now would be a smart time to start doing the podcast.

It's a timing belief.

My focus is elsewhere for now.

But, I do plan on eventually adding this to type of podcast to my overall strategy.

In your business, you want to address all timing issues of why NOW isn't the right time, and why it could be.

Sometimes people use the excuse of time simply to NOT take action right away.

Address those. Explain the timing.

And, if it doesn't actually make sense for people to do right away, make a note to catch up with them later, when it does make mores sense.

Let them make the choice, and then follow up.

BELIEF #5 - Investment Belief

Along with a timing belief, you must also help people believe that the time & money the opportunity takes makes sense.

Again, back to the podcast opportunity. For where I'm at in business, the time investment to create this right now doesn't make much sense.

If the timing was right, the investment WOULD definitely make sense.

Unless, of course, they're charging a ridiculous amount for the training they're offering.

Then, I might simply choose to do it myself without investing in them.

Depends if it makes sense.

In the same way, you must be upfront with the investment (time and money) that your opportunity takes and then educate people on making the right choice.

Here's how to create this belief with ease:

1. Educate on why the investment is worth it.
2. Prove the result they'll get for their investment.
3. Show how you're going to make it easier & faster for them.
4. Reduce risk in the investment through guarantees.

Through these things, you'll have create Investment Belief that will have people doing what it takes to get the results.

Conclusion:

It's easy to persuade people to take action (and buy your stuff) if you simply focus on creating the right beliefs.

These are:

1. Belief that the opportunity you're presenting actually works to get them the result they want.
2. Belief in their personal ability to make the opportunity work for them.
3. Belief in your ability to guide them into a result, overcoming any roadblock they may have.
4. Belief that right now is the right time for them to jump on the opportunity.
5. Belief that the investment is worth the result they're going to get.

By establishing these beliefs, you're helping people transform their lives.

So, you MUST do whatever possible to do this.

But, at the same time, be careful with it.

Create belief, not for your own benefit, but for the benefit of the people.

Only create beliefs that are true and good.

If it's not the right time for some people, tell them that. Don't create a timing belief, if it's not right for a specific person.

Same with the investment belief. If the investment simply doesn't make sense to where people are at, then DON'T create the belief.

Break it down honestly. Stay ethical.

For now, this is your invitation:

Go through your current customer journey and ask yourself, "Are you creating all of these beliefs, or do you need to improve?"

And "Are the beliefs I'm creating true and good for each person?"

Do this and you'll have more people buying and taking life-changing action than ever before.