We're all different: some of us like to do crossword puzzles, others love math, some of us like to take tests or read maps, others enjoy cleaning. Our differences make us unique and our prospect's differences are what can make persuasion extra powerful.



When we figure out the key to unlocking our prospects particulars, we can decipher their messages and understand how uniquely we're all configured.

This is a strategy that will make it easier for you to grasp persuasion continuums and how you can take advantage of them in your life.

What is a persuasion continuum? Draw a straight line on a piece of paper. One of the directions of the continuum on the right side and the opposite on the left side, then you'll know what I'm talking about when I say 'continuum'. These are patterns that exist in the minds of people as they exist in particular contexts. When the context changes, so will a continuum. They won't always hold the same across all contexts.

I will explore these types of persuasion continuums more specifically in future articles. A few of them that we'll be working with are 'towards and away', 'sameness and difference', 'internal and external' and 'options and procedures'.

A lot of these are intertwined with or are dependent upon or utilize your understanding of criteria. If we define criteria as that what which points people to relevance, we are in fact giving people relevance.

Have you heard of 'WIIFM'? It's 'what's in it for me'. In essence, that is the concept of criteria and values. Your affluent prospect or client is coming to you to see what's in it for them.

Continuums are free of content. This means they don't depend on what you're going to say at all, but depend on the context in which you're talking.

So if you're an adviser and you're talking to people about their finances, then that's the context with which these will hold, then they'll hold today, tomorrow, next week, next year. They tend to not change over time much if at all.

What we're doing here is increasing rapport dramatically and forward our persuasion skills immeasurably.

These continuums which I've mentioned are ones we can spot and find within each and every person. Some are more significant in some people than others. And in some future articles I'll be focusing on these four.

This is some deep, powerful persuasion and if you're feeling a little overwhelmed, it's perfectly natural. Stay tuned for more in depth information.