On this episode, Kurt and Steve Interview Andy Paul of the “Zero Time Selling” blog.” Over three decades, Andy has built a successful career as a sales leader, author, speaker, and consultant by being different, thinking differently, and selling differently.…
Blog Archives
Episode 144 – Deflect 3 Hardball Negotiation Tactics
You know we love talking about “Negotiation’s Dirty Deeds.” A recent article by the Harvard Business Review gave some great pointers on deflecting some of the more common negotiation tactics. One of the best ways to insure a smooth transaction…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: influence, kurt mortensen, law of expectations, maximum influence, persuasion, steve olson
Episode 142 – Are Colors Killing Your Presentation
If you have a tough negotiation coming up where your opponent will play the empathy card, we have good news. Acetaminophen can dull your sense of empathy! So next time you need to negotiate, pop some Tylenol and turn yourself…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: acetaminophen, colors, kurt mortensen, maximum influence, mood, persuasion, steve olson, sunny
Episode 141 – Interview With The Sales Whisperer
On this episode of Maximize Your Influence, Kurt and Steve interview Wes Schaeffer of “The Sales Whisperer.” Some highlights: There are ways to start implementing empathy in your daily contacts and conversations. It does take some practice and evaluation. After…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: empathy, kurt mortensen, maximum influence, persuasion, sales whisperer, steve olson, wes schaeffer
Episode 140 – How Food Persuades – And Why You Should Care
Did you know that if you think about what you ate earlier in the day, you’re proven to snack less? Kurt and Steve discuss a recent article by Psychology Today that studies this phenomenon. Size of packaging, color, position…all of…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: food, good samaritan study, kurt mortensen, maximum influence, persuasion, Princeton University, rushed, steve olson
Persuasion Tool #7 – Psychological Reactance
Persuasion Tool #7 – Psychological Reactance When you look at the world of influence, there’s always going to be resistance. Why do people say “no”? Why don’t they understand what you’re saying? Why isn’t everybody buying from you? Why doesn’t everybody…
Posted in Persuasion Tools Tagged with: kurt mortensen, maximum influence, persuasion tool, psychological reactance, scarcity, urgency, wiifm
Episode 139 – Thoughts Trump Reality
Kurt and Steve begin this episode by discussing how in anything we do, we default down to the level of our training. Whether it’s a sport, self-defense, language, or persuasion…the mind and body default to what their trained to do…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: kurt mortensen, maximum influence, millionaire, persuasion, positive mental attitude, steve olson, success
Episode 138 – The Last Missing Piece to Trust
Steve is back from the annual fly fishing trip in Montana and gives a scattered and incomprehensible account of it. Kurt gets things back on track by doing what he hates most, hitting the “Urkel” button for this week’s Geeky…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: congruence, deception, kurt mortensen, maximum influence, placebo, steve olson, success, trust
Episode 137 – 2 Ways to Enhance Credibility
Why are some people easier to trust than others? Why do some people just seem to trust others effortlessly (sometimes to a fault)? An article from Psychology Today explores this. How do you overcome this lack of credibility? Here are…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: 5c's of trust, credibility, expertise, influence, kurt mortensen, maximum influence, preparation, steve olson, testimonials, trust
Episode 136 – Are You Perceived as an Expert?
One of the key ways to keep your competency on track is to be a lifetime learner. We consider others to be competent when we see them continually learning and advancing their training and education. I can remember going to…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: 5c's of trust, Competence, credibility, influence, kurt mortensen, maximum influence, steve olson, trust
Episode 135 – How Ego Destroys Influence
After briefly mentioning it on last week’s episode, Kurt and Steve quickly learned that most have a lot of “feelings about” the urban phenomena, RBF (otherwise known as Resting Bitch Face). So they dived in a little more and wouldn’t…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: door to door sales, ego, esteem, influence, ingratiation, kurt mortensen, maximum influence, praise, rbf, self esteem, steve olson
Persuasion Tool #5 – Instant Rapport
Persuasion Tool #5 – Instant Rapport Let me ask you this question. Do you know that annoying person that rubs you the wrong way? You know that person that nobody really likes? You know that person that thinks they’re funny,…
Posted in Persuasion Tools Tagged with: compliments, gifts, kurt mortensen, maximum influence, obligation, persuasion tool, pregiving, reciprocity
Episode 132 – Perfect Persuasion Template
Steve feels very strongly about butchers who don’t trim spare ribs correctly. He leaves no doubt on this topic as the show get started. Luckily Kurt turns things around and reminds him that this is a show about persuasion, not…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: dr galinsky, enclothed cognition, featurevsbenefit, kurt mortensen, maximum influence, steve olson, university of persuasion, white coat, wiifm
Persuasion Tool #4 – Zeigarnik Effect
Persuasion Tool #4 – Zeigarnik Effect This tool is something you can use in sales, negotiation and persuasive presentations. It’s called the Zeigarnik effect. This is the tendency in humans to remember uncompleted thoughts, ideas or tasks more than…
Posted in Persuasion Tools Tagged with: kurt mortensen, maximum influence, persuasion tool, suspense, uncompleted tasks, unfinished, voicemail, zeigarnik effect
Persuasion Tool #3 – Self-Persuasion
If you can’t persuade yourself, you’re not very good at persuading other people. Understand the universe will not reward you physically until you believe it mentally. Persuasion Tool #3 – Self-Persuasion Let’s talk about mindset, which is basically self-persuasion or…
Posted in Persuasion Tools Tagged with: follow heart, kurt mortensen, maximum influence, millionaires, mindset, persuasion iq, persuasion tool, self persuasion, subconscious
Episode 130 – Price…a non-issue
This week’s article is sure to offend some listeners. If you’re a short man or an overweight woman, the British Medical Journal has bad news for you. Hey were just the messenger! Check out their recent study linking height, body…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: adjust value, british medical journal, DITF, door in the face, height, kurt mortensen, law of contrast, maximum influence, perception of value, persuasion, price objections, steve olson, too expensive objection, weight
Persuasion Tool #2 – Reciprocity
Reciprocity is also called pregiving and creates a feeling of obligation in the mind of your prospect. This influence tool opens the door to influence and can help you prove your worth. Persuasion Tool #2 – Reciprocity Persuasion tool…
Posted in Persuasion Tools Tagged with: compliments, gifts, kurt mortensen, maximum influence, obligation, persuasion tool, pregiving, reciprocity
Episode 123 – Turn No into a Yes
The Power of “Yes” Use questions that will create “yeses.” As you create your marketing and persuasive presentations, you must engineer the number of times you get your audience to raise their hands, say yes, or nod their heads. How…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: broncos, dissonance, kurt mortensen, lottery, maximum influence, patriots, persuasion iq, peyton manning, reframe, steve olson, superbowl
Persuasion Tool #1 – FITD
FITD is a persuasion technique through which a persuader helps a prospect comply to a bigger request by using a smaller request first. This concept was first researched by Freedman and Fraser. Persuasion Tool #1 Manuscript – FITD…
Posted in Persuasion Tools Tagged with: cognitive dissonance, fitd, kurt mortensen, laws of persuasion, maximum influence, self perception, sequential request
Episode 122 – Foot In The Door vs Sympathy
When we feel dissonance, we have to find a way to deal with the psychological tension. When the rubber band stretches, we cannot not live with this internal pressure. We will instantly try to find a way to relieve this…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: denial, dissonance, fitd, knox and inkster, kurt mortensen, laura kray, maximum influence, negotiation tip, steve olson, sympathy, uc berkeley, yes
Episode 121 – Get Prospects To Persuade Themselves
Leon Festinger formulated the “theory of cognitive dissonance” at Stanford University. He asserted, “When attitudes or beliefs conflict with our actions, we are uncomfortable and motivated to try to change.” Festinger’s theory sets the foundation for the Law of Dissonance.…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: cognitive dissonance, commitments, justify, kurt mortensen, Laws of charisma, leon festinger, maximum influence, rationalize, stanford, steve olson
Episode 120 – No Resolutions This Year
We are firm believers that we all have greatness within us. We believe that we each have within ourselves unwritten books, un-started businesses, brilliant ideas, great inventions, charitable ideas, and untapped energies. But sometimes we have a hard time knowing…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: dan jansen, goals, gratitude, kurt mortensen, maximum influence, new years resolutions, persuasion iq, steve olson
Episode 103 – Are Deeper Voices More Credible?
As we get closer and closer (even though it’s a long way away) to the 2016 presidential election, more and more persuasion blunders will be on display. A recent article shows that politicians who have deeper voices (yes, even women)…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: customers complain, DITF, Donald Trump, door in the face, emotional intelligence, expectations, fight on price, influence, influence and social media, kurt mortensen, law of contrast, law of expectations, leadership, maximum influence, motivation, negotiation, nlp, One Direction, persuasion, placebo, price, priming, reduce it to the ridiculous, social media, steve olson, sweeten the pot, twitter, value
Episode 102 – The Biggest Persuasion Blunder Of The Year!
You can’t visit a business web page without hearing “follow us on Twitter!” We’re certainly guilty of this too. Follow us on Twitter @influencemax! A recent article from Psych Central shows that when customers complain about a business on Twitter,…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: customers complain, DITF, door in the face, emotional intelligence, fight on price, influence, influence and social media, kurt mortensen, law of contrast, law of expectations, leadership, maximum influence, motivation, negotiation, nlp, persuasion, price, reduce it to the ridiculous, social media, steve olson, sweeten the pot, twitter, value
Episode 101 – Does NLP Work?
When you’re an entrepreneur or sales person, being mentally tough is key. If you want the rewards that come from owning your own business or being on commission, you need to put up with days that can be full of…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: emotional intelligence, influence, kurt mortensen, law of expectations, leadership, maximum influence, motivation, negotiation, nlp, persuasion, steve olson
Episode 89 – Don’t Be A “Corny” Negotiator
Is optimism overrated? A recent study from the University of Utah thinks so. Kurt and Steve discuss the study and what it means for persuaders. Some of us are better negotiators than others. Some of us respond differently to different…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: Charisma, kurt mortensen, lame tricks, maximum influence, negotiate, optimism, persuasion iq, steve olson, tools
Episode 88 – Utilizing Introverted Persuasion Techniques
Do you know somebody who is always blaming other people for their problems? Is it you? The fact is, we all do it. And sometimes we’re right. A recent article, however, shows why blaming others is not productive…even when it’s…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: blame, extrovert, introvert, kurt mortensen, maximum influence, persuasion iq, persuasion tools, productive, steve olson
Episode 80 – How To Control Perceived Value
Have you ever encountered a prospect who had a skewed view of what they should pay for your product? Would you like to have more control about what your prospects think your product is worth? Tune into this episode for…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: cost, framing, kurt mortensen, law of contrast, maximum influence, perception, sales objections, steve olson, too expensive, value
Episode 6 – Negotiate Like A Winner!
We’ve all experienced it. That nervous, unsettling feeling right before we start to negotiate. Leading up to a negotiation, most of us expect conflict. We expect to have to give up valuable things that we don’t want to lose. But…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: kurt mortensen, maximum influence, MIT, persuasion iq, reciprocal concessions, steve olson, strategic negotiation
Episode 3 – Using Involvement To Persuade Others
We all know that “involving” a prospect in a process increases the likelihood of successful persuasion. But when is this technique effective and when is it a total failure? Great persuaders are able to involve their prospects by breaking up…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: commitments, involvement, kurt mortensen, laws of persuasion, maximum influence, relationships, steve olson, subconscious mind, trust
Episode 1 – Subconscious Triggers and Charisma
Welcome to Maximize Your Influence! On this episode, Kurt and Steve discuss the all important topic of Charisma and how it applies to persuaders and negotiators everywhere. They discuss how charisma (or the lack thereof) has influenced the Anthony Wiener…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: amygdala, animal brain, Charisma, kurt mortensen, Laws of charisma, maximum influence, negotiation, Persuasion IQ & Sales Mastery, steve olson, subconscious triggers