Covert Persuasion Techniques: The Name Method Of Persuasion

These days, it takes more than just the actual product to get people to buy or subscribe to you. It usually takes the proper use of covert persuasion techniques to actually get a potential client to look your way.

But how do you make use of such strategies? How would you know what these persuasion techniques are, much less how to use them?

Well, the beauty of covert persuasion techniques is that they’re not just for experts. Even a person - with absolutely no intention of selling - can understand what I’m talking about.

Let me tell you about how one guy managed to blow away his clients by using one particular trick aptly called the “name method of persuasion.”

Mark has been in the “market” business for a very long time now. And by market, I literally mean market. He has been selling vegetables in the town where he lived ever since he was nine years old. It is a family business that has been passed down from generation to generation. Of course, it’s no longer just a few vegetable stalls now but a full-blown grocery.

Anyway, Mark has always been an easy guy to like. He can read people well and has an awesome sense of humor. But the covert persuasion technique he uses to get more customers is the way he would get to know every one of them by their name, which is the sweetest sound in their vocabulary.

According to Mark, the locals were easy enough to remember. After all, he was born and raised in the neighborhood. Mark knew all the old ladies and gentlemen in town. He knew the young couple that just got married there last September. He knew them all by their name and uses it when talking to them.

He would go, “Hey, Linda. How’s it going? Check out this new batch of tomatoes,” or “Good morning, Sarah. How about some fresh cabbages today?”

He himself wears a nametag that displays his name loud and proud, so that those who don’t know him may also use his given name.

It is a covert persuasion technique not a lot of people in the corporate world would use, and one that when actually used, comes across as condescending. It’s pretty tricky and not everybody can use it without it backfiring. But like I said, Mark has mastered the art of this covert persuasion technique.

People like to hear their names, but don’t give them nicknames that they don’t want to hear. Don’t turn “Stephanie” into “Steph,” unless she prefers to be called by that nickname. How do you know what she prefers? Ask her, “Would you prefer I call you Stephanie or Steph?”

Don’t call someone (older than you) by their first name unless you are given permission. Mark also advises against using a person’s name too much in the conversation, because it makes everything sound forced and fake.

Saying a person’s name is an effective covert persuasion technique because they are more inclined to like you upon hearing their name. Just be careful not to overdo it, or you’ll wear that person’s name out!