Motivation is a call to action. Motivation inspires change, movement, and focus; it is what makes the world turn. The Art of Motivation is a must for Master Persuaders. How do you motivate in such a way that prompts people to take the actions you want them to take? How can you plant the seeds to encourage motivation? As a persuader, one of the keys to success is to motivate yourself and others. We have all had days when we did not feel like doing the things we knew we needed to do. It is useless to persuade and have others agree with your point of view if you can’t get them to take action.
Martin Luther King said, “If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.” In order to successfully motivate someone – or, to get him or her to internalize the motivation – you have to create a deep hunger or thirst. It has been said you can bring a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. That’s true. But let it be known that you can give that horse salt and create such a thirst that the horse must have water. As a master motivator, you are giving salt to your prospects. You are striving to create such a thirst in other people that they can’t wait to act.
You will find people tend to get motivated for the short term, lose steam, and then fall back into the rut they were trying to pull themselves out of in the first place. As a persuader and motivator, you have to understand what pulls people from action to inaction. What causes us to lose excitement, vision, and energy? When you notice your prospects are losing their motivation, these are the reasons why:
- The desire to gain
- The desire to avoid loss
- To make money
- To avoid criticism
- To save time
- To avoid loss of possessions
- To avoid effort
- To avoid physical pain
- To achieve comfort
- To avoid loss of reputation
- To have health
- To avoid loss of money
- To be popular
- To avoid trouble
- The desire to gain (cont,)
- To experience pleasure
- To be clean
- To be praised
- To be in style
- To gratify curiosity
- To satisfy an appetite
- To have beautiful possessions
- To be an individual
- To emulate others
- To take advantage of opportunities
You can’t change a habit unless you replace it with another one. The same is true for motivation. You can’t change how someone is motivated unless you replace the undesirable motivation with a desirable one. You have to understand whether your prospect’s motivation is a positive motivation or a destructive motivation.
Once inspiration is identified, build on that inspiration until you create an intense hunger. This means that you get your prospects to take responsibility for their own lives. Get them to set new goals or review their existing goals and their reasons for setting them. Another way to stoke the fires is to find somebody who shares that same passion.
Since Maslow introduced the concept of needs, countless motivational theories have been brought to light. Avid McClelland proposed that we learn three things that motivate us as we go through life: achievement, affiliation, and power. John C. Mowen used the three “R’s” of motivation: reward, recognition, and reinforcement. Bob Stone suggested that people respond either to “gain something they do not have or to avoid losing something they now possess.” He created this list of basic human wants to explain his theory. In his book The Hidden Persuaders, Vance Packard identifies eight hidden needs that motivate people into action:
1. Need for emotional security: We live in uncertain times. Terrorism lurks, the happenings on Wall Street are shaky, we are surrounded by illness and disease, etc. We need safety, comfort, and stability in our lives.
2. Need to feel self-worth: Much of today’s society is cold, competitive, and uncaring. We want to experience a place in the world where we know we’ve made a difference.
3. Need for ego-gratification: We want recognition and praise. We all want to feel important.
4. Need for creativity: We feel more satisfaction and fulfillment when we can work creatively through hobbies, sports, and other forms of recreation.
5. Need for love foci: Life is richer when we have someone to share our love with, for example friends, children, grandchildren, a spouse, or pets.
6. Need for control: We need to feel a sense that we have some control or power over our environment, our surroundings, or our conditions.
7. Need to belong: We want to feel that we are an integral part of the world and that we are important to people whom we love, respect, or admire.
8. Need for immortality: We fear dying or being forgotten. We buy life insurance because we want to leave something behind.
Motivation starts with vision. People need to believe they will succeed in what you are motivating them to do. No one likes to lose. No one wants to lose. No one wants to be associated with losers. So, instill in your listener or audience a vision of winning. Thinking we can win and seeing the win in our mind’s eye stirs our internal motivation. When we help others think of past victories or instill the vision of victory in them, we can motivate them to take action. Olympic coach Charles Garfield states that the highest performers are driven by a sense of mission.
Learning how to persuade and influence will make the difference between hoping for a better income and having a better income. Beware of the common mistakes presenters and persuaders commit that cause them to lose the deal.
Master Persuaders present a winning package. When people sense victory or accomplishment, they will make sacrifices and become energized. They will find a way to succeed and win. If they sense defeat, they’ll exert little personal effort, come up with lots of excuses, and exhibit lack of energy for the cause.
Motivation is true art. When you understand the Laws of Persuasion not only will you be able to motivate, but you will also have earned the right to motivate.
Conclusion
Persuasion is the missing puzzle piece that will crack the code to dramatically increase your income, improve your relationships, and help you get what you want, when you want, and win friends for life. Ask yourself how much money and income you have lost because of your inability to persuade and influence. Think about it. Sure you’ve seen some success, but think of the times you couldn’t get it done. Has there ever been a time when you did not get your point across? Were you unable to convince someone to do something? Have you reached your full potential? Are you able to motivate yourself and others to achieve more and accomplish their goals? What about your relationships? Imagine being able to overcome objections before they happen, know what your prospect is thinking and feeling, feel more confident in your ability to persuade. Professional success, personal happiness, leadership potential, and income depend on the ability to persuade, influence, and motivate others.