Anouk van Deurse
At FindBusiness, we value the freedom to conduct sales calls without a script. After all, everyone has a different character and therefore a different calling style in which they feel comfortable. However, we do provide our sales specialists with training in the field of conversation techniques and identifying buying signals so that they are armed with the right knowledge to make valuable calls for our clients. One of these trainings we are happy to share with you: how Aristotle's theories related to persuasion can support you in sales.
Aristotle is considered one of the most influential Greek scientists and philosophers of Classical Antiquity. In this blog, we zoom in on rhetoric - the teaching of persuasive speaking and writing-because we can certainly get information from rhetorical theory that we can put to good use when we want to convince a prospect of the added value of a product or service.
According to Aristotle, there are three means of persuasion for the spoken word: ethos, logos and pathos. Aristotle taught that the degree to which a speaker is skillful in convincing his or her audience of something depends on these means of persuasion. But what do ethos, logos and pathos mean? And how can you use these resources in your B2B lead generation?
Ethos
When you apply the tool of ethos within your communication, you are appealing to your own credibility, authority and character. Here, it is important to express yourself in a way that makes people want to assume and believe things about you (Conrad, 2013). Charisma, intelligence and integrity are core concepts within ethos. After all, you want your listener to have a click with you and to come across as knowledgeable and trustworthy to your listener.
If we translate ethos into how we use it in our telephone marketing approach, we include the following components in our training:
- Do you have the core information needed to understand the proposition you are marketing?
- Are you using the right jargon? You want to appear knowledgeable and intelligent so that you can communicate at a high level of abstraction with your interlocutor;
- Do not insist on making an appointment just to have a lead. Only when you have realized a click, on the basis of which it becomes clear that your interlocutor would be helped by your solution or service, steer towards an introductory meeting.
This last point is perhaps the most important. You must be able to realize a click with your interlocutor, and for this you must always have a positive intention toward your interlocutor. This is also ultimately the most valuable for both parties. After all, time is money; it makes no sense to drive to Groningen just for a cup of coffee if you are based in Eindhoven when neither of you have been able to identify any leads during an exploratory telephone conversation.
Logos
Logos is the ability to convince a hearer with the power of reasoning and knowledge. So the moment you make a logical argument, you can potentially convince a listener with this logic. Within sales, this is obviously an important issue. The moment you can solve a problem or improve a process with your product or service and explain it in a logical way, you have an edge. Therefore, it makes sense to use your unique selling points clearly. Organize a brainstorming session with colleagues, for example, so that you can find out all the facts and learn from each other. This way, you will be well prepared during your next acquisition meeting.
Also read: ‘The importance of structural market approach’.
Pathos
Pathos, in contrast to logos and ethos, has more to do with the audience's role in persuasion. According to The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy attempts at persuasion depend on “the emotional state of the audience.” This is because a speaker himself does not judge when a listener experiences joy or hostility. Pathos refers to making the connection between your ‘speech’ and your interlocutor's state of mind.
Within your sales process, you can also learn from this by ensuring that you can level up with your conversation partner on an emotional level. You do this by adjusting your language, intonation, pace and rhythm to that of your conversation partner on a personal level.
But: use the right tool!
Now that we have discussed the three means of persuasion, it is also important to discuss some pitfalls. For example, make sure you don't emphasize the wrong means. For this, it is important that you rely well on your sales feelers: you have to sense which means your conversation partner considers important. Does your conversation partner indicate that they have had an unpleasant experience with a competitor in the past? Then don't give a logical reasoning as to why your solution is more qualitative (logos). You want to convey that you have a positive intention towards your conversation partner so that you can click with your prospect (ethos). This way you have a better chance that your prospect will dare to sit down with you.
In addition, it is also important to understand that in telephone marketing, you have to sow before you can reap. So that means you must be able to build business relationships and keep them warm over time. In building and keeping this relationship warm, it makes sense to keep Aristotle's means of persuasion in mind.
Are you curious about how our salary specialists generate quality sales leads through telephone acquisition? We would be happy to explain how we can structurally bring your proposition to the attention of your potential customers.