"Win at Work"

Weekly Newsletter by Yasar Ahmad

​​​​​​​​​​

Most people think persuasion is about the pitch. It isn't. The real work is done in the thirty seconds before you open your mouth to sell anything.

Psychologists call it priming — but really, it's about what you put in someone's head before you ask for the thing you actually want.

Get that right, and the answer is half-baked before the question even lands.

Before we get into the rest of the newsletter I wanted to highlight some useful resources:

1. How to Answer "Tell Me About Yourself" (Youtube)
2. ​The Ultimate Salary Guide (Free - Negotiate like a pro!)
3. ​Ultimate Best Seller Bundle All 6 Ebooks - $167 Now $99

Here's a classic example. A researcher approached strangers and asked for their email address so a beverage company could send them marketing material.

Cold ask: about one in three people said yes. But when he asked a single question first — "Do you consider yourself an adventurous person?" agreement shot up to 75.7%.

Nothing about the product changed. What changed was the frame.

Once someone has nodded along to being "adventurous", refusing a new experience feels inconsistent with who they just said they were. So they don't refuse.

Another favourite: a wine shop played either French or German music on alternate days. On French music days, French wine accounted for 77% of wine sales.

On German music days, German wine accounted for 73%. Customers had no idea the music was influencing them. Asked afterwards, most said the music had no effect at all. It did.

The principle is simple: whatever idea, feeling, or identity is active in someone's mind just before a decision has an outsized influence on that decision. You're not manipulating - you're directing attention. And attention is the one resource every decision runs on.

Here's something you can use today, in your next sales call, interview, or difficult conversation:

Before you pitch, ask one question that activates the frame you want them to decide from.

• Selling a premium service? Ask, "What's the cost of not solving this for another year?" before you quote the price. You've just primed them to think in terms of loss, not spend.
• Asking your partner to try something new? Ask, "Remember that last-minute trip we took that turned out brilliant?" before you propose it. You've primed the memory of spontaneity paying off.
• Negotiating a pay rise? Open with, "I want to talk about the impact of the last year" before you mention the number. You've primed value, not cost.

It's not a trick. It's acknowledging that people don't decide in a vacuum, they decide against a backdrop. You either choose the backdrop, or you let it be chosen for you.

Stop opening with your request. Open with the question, story, or observation that makes your request feel obvious by the time it arrives.

Roughly ninety per cent of the influence happens before the ask. Most people spend ninety per cent of their effort after it.

Thanks
​
Yasar

P.s Super grateful for all the interest in OVDLabs we launched yesterday officially and had over 58 people in the cohort. Really happy how it's going. I apologise for all the emails. I promise we wont be sending any like that again.

Latest Youtube Video

​

How to Handle Any Workplace Situation Get all the guides here and start to reclaim your power!

P.s Got questions? Hit reply. I'd love to hear your story!