"My most brilliant achievement was my ability to be able to persuade my wife to marry me."
- Winston Churchill

You will recall that last time we started to discuss sales ideas that improve your personal life as well. We talked about selling emotion, by talking to the heart and not the head. Today we are going to discuss the second factor.

2 Sales Secrets That Can Improve Your Personal Life

Secret #2: Create a Picture

You probably already know that one of the most important aspects of selling is to show your customer the benefits of your product. And the best way to do that is to paint a dynamic picture for him with words. That's what today's leading marketers do all the time. Well, you can also use this technique to convince another person to "see" the benefit of doing something your way.

Let's say you want to convince your spouse to head to Europe for the summer. To paint your picture, you might describe what it would be like to spend an afternoon sprawled out on a chaise next to the ocean in Cannes... or dining on freshly baked bread and homemade pasta at a candlelit dinner in a vineyard in Tuscany. Just like an artist, you would add layer after layer of colorful details.

Shawna did something similar in her letter. For example, instead of just saying, "Hey, you'll get some super publicity if you sponsor the school's play trip to Washington," she showed the companies all the publicity they'd get. She described how, while the play was shown on national television, they would be showing a banner with the company's name on it... for millions to see. And how, when the local newspaper reported the story, they would mention that it was the company's generous sponsorship that made the experience possible for the kids.

Getting the - pardon the pun - picture?

Whether you're writing a letter to a business associate or talking to a friend, neighbor, or relative, use the secret of creating a picture to show them - literally - what's in it for them if they do what you want them to do.

Start by asking yourself two questions:
1.    What's the benefit (or benefits) to this person of giving me what I'm asking for?
2.    How can I best illustrate this in a verbal picture?

When you use both secrets together - talking to the heart and creating a picture - you'll see how easy it is to motivate people to take the actions you want them to take... to accept your ideas... and, like Shawna, to support causes that are important to you.
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