Business Studies

Introduction: Connecting Your Learning
Persuasive principles can be applied to both business and personal relationships, both in face-to-face or written interactions. Persuasive skills are useful for motivating others to see your side of a situation, entice them to buy or sell a product, or to believe in the organization’s efforts to maximize business accomplishments. Having the ability to influence others is a large component of being a leader. You will explore effective means for creating persuasive messages and requests in this lesson.
Readings, Resources, and Assignments
Required Textbook Readings Chapter 8, “Delivering Persuasive Messages”
Multimedia Resources Textbook Companion Web SiteRequired Assignments Project: Business Letter
Check Prior Knowledge
Think about a product you purchased or a recent investment. Identify whether a compelling sales pitch led to the purchase. In what channel was the pitch presented? Think about what aspect of the pitch influenced you to buy the product or service.
Official Course Competencies
Focusing Your Learning
• Identify and write business letters for favorable, unfavorable, and persuasive situations.
• Identify and write business memos for favorable, unfavorable, and persuasive situations.
Lesson Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1. Develop effective outlines and persuasive messages.
2. Recognize sales messages.
3. Identify methods for persuasive requests.
Key Terms
As you read your assignment for this lesson, pay close attention to the key terms and phrases PDF that are listed throughout the chapter. These terms and concepts are important to your understanding of the information provided in the lesson.
Approaching the Objectives
To create an effective, persuasive message, you should analyze the goal, relate to the wants and needs of those receiving the message, and determine methods that will cause the receiver to buy into the idea, vision, or purchase.
You must also know the product, whether it’s tangible (a physical product) or intangible (service or idea). Knowing the end goal involves being aware of the benefits, understanding what makes the product the best, and differentiating it from the competition to build value for the actual monetary or perceived cost.
Watch Bitesize Business Boosters – AIDA – Attention, Interest, Desire, & Action (1:49), which explores concepts that guide the behavior and actions of the receiver. You should consider these when crafting a persuasive message.
You can appeal to receivers in many ways. The inductive approach of AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action) is a structured format using appeal tactics. Once you’ve determined how you can grab the receiver’s attention, you can encourage a relationship between the receiver and the product, service, or idea. As you learned in Lesson 6, you can use reciprocity, scarcity, authority, consistency, liking, and consensus. Ultimately, you want to create communication with the main idea and action at the end of a compelling message to inspire action.
Review “AIDA: Attention-Interest-Desire-Action” for further explanation on how to use this persuasive tool.
Example
Consider the following sample letter and notice how it follows the AIDA model.
Did you know that many of the chemical cleaners used in your home are actually toxic? In fact, according to the Experience Life Web site, environmental experts say that the average household uses about 62 toxic chemicals. How can that be, you ask? The reason is a lack of testing and data for cleaning products related to safety standards. (Attention – Using an informative and uncommonly known statement is a great way to grab the receiver’s attention.)
As noted in the article “8 Hidden Toxins: What’s Lurking in Your Cleaning Products,” Senior Scientist Rebecca Sutton from the Environmental Working Group stated, “In terms of household cleaners, neither ingredients nor products must meet any sort of safety standard, nor is any testing data or notification required before bringing a product to market” (para. 10). Hearing this is probably shocking but don’t despair. You still have a safe way to clean. (Interest – Using an authority’s testimony can create interest.)
If you want to detoxify your home, creating a safe and healthy place for you and your family, Gogogreen products can help. They are a great way to clean your home safely and save money at the same time! Our products are not only safe but arrive directly at your door. No more cutting coupons or shopping the cleaning aisle. Even better, the average customer saves $800 a year in cleaning supply costs just by using Gogogreen products! (Desire – Discussing the cost savings validates the virtue of making a change that supports the value in the product.)
With the click of a button, you can schedule a FREE online cleaning assessment today. Five minutes of your time will help Gogogreen recommend cleaning products and tools that address your unique needs and can be shipped right to your door. To clear out the toxins in your home today and save money, click here now! (Action – Restating rewards and making the purchasing process timely and simple both help provide an incentive for quick action.)
Persuasive requests are also prevalent in business. These differ from sales messages in that they assume the requests are reasonable. Types of requests include claim requests, favors, requesting information, or persuading within an organization.
Asking for favors and information is a part of business–and life! Favors involve asking someone or an entity to provide something that is free or discounted in some way, which means it’s best to state a convincing case first. Requesting information such as asking someone to fill out a survey or questionnaire can be tricky. You want to consider providing an incentive for the receiver.
Example: Requesting Information
Suppose you are asked to fill out a vacation survey for a hotel traveler’s club and are promised a beach bag in return. The beach bag is the incentive, and, if you are on vacation and didn’t travel with one, you will probably be compelled to complete the survey to receive a bag to help carry your gear to the beach!
Routine claim messages are situations where a claim seems justified; however, to get immediate results, you must employ some persuasion. You should state facts in a constructive way when creating a written claims message. Doing so will ensure that the details are clear and devoid of emotion that solicits a negative response, and that they justify the request.
Example
It wouldn’t be wise to angrily vent frustrations with the service you received at a restaurant if you want to be compensated.
1. Draft:
I attended your restaurant the evening of March 13, and your service was terrible. I didn’t receive what I ordered originally, when my order came it was cold, and our waitress left me unattended without drinks for 40 minutes. I demand a refund of $35.16 for my meal.
It would be more appropriate to leave the emotion out of the message and state the facts in a neutral way that supports your request for a refund.
2. Revision:
I’m writing about my visit to your restaurant on the evening of March 13 to address some concerns about the service I received.
My visit to your establishment took place from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. During the visit, I unfortunately received the wrong order. My replacement order was delayed, and arrived cold. In addition, it seemed as though the waitress was distracted, as I went unattended without a drink for 40 minutes while eating.
I would like to request a refund of $35.16 for my meal. I am hopeful that your establishment will improve the service for my future visits.
Persuasive internal messages generally relate to motivating coworkers and staff to accept organizational change. The best way to motivate staff is to not only share the details surrounding a change, but also connect the actions to why it’s important for the business and how the change will benefit organizational objectives.
Watch John Kotter – Communicating a Vision for Change (4:16), which discusses the importance of communicating change.
Sometimes an entertaining and lighthearted approach to communicating change and motivating staff can buffer the message and de-escalate any anticipated responses to the message at hand.
In conclusion, delivering persuasive messages in a manner that efficiently and effectively connects the message to the receiver will improve the results you are striving to attain. Business success hinges on positive sales, personal and organizational influence, and attaining the support you need from coworkers, consumers, and acquaintances.
Summarizing Your Learning
The following activities are meant to help you practice the concepts that you studied in this lesson and prepare you for the graded assignments. They are not turned in to your instructor.
1. Read the assigned chapter in the textbook.
2. Download the Audio Summaries from the textbook companion Web site for the on-the-go review.
3. Play “Beat the Clock” on the textbook companion Web site to master concepts.
4. Complete the crossword puzzle on the textbook companion Web site to review key terms.
5. Watch the chapter video on the textbook companion Web site to learn about communication issues at a fictitious company.
Assessing Your Learning
Graded Assignments
The following are required assignments for this lesson.
1. Read Chapter 8: “Delivering Persuasive Messages.”
2. Complete the Lesson 8 Project: Business Letter (25 points).
Project: Business Letter
1. Brainstorm a business that you would like to create that you believe would be successful in your community. Imagine you have already written an excellent proposal for the business, identifying the company name, product or service, target market, and how it meets a business need. However, your efforts to raise the initial investment needed to start the business have been unfruitful. A friend and known business entrepreneur, Joe Smith, recommends a business capital company called Angel Investment Group Ltd., which focuses on funding emerging business like yours. Upon hearing about your plans, he indicates that his investment group generally supports business ventures such as yours.
Business Letter
Assume you have already completed a business proposal for your potential business. Now, write a cover letter (only) to Angel Investment Group Ltd. seeking financial support for your project. The letter should include a brief summary of the proposed business and your justification for its potential success. Employ the appropriate concepts discussed in the textbook reading and your lesson to help guide your persuasive message.
2. Submit your assignment, which is Lesson 8 Project in the Gradebook.
Have You Met The Objectives For This Lesson?