We all have to sell

Everybody has to sell for a living. Whether you're a job seeker, an employee seeking a promotion, a business person trying to persuade a new customer, an entrepreneur wooing private investors, a headhunter recruiting an executive, etc. you have no choice but to sell.

Indeed, we all need other people's cooperation, money, time, skills, talents or resources, at one point or another.

The above diagram shows that persuasion depends on three critical elements: credibility, clarity (of the message) and customization.

It makes sense: we only decide to listen to someone if he/she is credible (knows what he's talking about and is able to PROVE it). Next, we evaluate his message (we retain the facts, we ignore the hype or any anecdote or story that cannot be verified). Finally, we think about how the message or the proposition applies to our specific situation.