Chapter 8
Delivering Persuasive Messages
Lecture and Resource Slides
BCOM 3e, Lehman & DuFrene
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Learning Objectives
1. Develop effective outlines and appeals for messages
that persuade.
2. Write effective sales messages.
3. Write effective persuasive requests (claim, favor, and
information requests, and persuasion within an
organization).
Before Composing a Persuasive
Message, Know . . .
Your product, service, or idea
Your audience
The desired action you wish your
audience to take
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How To Know Your Product
• Read all the available ________
literature
• Use the product or ______
watch others use it
• Compare
________ the product, service, or idea
with others
• Conduct tests or experiments
___________
• Talk to people who really ____
use the
product
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Knowing Your Receiver
• Identify basic demographics
– Age, gender, educational background, income
level, race…
• Know receiver’s wants and needs
• Consider how you can meet receiver
needs based on Maslow’s hierarchy
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Inductive Outline Used
for Persuasive Messages
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Types of Persuasive Messages
Unsolicited sale
messages
Claim messages
Favor requests
Information
requests (survey
messages)
© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Apply Sound Writing Principles
• Keep paragraphs _____
short
• Use ________
_____ verbs, and
concrete nouns, active
specific language
_______
• Put the receiver in the ________
spotlight
• Stress a central ______
selling _____
point
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Gaining Attention in Sales Messages
Personal
experience
Solution to a
problem
Startling
statement
“What if”
opening
Story/quote/
question
Split sentence
Analogy
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Introducing the Product,
Service, or Idea
• Be cohesive
– Make attention-getter lead naturally to introduction
• Be action-oriented
– Place the product in receivers’ hands and allow them
to use it
• Stress a central selling point
– Link attention-getter to discussion of distinctive
feature
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Presenting and Interpreting
Factual Evidence
• Do not just say it, show it
– Present data to back up the central selling point
• Compare a new product with something
familiar
• Be objective, avoiding exaggerations and
subjective claims
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Ways to Convince Customers
Testimonials
• Tell what others have said about
your product
Guarantees
or free trials
• Provide recourse if purchase is not
satisfactory
Samples
• Allow customers to sample product
before buying
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Subordinating the Price
• Create a desire
_____ for the product first
• Use ______
figures to show how the price saves
money
• State the price in _____
small ____
units
• Invite comparisons
___________with like products
subordinate
• Mention price in a ___________clause
combined with the central selling point
© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Motivating Action
• Make the action clear and simple to
complete
• Restate the reward for action; relate to
central selling point
• Provide incentive for quick action
• Ask confidently for action
© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.