The Most Important Tool

By Kenrick Cleveland

"The most important persuasion tool you have in your entire arsenal is integrity." --Zig Ziglar

I'm no cop, not a persuasion cop or any other. However, there are times when I feel I have to pause for a moment and remind my students of what is of the utmost importance in persuasion and in life. I am a person who really learns from their mistakes. And I'm hoping that you can too learn from my mistakes. My goal here is to guide. My goal is to help you to avoid the mistakes I made. One of these tough lessons I learned the hard way came about because when I was young, overly eager, and foolish, I acted in a way that wasn't guided by integrity.

Social influence skills are powerful and it is my sincere hope that as we move forward, we do so with an application towards ethics and integrity.

Integrity and ethics go hand and hand with congruity. Being congruous is a key component of persuasion. When someone really screws up and apologizes, you can tell when they're really sorry and when they're not. You just feel it in your gut.

When we come from a place of integrity and ethics, it allows us to use these powerful skills for good. We have a clean, clear conscience and people feel easy and comfortable trusting us. Integrity is something I discuss often in my coaching and teaching. It's integral to the process of persuasion. I encourage and promote these without being preachy, but I do so earnestly because I know how important they've been for me in my progress as a persuader.

My belief is, that without ethics, integrity and congruity, a sales person will never rise above mediocrity.

Trustworthiness is the single most valuable perception a client can have of us as sales people. When we're in line with integrity, we are clearly and naturally trustworthy and people can see that in us.

I started living my persuasion life with total integrity and started to notice amazing things. I began drawing more of what I wanted, i.e. higher caliber clients and students, higher end mentors and coaches and teachers in my life all of whom were also trustworthy whereas previously, I was drawing less than stellar characters in my life (and suffering as a result).

Having concentrated with intention on building up that aspect of my life and having an abundance of integrity in the bank is like having built up my 'f-you' money. I could walk away from any situation that was not comfortable because I no longer "needed" to take on just anyone but could be very selective in my processes. Consider never compromising yourself again as the first step. It's an amazing feeling.

About the Author:

Kenrick Cleveland teaches strategies to earn the business of affluent prospects using persuasion. He runs public and private seminars and offers home study courses and coaching programs in persuasion strategies.