So this morning I decided to get out of the norm and park myself in my favorite little coffee shop for a day full of inspiration, keyboard plucking, and people watching. I love watching people interact. It sounds bad, but I look for traits to manipulate. It’s fascinating to me how you can tell a lot about a person just by their simple little mannerisms. I analyze everything I see and, in my head, I form what their world is like.
Is this weird?
Hell yea, it’s weird. And I bet after reading this, everyone I know is going think that I manipulate them, and start to act all funny while trying to notice and suppress all their little normal mannerisms and ticks. Then I’ll notice it and think they have autism our something.
I haven’t always been like this. I wasn’t always prone to manipulate. Well, I’ve always been a people watcher, but not on this level. So I started to pinpoint just where the transformation occurred and I figured it out.
It all started after reading this amazing book by Roger Fisher and William Ury (yes, if you happen to buy the book through that link I’ll get slightly less money than all those aluminum cans I’m saving up to recycle). I’ve read other books about observations and negotiating, but some reason this is the one that did. I don’t really know why, it just did.
Do You Feel Manipulated Yet?
You don’t know it yet, but I’m secretly manipulating you. I know, I know, it’s wrong. Manipulators are evil people and all they do spread bad juju in the world… Blah Blah Blah.
You see, here’s what I figured out this morning. I’m a manipulator. A pretty good one in fact, and I’m not evil (at least when I’m not holding a paintball gun, anyway). When I actually know what I want to happen, I can usually make it happen and I can usually get people to help or even do it for me.
How?
I just told you (Hello! McFly?). I’m a manipulator.
Other Than You Being A Jack Ass, What’s The Point Andy?
Are you a business owner? Are you a marketer? Perhaps ecommerce marketing? Have you ever made a business card, T-Shirt, Flyer, or Sales Call?
If you answered yes to any of those, guess what. You manipulate people too.
If your in business, of any kind, your trying to get people to give you their hard earned money.
How do you that? By manipulate their emotions of course. By hitting those triggers all good sales people are taught. Fears, securities, wants, needs, nice smiles, dimples, blue eyes, yada yada yada. You know your strengths and their weaknesses and you learn how to manipulate the situations in your favor.
So now that I’ve called you a manipulator, I’m going to tell you why I started thinking about this in the first place and why it matters to you.
Go Forth And Manipulate
Whether your business is an online shopping cart that requires ecommerce marketing, downtown pizza shop, or bookstore, you must know what kind of people you’re serving. What are their ticks, preferences, wants, and assumptions about you and your business. Watch, learn, and manipulate. It’s not evil, it business. I’m not telling you to be a sleaze bag and scam little old ladies out of their fixodent money. Learn how to manipulate situations and be a great salesman.
So what do think? Are you a manipulator?
How do you observe and react to your audience?
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Oh dear lord. I’m right there with you. Sometimes I want to turn the thoughts off. But most times I definitely do not. People watching is like crack.