Introduction

I vividly remember the first time I participated in a truly persuasive business presentation.

I grew up working in my family’s wholesale distribution business. My father founded the business in the basement of our house, and the company grew to be a large, very successful regional operation. After graduating from college, I joined my father full time, and we worked together for 17 years. His charge to me was “bring us into the next generation.”

At one point, I had responsibility for sales, purchasing, and data processing and was working on improving our purchasing systems. We had recently upgraded our computer system to the IBM 360 series, and I wanted to move to an online, interactive purchasing process. IBM had a relatively new purchasing software program for the 360 called INVEN-3. I asked our IBM representative to study our needs and make a presentation to my father, the purchasing team, and me. The package was quite expensive, and I knew there would be a lot of resistance, not only because of the cost, but also because it would force us to change many of our procedures.

The approach by the IBM representative and her manager was fascinating. They defined our problems by comparing our performance data, such as inventory turn rate and out-of-stock percentage, to industry benchmarks. We were below par. They translated the differences into financial terms by showing, for example, the savings in inventory carrying costs we could achieve by increasing our inventory turns. As they worked through the numbers, they obtained agreement on each underlying assumption. My dad, as the crafty entrepreneur he was, insisted that they reduce their projected savings by at least half on each component.

The IBM representative also shared success stories from other companies in the wholesale trade, including two respected noncompetitor companies in our trade association. We learned that we would be the first in our class of trade in the southeast to implement the package and that IBM would work to make us a “showcase” installation.

The IBMers also had a third person on their team that day: Anders Herlitz, the inventor of INVEN-3 and the leader of the development team. Anders was very impressive—an older gentleman, Swedish born with a lovely accent. He was brilliant and engaging in answering the technical questions from the buying staff.

In the conclusion, when the IBM representative pulled all the economic assumptions and potential savings that we had agreed to into a final number and compared it to the cost of installation and fees, the annual savings was significantly greater than the cost. That made my dad happy, especially as he had insisted that they cut the projected savings in half. The buyers were excited because the new system would be easier to use compared to our current stock-card system and could address most of their technical concerns. I was pleased because the move to a new system would help fulfill my father’s charge to me to be an innovator in our region. The IBM team persuaded us that day to make the decision to move forward.

When I returned to my office, I closed my door and meditated on what I had just experienced. I had a profound sense that the presentation I had participated in, the structure and approach, offered great potential for me personally, as a leader and manager, and for our company, in terms of business development. I resolved to learn all I could about the process of persuasion and effective presentations and began a lifelong exploration of the principles.

Most fundamental principles are old and characterized by their simplicity. I discovered that the Ancient Greeks codified the three key elements of persuasive appeal. Aristotle called the elements logos (logic), pathos (emotion), and ethos (character and credibility). He taught that effective persuasion must incorporate all three elements. Most of the literature on persuasion today draws from Aristotle’s work. Figure I.1 provides a model of the elements of persuasion in what I call the “Persuasion Triangle.”¹

Figure I.1. The persuasion triangle.

Think about the model in terms of the story I just told you.

How did the IBMers use logic? They supported their position with facts and data. It is important to see that they interpreted the meaning of the data. To say that the software could help us achieve a 95% service level (in-stock condition) is not very meaningful. To say that our current service level was 92% and then show the impact of the additional percentage points on increasing sales and reducing operating costs—that is meaningful. Numbers and facts by themselves are not persuasive. You have to relate the numbers to some benchmark, such as past performance, industry averages, or goals, and draw some conclusions from the data.

Note also that logic requires organization to make it easy to follow. The IBMers used a problem–solution pattern. They defined and documented the problem (e.g., lost sales from out of stocks), presented the solution (INVEN-3 forecasting system), showed the benefits (improved sales, lower costs), addressed concerns, and asked for agreement. The IBMers built their case systematically, linking a series of problem—solution cycles.

How did the IBMers use emotional appeal? They shared success stories of other distributors, applying a psychological principle from behavioral science called social proof.² We are always interested in what our peers are doing—people tend to follow the lead of others who are similar. We also were intrigued about becoming a “showcase” for our region. That appealed to our pride; we all value recognition.

Finally, how did the IBMers employ credibility? They had Anders Herlitz there—the author of the program. Anders exuded credibility— appearance, expertise, and personality. In addition, for your audience to view you as credible, you have to demonstrate that you have done your homework, for example, citing trustworthy sources for your information (the IBM representative collected data from our buyers and from the National Association of Wholesale Distributors).

Credibility also depends on the relationships you have developed with your audience. You have to demonstrate that you have put yourself in their shoes and care about their concerns and issues. Our IBM representative had served us well and built a level of trust. We believed she had our best interests at heart.

As Aristotle taught, persuasion requires the integrated use of all three elements of the Persuasion Triangle. In addition, the structure and delivery of the presentation play an important role in your ability to influence decision makers to take action. You want your messages to be audience centered, logically arranged, and packaged to facilitate easy understanding and action. The secret is to use the appropriate pattern for the type of communication situation and message.

Different purposes, such as informational, instructional, good news, bad news, and persuasive presentations, require different organizing patterns. Using a pattern, proven by research and practice, saves time and produces a better product. If you are expecting resistance to your persuasive message, the best pattern to use is the problem–solution method, the focus of this book. You can apply and adapt the problem–solution pattern to a number of business situations, including sales and business development.

Figure I.2 diagrams the flow of the problem–solution structure and serves as an outline for Part I of our discussion, developing a problem–solution presentation.

Figure I.2. Problem–solution presentation pattern.

Part II of the book addresses issues related to presentation delivery, including designing visuals, rehearsing, presenting in an engaging manner, and handling questions. I will be assuming a conference room environment, the most typical venue for problem–solution presentations to decision makers.

An integrated case study will supply examples for each step in the process. Figure I.3 provides the background on the case. Please read the case before proceeding to Chapter 1, where we will begin our exploration of the problem–solution model by learning how to conduct a communication strategy analysis.

Figure I.3. Case situation: Serv-Pro tuition reimbursement plan.

My purpose for this book is to blend my years of business experience with current research on persuasion to provide a practical, applied approach to using the principles of the Persuasion Triangle and the problem–solution pattern in a conference room setting. Along the way, I will also include some tips from presentation experts that have been particularly meaningful to me. My goal is to produce a useful, actionable guide that will help you, as a business professional, make a difference in your organization and advance your career.

Thank you for investing your time and joining me in this learning experience.