Like many people playing in the social networks, I get lots of invites for new Beta tests and other invites for new services out there. And for the most part I keep those things to myself, although I did go nuts and hand out GMail accounts when it first popped out of Beta.

I stumbled across something yesterday that I think is going to be huge and may change the way a lot of us look at micro payments and mobile commerce.

You now how when you’re standing in line at the grocery store and for some reason you’ve left your debit card in your other pants and so you have no way to pay? (That seems to happen to me a lot, but maybe I’m unique.)

Or you’re at a dinner party and the check comes, but you don’t have any cash, and so you end up having to run to the ATM to help split the check because your best friend grabbed the check to put it on his card?

If you can related to any of these examples, then you now how frustrating it is to have to figure out how to honor your obligations without feeling like an oddball.

Well, yesterday I was hunting around and stumbled across SelfBank Mobile, which promotes itself as a way for people to use their shiny new iPhones to pay for something on the go. From what I can gather it’s tapping into that growing force of cell phones to make it as easy as texting a payment to a merchant or zapping money to your friend across the table at dinner. The site describes tapping into Facebook, MySpace and other social networks to extend the micro payment model.

You just send money using your cell phone! Remember when PayPal showed us how to pay for auction stuff on eBay and we all went nuts because it was so easy? This is like that moment.

Now, here’s the good part. The company is coming out of a whisper phase and will soon be in Beta. They haven’t gone public yet! However, they are accepting a few testers through private invitations. You have to know somebody to get in and I was lucky enough to snag my own beta test invite: Go here for your invite.

Here’s the best part, especially if you like money. The company is giving every user who signs up for a free user account $100 and it’s giving merchants $500 for setting up a merchant account. Most of the Beta tests I’ve been in have not involved paying me to test the product. I’m told the company is using the incentive money to attract merchants and they are paying people to join to extend the reach of the service.

Check it out and let me know what you think of this model and whether paying someone to test out a service is really going to help them attract merchants. I wonder if the virtual worlds will find this attractive, or if soon I won’t have to worry about putting on the wrong pair of pants before I go to the grocery store.

At some point in sales everyone has to cold call. A lot of folks go with the Three-Foot Rule; anyone within three feet is a potential customer.

I really hate the three-foot rule. It relies on the idea that you must practically trip the guy waiting in line in front of you to make a sales presentation. I always felt like that was bordering on manipulation, and we know where that leads. You’re never going to manipulate someone into becoming a repeat and long-term customer.

People will be more receptive to those whom they already have a relationship with. This doesn’t mean you will rake in sales after every conversation, but build trust and you will have ready opened the door.

Social networks are perfect for this approach. You meet other people sharing the same experiences. You learn about their needs and wants. If you have something they might require to fulfill that need, then you’re nearly in like Flint. You have a better chance that they might at least listen to your message.

I hate bugging people in general, so often I leave social connections alone; I don’t want them to hate me later. However, if you listen and build rapport then you have a much better chance of being in the right place at the right time and can present your opportunity, service or business. John Cass provides an excellent example of using Social Networks in an old-fashioned way to build a network and he says it comes down to, “…spend[ing] some time really connecting with people.”

There are hundreds of people I know that I have failed to talk to in months. I think it’s time I called a few of them and say ‘hi’ and really connect without worrying about getting something out of the connection. Build a strong group of people you really care about and in the end you’ll benefit in so many ways. And you’ll be able to toss out the Three Foot Rule for your personal gain and rather use it to just be a friendly person who is always ready and willing to just listen.

In every organization I’ve either led or worked in, I’ve felt like we’ve never had a robust budget for marketing and public relations.  Public relations has always seemed easier because it required only earned media placements and spreading the word.  Marketing always meant digging into the pockets of the boss and justifying a campaign.  It seems rather silly to spend money when you can find creative ways to achieve the same results.

Of course, that’s why you do research and have triggers for measuring results.  No results, no more money spent on a marketing campaign.

So marketing always required me to do more thinking.  Then the Internet came along and it seemed like I’d never overcome to the ‘math’ deficiency most writers seem to carry around in the genes.  Often that led me back to public relations; I was always better talking to people anyway.

But then that also started requiring math and thinking about results, so I was back to learning some new tricks.  Thankfully, I have done a lot of homework and things are much easier when it comes to justifying expenditures in anticipation of returns.

But the guerrilla in me often comes out and I’m always looking for an edge, hidden trick, anything to succeed.

I tried to be high-brow with this blog for nearly three years and I realized again the other day that I’m more meat and potatoes.  I want to see results.  I don’t want to theorize over how we might achieve them.  So as I reenergize myself, I’m committed to showing rather than thinking about how to be a WordyMouth.  You can expect to see more hands-on from now on.  More nuts and bolts and less trying to be an academic.  Besides,  most of you would rather learn how to pull something out of a hat, right?

In some ways I’ve already illustrated this point, afterall, it has taken nearly six months to finish this series.  But in persuasion, it’s not necessary to spend months getting to your point, you only need to build upon all of the steps to reach a conclusion that leaves them wanting more.

Like an excellent novel begging for a sequel, it’s important to be thinking beyond your message to the second, third and fourth messages.  If a person must be exposed to a message at least seven times before they are convinced, then you must be thinking beyond your initial message to the absolute conclusion.  By leaving them wanting more, then you build anticipation and excitement as your reader waits for your next message.  That’s why much copywriting on the Internet seems to go on for a long stretch; the writer is building small steps and giving the reader just enough to want to go on.  The reader becomes involved in the persuasive writing and can’t wait for the conclusion.  Usually, that conclusion is the ask and a sale is made.

Leave them wanting more and you don’t be afraid to take it away.  Take away the opportunity and wait; the listener will come back because they are wanting to see the conclusion.  Leave them wanting more and eventually they will persuade themselves that your product, message or offer is the one they want.

Or perhaps the title of this post should have been Help them Believe. You see, it’s up to you to instill belief in your message and help your listener begin to believe enough to be persuaded.

No one will be persuaded if they have doubts about your message.

You want to generate enough belief in you and your message to overcome any hesitancy. You do this by being genuine and honest. Cross the line and you have entered the realm of manipulation, and this is not where you want to go. A sage philosophy seems appropriate: “A man convinced against his will
is of the same opinion still.” He will not be persuaded and he will turn away before any results become apparent.

So how do you help them believe? By combining much of what’s already been discussed in this series about persuasion. You must lead, use examples, rely on shared experiences and weave an excellent story to help your listener better believe your message.

When I was running 12 miles a day, it often was a solitary event.  You would run off and let your mind wander.  A great time for dreaming up new ideas!  However, I always took someone along or joined a group when I wanted to speed up the run.  It never fails.  Share the experience with someone else and you gain from their strength.

The same goes with persuasion.  You want to build your message upon the experiences of your reader or listener.  Their viewpoint strengthens your message and you are able to encourage them to help you persuade them.

Third-party authority comes into play when you share an experience.  By turning time over to a partner or a friend to share your message, your persuasion gains authority through the share experience.  If you want to persuade, work on finding ways to share the experience with the person you are attempting to persuade.

Ever have someone tell you to just trust them.  Just trust me, I know what I’m talking about. My internal crap detector goes off anytime someone says “just trust me.”

What does it take to generate trust?  Can you just expect people to believe everything you say, or does it take much more?

I’m far more willing to place my trust in someone I know than I am someone I’ve just met.  That’s why so many celebrities get the nod to endorse products than say the average guy.  Celebrities bring instant credibility and believability.  However,  your mom probably has a better believability factor than most celebrities; her network - family, friends, neighbors - tend to see her as someone they can trust.  Her opinion carries weight.

Overall, consumers still trust other consumers over any other factor.  A Nielson Survey in Oct. 2007 found overwhelmingly that “78% of respondents said they trusted - either completely or somewhat – the recommendation of other consumers.”

On a practical note, I avoided seeing the movie Michael Clayton because three people I know hated it.  My best friend told me he loved it, and I changed my decision and went to see the movie.  You see we’re also prone to further believe those people whom we have a placed an even greater amount of trust in.  If Dad had said he hated the film, I might never have seen it!

Trust isn’t something you just bring to the table.  Trust must be earned.

A clown was standing in a kitchen, holding a can of frozen orange juice, staring at it intently. His friend saw this and asked why. The clown answered, “The can says, ‘Concentrate’.”

Now why would I start with that terrible joke? To illustrate that if you’re characters are unbelievable or slightly off, then no one will respect or believe your story.

Good characters fuel stories and stories fuel persuasive writing. To engage your reader or listener you need to spin really good stories that are believable. Credible characters make it possible to build up to the climax in the story and keep your target willing and begging for more information.

My daughter was always the best at bribing me into doing something she wanted when she was a toddler. The boys never seemed to catch onto the subtleties of expression and body language. Now that she’s a teen, it’s only gotten worse. Meanwhile, my sons continue to use the brute force approach, to minimal results.

Body language and expression go a long way toward making a person feel at ease and ready for a conversation. Persuasion doesn’t take place without the consent of the person you’re attempting to persuade. You can’t just thump them on the head and expect them to be ready to listen and engage in your message.

Clean yourself up. Smile. Use a breath mint. Set up the stage before you pounce. Make sure you’re wearing appropriate clothes. You wouldn’t want to try convincing a group of surfers of something wearing a suit and tie and the opposite is also true; don’t show up as a surfer to a serious board meeting.

Persuasion only occurs when the target is willing and ready to listen. Reduce the noise and you improve the chances of making a connection.

Tommy Boy finally got it right: “I could climb up a bull’s ass to find the steak, but I’d rather take the butcher’s word for it.”

Proof in the form of concrete statements or tangible numbers carry credibility. They allow persuaders to sway thought. That’s why so many people accept twisted numbers and statistical data as proof. The numbers carry authority.

People want to believe but will assign faith to persuasion if it carries an element of truth. The more credible the proof and the more apt they are to believe it. “…persuasion is effected through the speech itself when we have proved a truth or an apparent truth by means of the persuasive arguments suitable to the case in question,” Aristotle, Rhetoric.

First start with identifying the opinions and beliefs a person already understands, then build upon those opinions by providing additional proof through example and demonstration. Seeking vindication, individuals will assign credence to your proof, internalize it and use it to further develop their own understanding, opinions and beliefs. The individual will accept your proof and mold it into their own viewpoint. They will assign their own proof and internalize your persuasion as their own idea.

“You could climb up…” but you already get the idea.