To maintain order in the world, our brain links objects, gestures, and symbols with our feelings, memories, and life experiences. We mentally associate with such things as sponsorships, sights, sounds, colors, music, and symbols, just to name a few. This partnership allows us to make decisions when we don’t have the time to do a thorough investigation.

Persuasion experts take advantage of the association to evoke positive feelings and thoughts that correspond to the message they are trying to convey. In this sense, you, as the persuader, can arouse a certain feeling in your audience by finding the right association key to open the door. The associations are not the same for all people; Obviously, each person has their own set of triggers. However, once you understand the general rules, you’ll be able to find the right partnerships for any prospect. And of course, some associations are universal to an entire culture.

Another aspect of the Law of Association is the use of affiliation. Persuaders want you to affiliate with their company with positive images, sentiments, and attitudes. We tend to affiliate our feelings with our surroundings and environment and then transfer our feelings to those we are with. For example, one frequently used technique is to invite the prospect to lunch. Because? Because people like people and the things they experience while eating (if the food and the company are good). The idea is to link something positive in the environment with your message.

For example, a good game of golf, a weekend at the beach, NFL tickets, or an exotic cruise will often generate positive associations and feelings in your prospects. Do you remember ever noticing how, after a landslide victory, college logo sweatshirts were everywhere? People want to be associated with the winners. In fact, one study showed that when a college football team won, more students would wear that college’s sweatshirts. The bigger the win, the more college sweatshirts become visible. When you bring positive stimuli to the situation, you will be associated with the pleasant feeling that you have created.

Now we are going to discuss four different affiliations that are used most frequently. They are the following: advertising, sponsorships, images and color. Each of these techniques has a unique role in affiliation.

Advertisers and marketers use affiliation to evoke valuable associations in the minds of their prospects. They know that babies and puppies automatically convey strong associations of warmth and comfort in the minds of their audience. Consequently, we see tire commercials with babies and car commercials with puppies, even though the cars and tires aren’t really warm or cuddly. These warm appeals grab our attention and create positive associations in our minds.

Do you want some other examples? Consider some of the popular slogans: “Like a good neighbor,” “Just like home cooking,” “Like a rock,” and “Breakfast of Champions.” Using slogans in this way, marketers can easily create positive sentiments and associations without having to create a new image. They just create even stronger and more positive associations with what already exists.

One of the most common examples of affiliate advertising occurs in the alcohol and cigarette industries. How often do you see a lung cancer patient in a cigarette ad? Instead, advertisers in these industries use young, vibrant people who are in the prime of life. Beer companies want you to associate drinking beer with having fun and attracting the opposite sex. Their ads feature images of men and women having fun, surrounded by beer. His message is: “If you’re not drinking, you’re not having fun.” On an intellectual level, we all know these are just advertisements, but the associations they arouse in us stick with us.

When companies need to change their image, they usually find a good cause to cling to. They will usually find a good social or environmental issue that they can access. For example, an ice cream company announces its support for an environmental movement, or yogurt companies launch a campaign to stop breast cancer. You also see patriotic endorsements being used to create a positive association in your mind. The mere sight of the American flag, or the phrases “Buy American” and “Made in America,” can trigger instant positive associations.

In the 1970s, the great American car still dominated the American automobile scene. American car manufacturers were not afraid of imported cars. There was a tradition in most families to always buy the same brand of car. Imports were associated with being cheap, unreliable, and a waste of money. However, when the baby boomers arrived, they became better educated and refused to blindly follow the guidelines set by their parents. They considered the imports to have better gas mileage, greater reliability, and lower prices. The negative association suddenly shifted from foreign cars to American-made cars and the rest is history. American automakers were nearly put out of business by this change and, to this day, lose huge market share to imported cars. As the tide turned, American auto companies had to learn to make new associations with their cars.

Closely related to advertising is the notion of sponsorship. Businesses and organizations sponsor events that they believe will produce a positive association in the eyes of the public. They hope this positive association will carry over to their company. The Olympic Games Get Big Sponsorships: Companies pay big money to have their name and products associated with the Olympic Games. What company would not want to be associated with peace, unity, perseverance, determination, success and winning the gold? The affiliations that companies create for us are very strong and memorable.

Let’s do an experiment: Think about the following drinks and pay attention to the images that come to mind as you do so.

Volvo. Toyota

Mercedes Rolls Royce

Hyundai. chevy

ford-porsche

The images we see create attitudes within us. It is no coincidence that most American presidents have dogs as pets in the White House. Consciously and unconsciously, an affectionate, obedient and trusting dog creates a positive image of its owner. Voters are more likely to reject a politician who prefers cats, hamsters, snakes, ferrets, or tarantulas.

It really is not a secret that we are highly influenced by images when we make everyday decisions. We are much more likely to donate to someone in a Santa suit than to someone in street clothes. We trust more in a sales representative who wears a gold cross around his neck. Sports bars decorate their walls with jerseys and other sports paraphernalia.

Credit card companies are among the largest users of images and associations. Because credit cards provide us with immediate gratification without us having to face the negative consequences until weeks later, we often think of the perceived positive associations before the negative ones. Consumer researcher Richard Feinberg conducted several different studies to test the effects credit cards had on our spending habits. He came across some very interesting results. For example, he found that restaurant customers tipped higher when they used a credit card than when they used cash. In another case, consumers were found to show a 29 percent increase in their willingness to spend when merchandise was perused in a room displaying MasterCard signs. More interesting still was the fact that the subjects were unaware that the MasterCard signals were an intentional and calculated part of the experiment.

Learning to persuade and influence will make the difference between expecting better income and having better income. Beware of common mistakes presenters and persuaders make that lose the deal. Get your free report 10 Mistakes That Still Cost You Thousands and explode your income today.

questions app

What images can you use to trigger the right emotions during your persuasive presentation?

What image are you trying to create with your product, service, or cause?

What attitudes will the images trigger?

Conclusion

Persuasion is the missing piece of the puzzle that will crack the code to dramatically increase your income, improve your relationships, and help you get what you want, when you want, and win friends for life. Ask yourself how much money and income you have lost due to your inability to persuade and influence. Think about it. Sure you’ve seen some success, but think about the times you couldn’t do it. Was there a time when you didn’t understand your point of view? Are you unable to convince someone to do something? Have you reached your full potential? Are you able to motivate yourself and others to achieve more and achieve your goals? What about your relationships? Imagine being able to overcome objections before they happen, knowing what your prospect is thinking and feeling, feeling more confident in your persuasiveness.