Unpacking the "No" In Changing People's Beliefs

There is a new way of changing people's mind and it is called the 4 Pillars of Marketing. The four pillars work in conjunction with one another to ensure that you create an atmosphere that drives sales and results in measurable results. Although it sounds complicated, if you put these four pillars into use and understand them, you can see how simple it can be to change the behavior of your prospects. This article will show you how you can incorporate them into your own marketing campaign and start driving your business forward.


The first and most important pillar of marketing is critical thinking. As a marketer you have to keep your audience's attention up to date with what you are saying and doing. You do this by asking questions and challenging them with hard questions. This is a process of asking questions that lead you to finding out what your prospects believe and how they came to that belief. So, make sure that you are always asking questions that lead to change and improving.

The second step is critical-thinking skills. You need to know that people aren't stupid, and that even if they are, they'll choose a different opinion based on what gets them going. What you need to do as a marketer is to figure out how to make the tough questions easier. This is where you'll learn how to change people's minds and how to close the sale. People respond better to questions than statements.

The third step to changing people's minds is to demonstrate that you have a vision for the future. This starts with finding a way to display your vision so that others will be able to see it and get excited about it. Consider that when you are presenting to district managers how you want to increase traffic to their company's website, show how you plan to do just that by showing traffic graphs and statistics, or show an actual, well-designed website that you helped create.

If you want to change people's minds, and you want to change their minds to support your ideas, consider the power of personal experiences. In fact, Maya Angelou herself has admitted as much: "We might fail in our efforts to change other people's minds because we're too used to getting what we want. We might fail because we don't feel motivated to do the hard work that it takes to change minds." She continues, "That's why I think that the most powerful tool in the toolbox of a motivator is personal history." In other words, it might take a long time to convince someone else that they need your service, but once you have them on your side, it's hard to get them to stop working with you.

The final step to changing minds is to develop your reasoning process so that it works for you. Think about your previous reasons for getting involved in the business, and use those reasons as triggers to help you change your beliefs and your behavior. Sometimes, all you need to do is change the trigger words, and your reasoning process will go into overdrive. For example, you might say something like, "I'm passionate about helping new moms find the right education so that they can improve the lives of their children. If I had enough motivation, I would love to see one mom graduate from high school and go on to become a doctor or a nurse."

By using this type of thinking along with your personal history, you can instill doubt into your clients' minds about your ability to fulfill their needs. It is like sending the most annoying question - "So, how do you feel about the fact that you won't be able to pay your bills this month?" - to the most unwilling recipients.

This strategy also provides an easy way to counter-talk against your ideas. When you use disconfirmation, it helps you to reframe your objections and show them how illogical they are. By focusing your questions on the logic of the client's beliefs, you make it easier for them to consider new, more rational beliefs. Using this information about why they are rejecting your premise also makes it easier to dispel their misconceptions about what you are saying.