The Most Important Persuasion Skill in the World (That You’ve Never Been Taught)

Did you know almost every single breakdown in communication (sales, marketing, leadership) comes down to literally ONE missed opportunity??

It’s true.?

And if you’re able to hang around until the end of this little newsletter and watch the video herein, there’s a very strong chance you’ll end up saying, “I’m not doing this well…but if I do, it will change my life.”?

A Mistake that Cost Me Again and Again?

To set this up, let’s rewind about 13 years, right about the time I started speaking on stages and sharing the They Ask You Answer story at sales and marketing events around the world.?

For the first few years of teaching They Ask You Answer to audiences, I kept making a MAJOR mistake.?

Specifically, often times when I was done speaking, someone from the audience would come up to me and say something like, “Marcus, this was an incredible talk, and I’m happy for you and your swimming pool company, but how would this apply to a B2B service-based business like mine??”?

Once I heard a version of this question enough times, I knew I had a major problem.?

There was something about my keynote the audience wasn’t able to connect to their business and their own situation.?

And because of this, instead of sitting in the audience and being flooded with ideas, inspiration, and exhilaration (as my audiences are today), these folks were instead flooded with a simple doubt—“But how does this apply to me?”

The Vanguard Principle?

Shame on me.?

I had made a crucial error.?

And what was that error??

I missed what today I call a “Vanguard.”?

What is a Vanguard??

Essentially, a Vanguard is as follows:??

In every communication interaction you have in which you’re trying to teach, promote, persuade, influence, etc.—your audience will naturally look for ways to RESIST what you’re telling them.?

Vanguarding is the process of knowing what resistance will come, and then getting IN FRONT of that resistance.?

You’ve likely heard the phrase, “The best cure is prevention” right? Well, that’s Vanguarding. It’s the ability to know what could go wrong in any situation and taking action to get in front of this issue—therefore eliminating it before it occurs.?

Remember: The greatest way in life to resolve a concern is to address it BEFORE it becomes a concern.

The Best Marketing, Sales, and Leadership Professionals Understand how to Vanguard?

This is why the best marketers understand that whenever they are trying to convince or persuade their audience, they must FIRST know what will make their audience resist their ideas and then do whatever it takes to remove this resistance before it occurs.?

This is why the best sales professionals in the world are constantly asking, “What will make this prospect say “no” or resist?” – and then once again find a way to get in front of this issue.?

This is why the best leaders communicate with their team in such a way that before any important meeting or change within the organization they look to set the right conditions and again resolve reasons for resistance before it can become a problem.?

You’re likely reading this and thinking, “This is easy Marcus, that’s what I do”—and you may be right, but I can assure you that every time I’m speaking to a group of marketing, sales, or leadership professionals and we analyze where things are going wrong in their communication, it’s almost ALWAYS because they are missing critical Vanguards.??

To understand this essential (and life-changing) communication principle further, watch the following video. Seriously, it will be worth your time. I explain Vanguarding further (the origin of its name), how I overcame that problem as a speaker mentioned at the beginning of this article, and the impact mastering this skill will have on every facet of your life—personally and professionally.

Check it out:?

If you enjoyed this, I’d love to hear your feedback. Are you applying The Vanguard Principle to your life? Are you teaching it to your sales, marketing, or leadership team members??

If you’re on LinkedIn, feel free to leave a comment below, or reach out to me directly at [email protected]???

Looking for a speaker that will always have more audience takeaways than a beach tourist town has t-shirt shops? Discuss your event with Marcus today.?

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