8 layers of persuasion: Guiding Target's decision-making journey through a reinforced eight-layer AIDA model

A perfectly thought-out process of persuasion will make it impossible (or extremely difficult) for Target to say No. You'll have to guide their thoughts through their experience filters, judgments, suspicions, disbeliefs, superstitions, dilemmas and mental calculations. You'll walk with them through their nostalgic moments, successes and failures. Target will feel assured, might feel smarter than you, and will believe they came to your conclusion themselves.

This persuasion process can often be intellectually challenging to design. However, it can be accomplished by reinforcing the popular AIDA model with four more elements: Empathy, Involvement, Validation and Marvel.

The flow of conversation then becomes:

1. Attention
2. Empathy
3. Involvement
4. Interest
5. Validation
6. Desire
7. Marvel
8. Action

Here is an explanation:

• Attention: When they take the first step toward you and agree to listen to your story. Most marketing campaigns just try to gain attention, and afterward, they do nothing! Attention is just the first step and then you have to un-confuse the target.
• Empathy: Where you put yourself in the target's shoes and feel their pain.
• Involvement: When you start solving one part of one problem already.
• Interest: When you make them say "Wow, tell me more about your solution."
• Validation: Might have scientific proofs, certifications, historical evidence, and financial calculations.
• Desire: When the subjects have subconsciously or consciously started to think about the cost and try to balance it with the benefits. This is the most vulnerable stage.
• Marvel: The magic you'll create to wow the target and make them share the great experience, right away. It can happen at the Attention stage as well.
• Action: Predict any remaining confusion in the subject's mind, eliminate that, and the subject is bound to take the targetted Action.

A pursuing conversation will inspire, assure, motivate and charge the listener toward the action stage in the shortest possible time and cost. However, it will not put false evidence, exaggerate, or break ethical or moral principles.

Our brain is not unpredictable; it will always judge, try to find flaws, compare with alternatives, avoid risks, and attempt to win. All these combinations of thoughts will still fit inside a finite set and follow a certain "If This Then That" sequence.

Successfully guiding the target through several micro-decisions and finally changing their "Surely NO" to "Okay, I love it, YES" can be rewarding.