This morning, I saw a chocolate Labrador run up to a couple at a streetside cafe.
The couple — a man and a woman — were sitting in the sun and having coffee and sandwiches.
At first, I thought the dog knew the couple. He frolicked around them, wagged his tail excitedly, and let them pet him.
But it turned out no. This was their first-ever meeting.
The dog’s owner came up, leash in hand, apologizing to the couple, and tried to collect the dog.
The lab evaded the owner. He ran to the other side of the table. And then he put his entire head on the actual table, right next to the sandwich the woman was eating.
The woman started to laugh. She wagged her finger and in a mock-educational tone, she told the dog, “La confianza mata!” Confidence, as in trust of others, kills. I’m not 100% sure, but I think she slipped the dog a little piece of jamón from her sandwich as the owner yanked the beast away.
Maybe there’s a persuasion lesson in there?
Maybe. Let’s see.
Dogs trust strangers instinctively.
Humans don’t.
“Confidence kills!” That’s what we tell ourselves, our kids, and even those same dogs, though we can’t beat it out of them.
This lack of confidence is a problem, particularly if you want strangers to trust you and to do as you want.
Solution:
Do as the dog did.
Trust people first. Even if they are complete strangers.
This is what master persuaders, the ones who have persuaded thousands or even millions of strangers, have found to work the best. In the words of one such master persuader, Claude Hopkins:
“Ask a person to take a chance on you, and you have a fight. Offer to take a chance on him, and he might slip you a piece of jamón.”
And now, can I ask for your help?
The fact is, I don’t have any offer to promote today. Maybe even tomorrow.
So if you’re okay with it, can I ask you a rather personal question? Here goes:
What’s one thing on your todo list for today that you’re dreading?
It can be big or small. Important or trivial. The only thing that counts is that you’re not looking forward to doing it.
Let me know. Maybe I can figure out or find a solution to help you get rid of this troubling todo item. Thanks in advance.