What if influence wasn’t about tactics and persuasion but about truth, trust, and genuine human connection?
In this episode, Brian Ahearn, Chief Influence Officer at Influence People and faculty member at the Cialdini Institute, unpacks the fine line between influence and manipulation, a crucial distinction for sales leaders and C-suite executives who want to drive sustainable growth without sacrificing integrity.
🔥 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: ✔ The Ethical Imperative: Why real influence is about honesty, natural principles, and mutual benefit. ✔ Relationships Drive Results: How liking, trust, and connection influence decision-making (backed by Gallup’s research). ✔ The Seven Persuasion Principles: A masterclass in ethical influence, from reciprocity to social proof. ✔ Beyond Product Pushing: Why customers "rent an outcome" (like peace of mind in insurance), not just buy a product. ✔ Long-Term Wins: How nurturing relationships, not short-term wins, creates exponential business growth. ✔ The Power of Pre-Suasion: Setting the stage for influence before the conversation even begins. ✔ Avoiding Cognitive Dissonance: Why understanding customer values first leads to easier, natural sales.
💡 Key Takeaways for Leaders & Sales Teams: 🔹 Stop chasing transactions; build relationships. Influence is a long game. 🔹 Teach your sales team ethical persuasion. Trust beats manipulation every time. 🔹 Understand your customer’s real job. They aren’t buying your product; they’re hiring a solution. 🔹 Use persuasion principles the right way. No fake scarcity, no coercion, just natural, human influence. 🔹 Invest in self-awareness. Mastering influence starts with mastering yourself.
📩 Connect with Brian Ahearn: 👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfahearn/
👉 Website: InfluencePeople.biz
📚 Recommended Reads: 📖 Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion – Dr. Robert Cialdini 📖 Influence PEOPLE, Persuasive Selling, The Influencer – Brian Ahearn
🚀 Final Thought: If you strip away the scripts and sales techniques, could you still influence with integrity? If not, what needs to change?
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.
The Brothers Ortiz
The Brothers Ortiz is the story of two brothers–both successful, but in very different ways. Gabe Ortiz becomes a third-highest ranking officer in all of Texas while his younger brother Larry climbs the ranks in Puro Tango Blast, a notorious Texas Prison gang. Gabe doesn’t know all the details of his brother’s nefarious dealings, and he’s made a point not to ask, to protect their relationship. But when Larry is murdered during a home invasion in a rented beach house, Gabe has no choice but to look into what happened that night. To solve Larry’s murder, Gabe, and the whole Ortiz family, must ask each other tough questions.