Maximize Your Influence

Happy New Year! We're back with the first episode of 2015!  If you we're asked "do you have a rewards card with us" last time you were shopping, you're not alone.  Business are loading up on rewards programs like never before, in hopes of enticing you to return and buy more stuff from them. As it turns out however, a good old fashioned "thank you" is more effective.  Kurt and Steve discuss this re...

If you have kids or employees (they're kind of the same, aren't they) you have probably used threats as a way to gain compliance before.  When we are in a rational state, we can all agree that most of the time threats are only good for very short term compliance.  But when we become emotional, it's easy for our brain to think that a threat is the best solution to the problem.  In a recent study by...

Are you tired of faking that you like your boss when you really don't?  Michigan State University has good news.  Apparently, you don't need to fake it anymore!  Their study shows that your productivity and your bosses satsifaction with your work performance goes UP when you both can admit that you're just co-workers and not necessarily best buddies. After discussing the weekly article.  Kurt and...

Every year it happens.  Black Friday.  That one day where retailers apparently lose their mind and start giving away massive discounts in order to lure bargain hungry shoppers.  The urgency created on Black Friday is unparalleled! On this episode Kurt and Steve discuss what retailers do right on Black Friday as opposed to what they do wrong.  Using some of their tactics could turn your prospects a...

Do you work in an environment where you need to be motivated...but your boss just doesn't motivate you?  This is increasingly the norm, unfortunately.  A recent article by Harvard Business Review gives some helpful pointers if you find yourself in this type of environment.  Check out the article here. Are you your competitor's best sales person?  Let's rephrase.  Have you ever worked really hard b...

Are you one of those sports fans that feels like the officials are conspiring against your team?  Everybody has been THAT sports fan at some point in their life.  As it turns out you may not be that paranoid.  A recent study shows that shorter NBA refs call more fouls than their taller counter parts.  The question remains though: is this due to a bad case of vantage point or a bad case of "small m...

Persuasion is one of those skills that gives you a leg up on the competition.  When it comes to sales, there is no award for second place.  And advantage you can get goes a long way towards coming in first place!  Make sure you regularly tune up your persuasion ane influence skills.  These are skills that can atrophy over time if you don't use them.  And when you need to use them...it's too late t...

After discussing Kurt's upcoming visit to the Middle East, Kurt and Steve launch right into this week's article.  According to a recent article from Science Daily, toddlers who exhibit low empathy are in for a tough life.  The study says that there will be long term problems with aggression.  The good news is, it's not too late to fix it.  After the article, Kurt and Steve get into the Third R of...

Do you enjoy the Maximize Your Influence Podcast?  Learn more at www.universityofpersuasion.com.  You'll have access to all of our top persuasion and influence training!  You'll get our 52 week persuasion mastery course, our persuasion university library, persuasion software (solves objections for you), and much much more!   On this episode of Maximize Your Influence, Kurt and Steve discuss the se...

On this episode, Kurt and Steve interview the CEO of Entrepreneur on Fire, John Lee Dumas.  John is one of the most successful "virtual" entrepreneurs out there.  His podcast is by far one of the most popular business downloads on the internet.  He is known for producing massive amounts of valuable content and giving it away for FREE.  His audience is large and he has a very high level of trust wi...

Did you know that money can buy happiness?  A recent study published in "Psychology Today" shows just that.  Kurt and Steve discuss the ins and outs of this study and how money certainly can buy happiness...up to a point.  Continuing off of recent episodes, Kurt and Steve cover how we can overcome objections before they ever occur in the first place.  This concept is called "inoculation."  The ter...

Stay tuned as we will soon be rolling out Influence University...your way to access absolutely everything that Kurt has ever produced on Persuasion, Influence, Negotiation, and Leadership!  One of the greatest features of Influence University is Kurt's "Persuasion Software."  There are 77 potential objections out there and this software allows you to click on whatever one you've received and immed...

After a rant about Philly Cheesesteaks and Gourmet Grilled Cheese, Kurt and Steve continue to break down the psychology of objections.  Undestanding what's happening to your prospect mentally will help you overcome objections faster and many times, avoid them all together. A study done by Knox and Inkster shows us that people tend to justify and feel more confident in their decisions AFTER they ha...

Have you ever had a conversation that just didn't get results?  Or even worse, one that felt completely fake?  On this episode, Kurt and Steve interview John R Stoker, author of "Overcoming Fake Talk - How To Hold Real Conversations that Create Respect, Build Relationships, and Get Results."  This is a fantastic new book (available at "overcomingfaketalkbook.com", by the way) that will show you ho...

Closing a deal isn't about a slick line at the end of your presentation.  It's about understanding what your prospect is REALLY saying when they say things like "I need to think about it" or "I don't have the money."  First we need to figure out if we are dealing with a real objection or one that is just pure "venom."  If somebody is just objecting to be a pain in the butt, there isn't much you ca...

Have you ever met somebody that didn't seem all that sharp but could sell circles around you?  Here at Maximize Your Influence we help you hone your persuasion skills to generate the income and results you want! As always, send your comments, questions, and ideas to maximizeyourinfluence@gmail.com. Also: Kurt is willing to give you a FREE audio download of his book Maximum Influence if you leave a...

In Episode 54 of Maximize Your Influence, Kurt and Steve start things off by discussing a recent study about the chemical oxytocin.  According to the study, the more oxytocin present in somebody's system, the more accepting they are of others.  This of course leads to better social skills and possibly, the more persuadeable they are.  Many business and marketing firms are trying to trigger the rel...

A whole year of Maximize Your Influence Podcasts are now behind us!  And listenrship in the Islamic Republic of Iran is still strong (that has to be a fluke, right)! After two podcasts delving into the female brain, Kurt and Steve discuss a recent article that reveals that women get cheated at the negotiation table more than men.  Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and UC Berkely found...

Don't worry, it's still us!  We just have a new Itunes and podcast logo.  Kurt and Steve discuss the recent news in the Middle East and the conflict between Israel and Hamas.  They discuss the generations of emotion that are involved in the conflict and why a resolution is unlikely.  They probably offend both sides of the issue as well, which is par for the podcast! They also discuss an entertaini...

The new www.maximizeyourinfluence.com is up!  Not so much running...but definitely up.  Pardon our dust as we continue to refine the new site.  You can still, however, download the latest podcast episodes and read the blog.  In the "geeky article moment" for the week, Kurt highlights a recent article from CNN.com.  A company in Chicago recently started timing how long employees were spending in th...

Remember: please subscribe to Maxmize Your Influence on Itunes, Stitcher Radio, the Windows Market Place, or whatever service you use to download podcasts!  We appreciate you listening to the show! After giving some nots so great (and un-licesned) legal advice, Kurt and Steve discuss a recent study about "moral code."  Individuals are more likely to compromise their morals when they are in a group...

We hope you had a great Fourth of July holiday!  Even if you didn't celebrate American indepencence day and the 4th of July was just a regular day for you...we hope you had a great one anyway! Remember to subscribe to the Maximize Your Influence Podcast via Itunes, the Windows Market Place, or Sticher Radio.  And as always, you can listen to the show at www.maximizeyourinfluence.com. The show begi...

After some useless banter about who should be allowed to wear bathing suits, the Fourth of July, and barbeques, Kurt and Steve launch into Episode 48.  First, they tackle an article about how word choice reflects somebody's mood.  It doesn't happen the way you think.  As it turns out, when somebody is feeling good they use more words with a long "i" vowell.  When they aren't feeling good they use...

After diving into "Negotiation's Dirty Deeds" last week, Kurt and Steve continue the discussion by uncovering even more of the underhanded tactics other's will use on you while negotiating.  Steve takes over today's "geeky article moment."  In a recent article by Harvard Business Review, we learn that managing conflict requires that we first ascertain whether we're dealing with a "hot" conflict or...