Masters of the Universe paper 7
Continued from paper 6

I have been talking about the 15 golden rules to super entrepreneurship and I have provided a detailed description of the first two rules and why I think they are extremely important for anyone considering getting to the top of his or her game.
Rule Three

Master the art of Moving People (influencing people), it will take you to the heights of human achievement
The art of convincing anyone or a group of people to make a decision, make a purchase, sign off on a project, sell you a item, invest in your idea, marry you or recommend your services is known as MOVING PEOPLE. And if you can learn how to move people towards your ideas, your products, your services, your community, without irritating them, it is the most profitable art known to mankind.

I understand a lot of people who seek employment start out by saying, “I do not want to do marketing”. What they really mean is that they do not want to be in sales. However what these people do not realise is that every single living human being on this planet Earth is in sales whether we like it or not. We are all selling something, I do not care if you are a pastor, a driver, a policeman, a politician, a teacher, a plumber, a writer, a dancer, a singer, an actor, a student, a wife, a husband, a boyfriend, a pilot, a manager or even a janitor, if you cannot sell your ideas, your service or yourself then you are not likely to live a fulfilling life. If on the other hand we come to terms with the understanding that we are all sales people one way or the other we must learn to sell ourselves and our ideas. If we understand this fact and we go out of our way to build the skills that are required to sell our selves then we are moving into the World of Super Achievement and that is where the Super Entrepreneurs live.

If you want to get people to take you seriously then you must start by taking yourself seriously. You cannot move anybody without a full knowledge and understanding of what you intent to move them on. For instance if your wife wanted you to take her to a particular restaurant for dinner, then the chances are that she would have all the reasons why that restaurant is a great place to go. That knowledge into upon itself does that mean that she can move you to make the decision, but it will certainly put her in a position to meet with all the possible objections you may think off as she has full knowledge of the place and can speak convincingly about its merits. Many people who seek employment, or seek contracts or seek appointments only know what they want from the principal person that is responsible for granting the favour or the contract. They do not even bother to gain knowledge on the subject matter; the result is that in most cases they put up a very weak case of selling themselves or their ideas. In Africa and especially Nigeria this is a very big problem as we have an entitlement culture and mentality. We believe that we are entitled to something or that once an uncle becomes a Minister or a Governor we are entitled to all the contracts. So we do not bother to get deep knowledge about what we are selling or the contract we seek. In the final analysis if you really want to be a Super Achiever then you must learn the art of moving people. You must learn how to influence people without irritating them. This will make you millions and subsequently billions if you keep at it.
Strategic Points of Influence

All human beings are moved by emotions. In fact eight times out of ten it is the emotions of the buyer that will determine the final decision to buy or not to buy. Even for marrying a Wife or a Husband, the partner that makes the final decision is guided mostly by their emotions. In interviews for a job or a contract it is the emotions of the Minister or the Governor that tips the scale in your direction after all technical presentations have been made and passed. Once everybody has met the technical evaluation what do you think is the final deciding factor? In most cases it is the emotions of the buyer and these emotions are sub divided into segments that can be studied so that you can get ahead.

Nine Strategic Points of Moving People Self-Preservation; People are moved into certain directions by their desire to preserve themselves. In fact many armed robberies, kidnapping and even terrorism crimes are carried out by young people who have lost hope and are therefore moved into taking the last action they believe is left for them to take to survive and to preserve themselves. In similar cases a manager or a CEO of a company will make a buying decision in a minute if he believes that the direction or the purchase item he or she is making is going to preserve him or her in that position or in the larger scheme of things preserve the company or the department that they preside over. To preserve one’s self is a powerful emotion and it will always win you the client or the customer if you can find the angle that relates this emotion to whatever you are selling. On the national scale Nations want nothing more than to preserve themselves. That is why in Nigeria we always hear things like, to keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done. Or that our unity is nonnegotiable. In this case a lot of the security spending made by Governments and Administrations across the World is all about self-preservation. Similarly a man or a woman will spend their last savings on an item or a journey or a system that they believed would preserve their status quo. If you are a human being, and if you are reading this then you are a human being, then you should learn very quickly the strategy of using the self-preservation emotion as a bed rock for moving and influencing people. It will never let you down.

Financial Gain; in Nigeria the emotion and motive of financial gain seems to be the King. Everybody is trying to make money and that seems to be all we care about. In this case the emotion of moving people in Nigeria by promising financial gain or reward or demonstrating where the financial gain happens to be a winner. Unfortunately this drive in Nigeria has fueled corruption and ineptitude and the Nation has suffered as a result. In most cases the emotion of financial gain should be an overriding principle used in the guiding of Corporations and even Governments, as they decide whether your project works for them or if your ideas can benefit the system. Across the World this strategic point of moving and influencing people is paramount. However in Nigeria and in many nations across Africa it is the other way around. The people at the helm of affairs are more interested in the financial gain for themselves and not for the country or the corporation. This does not in any way diminish the fact that this drive for financial gain is a powerful emotion and its influence knows no bounds. In presenting your ideas to your clients or customers always point out the gains they will be making if they are buying from you, and where possible you can take the presentation to the point where the financial gains are spelt out and very obvious.

Love; I think with the exception of self-preservation the emotion of love is most probably the most powerful of human emotions. Entire industries have been built on this strategic point alone. If you ask yourself why diamonds are so expensive and what are they used for? If you are knowledgeable you may answer that diamond cutters are the most effective. However that would not be the average answer. The average answer from everybody in the World would be that diamonds are a girl’s best friend. So you have a product that is designed and marketed solely as an accessory for dressing up or looking good and it is such a large industry. How did it get there? Well it is because the industry has positioned itself to be the instrument of exchange when it comes to love. And Love is Powerful.

Power; the history of mankind is filled with the lengths and actions man would go and take in the pursuit of Power. Man would put everything on the line, his life, his family his community all in an effort to gain power. The drive to be in control of things, to determine who gets the jobs, who gets the contracts, who gets the funding is an age old determination of mankind, in Nigeria as in Africa there is no exception. So People will sell or buy whatever they think will help them to gain power and sometimes it doesn’t matter what it costs. A politician will spend billions to secure a political leadership job that gives him the power over the lives of others. Power is huge and almost everybody is moved by it one way or the other. Take a mental analysis of what it is you are selling, does it confer Power on your customers? Can your ideas provide a powerful outcome for the corporation? If you want to move people that are driven by desire for power then you must study them very well. Some people are driven by just having the idea that they are powerful whereas others want real naked power to dispense favours and to crush their enemies as the case may be. If you are able to determine which one your customer is then you are well on your way to becoming a Super Entrepreneur.

Fame; some people just love the attention they get from the public. These are special people, they may be musicians, actors or politicians, but whatever their profession they love the lame light. And if you or your project can give it to them then you are a winner. The emotion and the drive for fame is also an age old human desire. For many years human beings across the centuries have sort fame, in many cases instead of power or money. In fact, Achilles, the ancient Greek war lord was so great a warrior that every King of Greece and its surrounding City States wanted to have Achilles fight on their side when they were going to war. In this case the enemy on hearing that Achilles was on the other side will be demoralized and losing the war was very likely. Achilles was Powerful however he did not seek power for himself. He was satisfied with the Fame he had gotten from his military activities. He never sort to be King or a politician but as a military soldier on the battle field he would kill hundreds if not thousands and his tales were told for centuries. In fact Achilles lived more than three thousand years ago, and I am still talking about him today. So his strategy of choosing fame rather than fortune must have been very effective and it worked. You must determine if your client or customer is an Achilles. If he or she prefers fame then that is what you must be selling. These people that are driven by fame will not really be interested in the financial gain or any other emotional driver. So give them what they want.