Frank Somma

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#1037 How to up your likability quotient

 I need a little help this week. I want to get my Amazon book reviews up and over 100. (Right now, I have 47)

If you've read my book and enjoyed it, please take a minute to do a 5-star review on Amazon for me. 

Thank you. Here is the blog:

My platform to teach persuasion and selling is that people do business with people they like. I've spent the better part of my career studying this and learning what we can do to up our likeability quotient. The evidence is all around us. 

To my memory, the first time this became evident in popular culture was when Kennedy beat Nixon in the 1960 presidential election. It is widely believed that Kennedy won because it was the first time presidential candidates debated on television. People liked" Kennedy better. He was young, handsome, and charming, with a big smile and a likable countenance. Nixon showed none of those qualities.

In Robert Cialdini's book, Persuasion, he highlights a segment of an interview with top medical malpractice attorney Alice Burkin that speaks volumes about the value of likeability.

Interviewer: Every doctor makes an occasional mistake. But most of those mistakes don't turn into malpractice suits. Why do some doctors get sued more than others?

Burkin: I'd say the most important factor in many of our cases, besides the negligence itself, is the quality of the doctor-patient relationship. In my years in this business, I've never had a potential client walk in and say, "I really like this doctor, but I want to sue him." People don't sue doctors they like.

This skill set, this ability to be well-liked and trusted, is learnable and will add more value to your life than any other set of skills you can learn. Arguably, depending on the lawsuit's value, likeability skills, in some cases, have proven to be more valuable than medical skills.

 

In Memory of Chuck Margiotta…NEVER FORGET 9/11