You know, a lot of people wouldn’t expect introverts to be great at influence.

Admit it, you’ve probably even believed this yourself.

I totally get it.

Influence is already hard enough. If you’re an introverted entrepreneur, it can seem to be even harder.

And yet, if you’re an entrepreneur, you already know that your success is dependent on your ability to influence others. You can’t avoid influencing others.

So why is this so hard?

Because introverts are not energized by social interactions. They are drained by them.

Now don’t get me wrong. As introverts, we love interacting with people. We just need some time to take a step back and recharge our batteries, right?

As a business owner, you’re always in a position where you have to influence others. It’s unavoidable.

You need to convince prospects to become customers. You have to motivate your team. You have to know how to negotiate with your vendors. You need to convince investors to provide you with funding.

The issue is that many introverts don’t understand the strengths they have. As a result, they try to act more extroverted because they think this is the best way to gain influence. Of course, there’s a problem with this, right?

You can’t be someone else. You have to leverage your true strengths in order to succeed.

Introverts can be incredible influencers. As introverted entrepreneurs, we have personality traits that lend themselves quite well to influence. The key isn’t to try to be more extroverted. That’s like being a right-handed baseball player who tries to bat left-handed.

It just looks silly.

The key is to use the unique strengths we have to become better influencers. This post will discuss the strengths introverts have and how we can use them to influence better.

Know your Strengths

According to Tom Rath, we are more effective when we play to our strengths, rather than our weaknesses. It will be easier to accomplish your objectives when you focus on what you do well. Of course, if you’re going to leverage your strengths, you have to know what they are.

Here they are:

You’re A Great Listener

It’s a proven fact that introverts are great listeners. We pay more attention to what’s being said to us. Because of this, we are better at understanding others.

You can’t persuade someone who you don’t understand. This is why listening skills are so important. Trying to influence someone without understanding them is like trying to win gunfight with no ammo.

Since you’re such a great listener, use this to your advantage. Ask good questions. The genuine interest you show in the other person will help you earn the right to influence them. Also, when you understand the other person, you will be able to speak to their motivations and desires.

One of the ways I do this is by making sure I focus the conversation on the other person. One of the techniques I use is the “rapport cycle.” I explain this more in my guide on building rapport.

Here’s how it goes:

• Ask an open-ended question.
• Listen carefully to the answer.
• Make a comment on what they said, then ask a follow-up question.
• Repeat

Pretty simple right? It’s an easy way to keep the conversation going. Try this in your next conversation. You’ll notice a difference!

You’re Great At Building Relationships

As an introvert, you probably don’t enjoy interacting with large numbers of people as much as you prefer to interact one-on-one. This is because when it comes to relationships, introverts prefer quality over quantity.

Introverts are great at building relationships with individuals. Your skill at listening and your calm demeanor puts others at ease.

How many times have you had people “spill their guts” to you without any real prompting? How many times have people told you how easier you are to talk to?

Chances are, it happens quite frequently, and it’s a strength you need to use to your advantage as much as you can. Before you attempt to persuade someone, you need to build a relationship first. The key to building a successful business is having great relationships with the people you interact with.

One of the most effective ways to build relationships is to find similarities between yourself and the person you want to influence. People are most comfortable with those they are most similar to. When I’m attempting to persuade someone, I usually identify one or two things that we have in common.

Maybe the other person has kids. Maybe they are from the same state I’m from. Sometimes it could be something as silly as a love for comic book characters. I once got a sale from giving a convincing argument as to why Batman would beat Superman (and I was right)!

Forming a stronger connection will help you earn the right to influence the other person.

You Communicate Effectively

Introverts are very effective communicators when engaged in a conversation. The main reason for this is because we tend to think before we speak.

We don’t blurt out the first thing that comes to mind when the other person is done talking. However, sometimes we feel pressured to do this because we assume that the other person wants an instant, rapid-fire response.

This isn’t really true, though.

While you may not be able to wait 5 minutes before responding to a person’s comment or question, it’s okay to take a slight pause to make sure you are saying what you really want to say. In some cases, letting the customer know that you want to make sure you’re responding the right way will send the message that they are important enough to you that you want to make sure you’re giving them your best.

One good way to buy yourself more time is to ask a clarifying question to get your prospect to talk more. This is an “introvert trick” I use if I need a moment to make sure I respond the right way.

If you repeat what they said back to them, then ask if your summary was correct, it will tend to get them to talk at least a little bit more about the subject. This way, you can still make sure that the response you give is relevant to what they are saying. Try it. It’ll work for you too!

You’re Knowledgeable

As introverted entrepreneurs, we love to learn everything about our industry, don’t we? We tend to become experts on the things we are interested in. If you’re starting your own business, you must be passionate about what you’re doing, right?

This gives you an edge.

Why?

Because you take the time to learn everything there is to know about your chosen field. The knowledge you gain can be used to great effect when it comes to positioning yourself as a resource in the other person’s mind.

You can use your knowledge to help others become better informed. Maybe you can give them some smart advice that will make their lives easier. If you are willing to share the information you have without asking for money, you are going to stand out from your competition.

In your the other person’s mind, you will become their resource. You will be the person they turn to when they have a question. This is yet another strength you have that will make your prospects more likely to buy from you. It’s also another thing you can do to retain your customers as well.

Conclusion

Whether you’re extroverted or introverted, influence isn’t easy. Persuasion is a tough skill to master. I think the best way to succeed at influence, or anything really, is to focus on using your strengths.

There’s many ways to be persuasive, and they don’t all involve being extroverted and outgoing. If you take advantage of your strengths, you can become an incredibly skilled influencer. Start practicing the tips given in this article. When you do, you’ll see how much easier it can be to influence others.