Something that is covert is concealed. Persuasion is the act of persuading. Persuading is to cause (someone) to do something by means of argument, reasoning, or entreaty, or to win over (someone) to a course of action. So covert persuasion defines the things we do to cause someone to do something (buy) that are not immediately obvious to an observer. You could call it the un-witnessed aspects of persuasion.

You might be wondering, "why do I want to use covert persuasion tactics". Well, the fact is you already are, it's just that you are not aware of it. Every time you speak to someone there are a bunch of non-verbal messages going out at the same time as the words you speak. Now those messages will either help you persuade or hinder you. If you do not know what are the non-verbal messages you are sending how will you know if they are helping you persuade or not ? By studying covert persuasion you can cut out the signals you are sending that are making it harder for you to sell and include some covert communication that will actually help you be more persuasive.

You can focus covert persuasion in two directions. You can utilize covert persuasion by controlling your inner thoughts and feelings which will in turn control your output and make it more persuasive. As an example of this I had a practice in my B2B sales career that when I landed a big sale I immediately went after some other business that was close to finalization. I can't tell you the number of times that this induced a domino effect where I got an order then quickly finalize a second deal and went after a third deal. You know the saying, "Nothing Succeeds Like Success" and this was my deliberate attempt to harness that power. My confidence and enthusiasm soared as I went for one success to another and my results multiplied because of those covert signals I was sending to my prospects.

Naturally, you can use covert persuasion outwardly focusing directly on your prospect. One way to do this is to enter their reality. As you are speaking with your prospect they will use certain non-specific words. They may say they are currently getting "excellent service" from a supplier of a complimentary product. You need to understand that that particular phrase has specific meaning to them. You may think you know what excellent service is, but that would be your concept of the term not theirs. So, if you employ reflective listening techniques as suggested by some sales trainers you may paraphrase what they said. And that could be a big mistake. If you reflect back "excellent service" by saying "exemplary service" it may not mean the same thing to them. That will indicate to their unconscious that you do not really understand them and will hinder you making a sale. You are much better off "parrot phrasing" what they say. When you repeat their exact "criteria phrase" you not only show that you have listened but that you understand. Unconsciously they are thinking "this guy gets it" and that will help you make a lot more sales.

Now, you may choose to learn about covert persuasion or you may choose to ignore it. If you choose to ignore it you'd better hope your competition doesn't know about it or you'll be competing with the odds stacked in their favor. If you choose to learn more you might be surprised at how many different ways you can use covert techniques.