One of my speech teachers in college was former Navy Captain, Sheldon Hayden, who taught me a lot about communicating. He was well suited to the task, having been trained as one of Dale Carnegie’s first instructors.

He shared with me a winning, three-part formula for persuading anybody to buy anything. And it has helped me to close innumerable sales.

This simple outline, he asserted, could be used to inform, to persuade or sell, and even to entertain.

(1) First, you make a POINT.

(2) Second, support that point with EVIDENCE.

(3) Third, repeat the main POINT.

He called it his PEP Formula, and I can tell you from long and wondrous experience in using it, that it certainly lives up to its name. I’ve personally used it to inform, to persuade and to sell, and to entertain.

Moreover, it’s PEPPY, lending energy, coherence, and dynamism to your talks, to your reports, to anything.

If you take a quick moment to review the sequence of this article, I promise you’ll find at least one major PEP talk in it.

Many of us use a variant of this unconsciously. If you listen to the most credible and sincere sounding salespeople, you’ll be able to trace this outline.

Try using PEP in your everyday chats with family, friends, and co-workers.

How’s this one?

Sorry, you can’t go out and play, because:

1. You haven’t eaten your lunch;

2. You haven’t done your homework; and

3. You haven’t cleaned your room.

So, I’m sorry, but you can’t go out and play!

In future articles, I’ll show you some of the more exciting dimensions of PEP, but in the meantime, try using it at least once a day, especially in selling, to prove its value to yourself!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman © 2005

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, Reach Out & Sell Someone, and How To Sell Like A Natural Born Salesperson. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. Gary’s programs are offered by UCLA Extension and by numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. When he isn’t consulting, Gary can usually be found in Glendale, California, where he makes his home. He can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at gary@customersatisfaction.com

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