How to persuade without manipulating

Bob BurgContributing WriterSuccessful sales professionals persuade. They don’t manipulate.

I’m often asked to explain the difference between the two. Actually, it tends to take more the form of a challenge, as in, “Aren't persuasion and manipulation the same thing?”

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And, it’s a good, legitimate question. After all, in both cases you are attempting to elicit an individual or group to think or do something they would not presumably think or do without your influence.

Persuasion and manipulation are — in a sense — cousins (i.e., good cousin and evil cousin). After all, both are based on certain principles of human nature, human action and interaction.

Good persuaders and good manipulators understand those principles and know how to effectively use them. That’s why there is perhaps nothing more dangerous than a bad person with good people skills.

Yes, the principles are similar; often even the same. In actuality, however, the results are as different as night and day. The big difference is the intent. In his magnificent 1986 book, The Art of Talking so That People Will Listen, Dr. Paul Swets provided an outstanding explanation regarding both intent and outcome. He wrote:

“Manipulation aims at control, not cooperation. It results in a win/lose situation. It does not consider the good of the other party. Persuasion is just the opposite. In contrast to the manipulator, the persuader seeks to enhance the self-esteem of the other party. The result is that people respond better because they are treated as responsible, self-directing individuals.”

Different intentions, different results

The persuader aims to serve; the manipulator, to hurt. Or, if not necessarily intending to hurt, certainly not caring if that occurs. The manipulator is simply so focused on him or herself and his or her own self-interest that — like any other totally self-serving organism — they do only what they feel is for their own benefit and, if someone must suffer as a result, then so be it.

What they don’t realize is that not only is this not good life practice — it’s not good business practice.

A manipulator can have employees, but never a team.

She can have customers, but rarely one that will be long-lasting and a source of referrals. And, once discovered, the manipulator’s customer-base tends to crumble like a stale cookie.

He can have friends and family, but rarely are these relationships fulfilling and happy.

Yes, both persuaders and manipulators know the how and why of human motivation. And, both use their knowledge to cause the action they desire a person to take. However, the crucial difference between the two is that while manipulators use that knowledge to their advantage only, the persuader uses it to the other person’s advantage.

Ultimately, your influence and ability to persuade is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first.

CoStar files suit against Xceligent, its biggest rival

Data company previously filed suits targeting competitors RealMassive, CompStak and LoopNet

December 13, 2016 03:10PM
By Konrad Putzier

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UPDATED, Dec. 13, 6:59 p.m.: Commercial real estate data company CoStar Group is suing its biggest rival Xceligent for copyright infringement, in a near mirror image of its previous lawsuits against data startups RealMassive, LoopNet and against users of CompStak.

In a complaint filed Tuesday in Kansas City, Missouri federal court, CoStar accused Xceligent of “piracy” and “copyright infringement on an industrial scale,” alleging that Xceligent’s researchers regularly trawl CoStar’s and LoopNet’s (now a CoStar subsidiary) databases to steal property data and images. The firm seeks millions of dollars in damages and injunctive relief to prevent the alleged copyright infringement from happening again.

Xceligent immediately dismissed the charges in a statement, accusing CoStar of anti-competitive behavior. “The lawsuit fits with a pattern of action by CoStar of filing lawsuits against its competitors to protect its dominant market position in commercial real estate research in the United States,” Xceligent’s CEO Doug Curry said in a statement. “In fact, in August 2012, the Federal Trade Commission issued an Order restraining CoStar from engaging in certain activities, which the Federal Trade Commission determined to be anti-competitive in nature.”

Competitors have long accused CoStar of using lawsuits as a weapon to weaken rivals. CoStar claims it spends a lot of capital gathering its data, and insists that rivals are trying to mooch off its hard work.

In 2014, the company sued unnamed users of leasing comp database CompStak for copyright infringement, and last year it sued Texas-based online marketplace RealMassive. It also filed several lawsuits against the online leasing marketplace LoopNet, before acquiring the company for $860 million in 2012.

The latest lawsuit comes just as Xceligent — which sources say is the only company seriously attempting to offer a product similar to CoStar — is preparing to launch in New York City, taking on the behemoth in its most important market. Both CoStar and Xceligent offer online databases with commercial property and leasing information, along with separate online leasing marketplaces (LoopNet and commercialsearch.com). And both companies use armies of researchers who call landlords and brokers to compile their databases.

CoStar claims that hundreds of Xceligent employees created over 3,000 CoStar accounts to steal data and images. Xceligent, an open-source platform, counters that its “data centers operate to ensure protection of intellectual property rights and have controls in place to ensure we publish data that we have collected within the scope of those rights.”

Washington, D.C.-based CoStar is a public company with a current market cap of $6.3 billion. Xceligent, meanwhile, with 1,300 employees as of August, is owned by DMGI, the investment arm of Britain’s Daily Mail Group.

The Federal Trade Commission helped arrange DMGI’s acquisition of Xceligent in 2012 as part of a settlement agreement approving CoStar’s LoopNet acquisition. Xceligent had been a LoopNet subsidiary, but was spun off as a condition for the merger’s approval. “By maintaining Xceligent as an independent competitor and ensuring Xceligent’s ability to grow and expand, the FTC’s settlement order will foster continued competition in these markets,” Richard Feinstein, the head of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition at the time, said in a 2012 statement.

Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly dated CoStar’s lawsuits against CompStak users and RealMassive.

ICSC President Sees Shopping Centers, Malls as ‘Dynamic Marketplace’

ICSC president Tom McGee offers his perspective on the retail real estate market and the impact of online sales.

By Arthur Zaczkiewicz on December 12, 2016

At last week’s International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) New York and National Deal Making trade show at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York, retail real estate executives hunted for deals, new concepts and new approaches to a market that is evolving rapidly as consumer shopping behavior changes.

For the ICSC, which is poised to celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2017, the state of the current market is challenging, but there are opportunities. As the global trade association of the shopping center industry, the ICSC positions itself as a community builder that drives the economy and helps foster “vibrant civic spaces,” noted ICSC president Tom McGee. Here, McGee shares his perspective on the retail real estate market, the impact of online sales and the role of the ICSC in serving 70,000 of its business members.

WWD: How are shopping malls/centers staying relevant in an ever-changing retail environment?

Tom McGee: The retail real estate industry is an integral part of building communities, fueling economies and inspiring innovation. Shopping centers and malls always have been a central gathering place for the community. They help to create and anchor vibrant civic spaces, providing an essential public place between work and home and a dynamic marketplace for commerce.

The industry is successfully evolving to keep pace with the needs of consumers, and right now the consumer is placing a high value on experience. It’s no longer just department stores; it’s grocery stores that offer eateries inside them, or movie theaters that include restaurants.

Additionally, centers are embracing entertainment tenants and amusement attractions like go-kart racing, indoor rope climbing, laser tag, skydiving simulators, escape rooms and more.

As time progresses, developers and retailers alike will continue to provide ever-more personalized, interactive experiences, emphasizing new touch points, time-saving services and meaningful consumer engagement.

WWD: How is technology playing into the evolution of the mall?

T.M.: Technology is being integrated into the shopping experience, just as it has been integrated into almost every aspect of our daily lives. People have access to information instantly, allowing them to be savvier and more informed than ever before. Digital channels and the ability to conduct research prior to a purchase have positioned consumers further along the purchasing funnel, making them more motivated when they arrive at a store. In fact, our research shows that omnichannel consumers spend 3.5 times more than other types of shoppers.

Click and collect is an example of the convergence of the physical and digital channels, as it intertwines the experience between online and offline in a tangible way for consumers and retailers.

Adapting this kind of omnichannel approach to meet consumer demand is essential to remaining competitive in the new retail landscape.

WWD: There is a perception in the market that e-commerce is set to take over in-store shopping. Do you agree?

T.M.: Not at all. Online retail continues to grow, but is doing so at a slower rate than in years past. The facts demonstrate the strength of our industry overall. For example, occupancy rates in shopping centers remain very strong – 93.4 percent in the mall segment – and sales continue to grow. While many may perceive online sales as dominating the market, in fact, online-only retailers represent about 3.5 percent of all U.S. retail sales. The reality is that physical stores continue to dominate retail sales with the shopping experience complemented by technology.

WWD: Some online-only retailers are taking their products to brick-and-mortar locations. Is this going to be a trend that shopping center operators can rely on as a new source of tenants?

T.M.: Yes, this is another example of convergence. Prominent pure-play e-tailers like Warby Parker, Bonobos and Blue Nile spurred the clicks-to-bricks movement, first testing physical locations via pop-ups and small-format stores and then committing to expanding their brick-and-mortar footprints after reporting significant returns.

We see synergy between physical and digital retail with research indicating a strong relationship between a physical store and online sales generated within that trade area. This is demonstrated by the “halo effect”– when the physical store thrives so too does the online business in that region; when a store closes, digital sales in that region also wane.

We view this convergence as an opportunity for retailers. Take the recent news of Wal-Mart’s purchase of Jet.com, as well as news of Amazon opening physical stores. Both demonstrate the importance of true convergence and alignment in retail. Digital and physical retail are meeting to create a seamless, winning experience for the consumer.

WWD: With all of the retailer closures, how is the retail real estate industry faring?

T.M.: Overall, across all of our key indicators, retail real estate is very healthy. There are more than 115,000 shopping centers that provide jobs to 12.7 million people. That means that every one in 11 jobs in the U.S. is connected to the industry. Additionally, we are seeing occupancy rates remaining strong at 93 percent and current demand for retail space outpacing supply.

Shopping centers truly fuel our economy both in the U.S. and globally. During the first quarter of 2016, 75 percent of American adults – approximately 184 million people – visited a mall at least once; on average they went 4.2 times. During nearly half (48 percent) of those visits consumers spent on discretionary goods.

WWD: With a new president in the White House and a Republican majority in Congress, what would you like to see lawmakers prioritize over the next few years?

T.M.: We are working on several top-priority legislative issues right now including “E-Fairness,” tax reform, and reforms to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

ICSC continues to aggressively advocate for federal lawmakers to enact E-fairness legislation that reflects 21st century retail. Under the current state sales and use tax system, local retailers must collect sales taxes on all sales, while their online-only counterparts are exempt. When a retailer does not collect the tax at the time of purchase, the consumer is responsible, by law, for remitting the use tax. This is rarely factored into the purchase decision and as a result local merchants suffer from this government-sanctioned price disadvantage. This flawed system hurts communities across the country, to the tune of $23 billion in lost sales-tax revenue.

Regarding tax reform, ICSC supports policies that are focused on growing the economy in communities across the country, spurring investment and new development. The right U.S. tax policy could positively impact decisions to develop or redevelop new retail and restaurant destinations that make a community great. Policy improvements can grow the economy in communities across the country, spurring investment and new development.

Hopkinton brewer granted pouring license

By Jonathan Phelps

HOPKINTON - Customers will soon be able grab a pint of beer in Start Line Brewing's new tasting room.

Selectmen in a 4-0 vote Tuesday night granted a farmer brewer pouring permit for Start Line, but the drinks will be limited to the 560-square-foot tasting room. Owner Ted Twinney initially sought to also serve in a shared dining area with the marketplace, but withdraw his request for the shared space after two selectmen - Todd Cestari and John Countinho - appeared opposed to the plan because of safety, control and other issues.

The brewery opened last month at Water Fresh Farm on Hayden Rowe Street and has been able to offer samples and sell its products "to go" before the permit. Only Start Line Brewing products can be served.

Before Twinney withdrew the request for the shared seating area, Selectmen Chairman Brian Herr attempted to come up with a compromise if the company agreed to install a barrier between the seating area and store. Part of the debate revolved around eight seats in the shared space that the bartender can't see from the counter.

Countinho worried about the business growing into a full-fledged brewery within a neighborhood.

"I am very pro-business and I appreciate the business growing, but it's the location of such growth," he said.

Twinney said the company doesn't have an intention to become a significant brew pub or even offer table service. He said he hopes most of the beer will be distributed to other stores and restaurants.

"If we make any changes we have to come back to you," he said.

Herr said he supported the plans because the business is set back from the road.

"I think it helps insulate it from the neighborhood," he said.

Selectman Brendan Tedstone said Start Line is catering to a niche that "Hopkinton wants based on the approval rating of its customers."

Twinney said he'll be back before the board in the future in an effort to expand into the marketplace.

The brewery idea came out of a friendship between Twinney and Water Fresh Farm co-owner Phil Todaro. The hops for the beer have been growing in Water Fresh's hydroponic greenhouse.

The marketplace sells locally grown produce using hydroponic greenhouse farming as well as meals using those same local ingredients, according to the store's website. The store also features cheese, baked goods, coffee and ice cream.

Another store in the building, Alima's Purse, offers a variety of handmade and fair-trade products from around the world, including home goods, jewelry and out-of-the-ordinary fashion accessories, according to its website.

Todaro said it's a natural fit.

"For us it was a perfect addition to what we already began," he said.

1,200 Sf Quarry Square Shopping Center Milford, MA

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Otto and Budweiser: First Shipment by Self-Driving Truck

Today Otto announced that one of their driverless trucks had completed a 120 mile beer run — making it the world’s first commercial delivery by an autonomous truck.

Uber-owned truck maker Otto teamed up with Budweiser and transportation officials in Colorado to make the historic beer run happen on October 20.

The truck was loaded up with 50,000 cans of Bud and began its journey in Fort Collins, making the 120 mile trek along I-25 to Colorado Springs.

Otto says that a professional truck driver was on hand to monitor the process from the sleeper berth, but that the driver’s seat was completely empty for the entire 120 mile journey: “By using cameras, radar, and lidar sensors mounted on the vehicle to “see” the road, Otto’s system controlled the acceleration, braking, and steering of the truck to carry the beer exit-to-exit without any human intervention.”

Though the driverless beer run was largely symbolic, Otto’s founders say that a live delivery was the next step in advancing autonomous driving technology: “We’ve tested with trailers, of course, but there’s nothing like actually doing the real thing, end to end.”

You can see video of the “driverless” Budweiser delivery below.