Persuasive Design
Design to Persuade - build a successful Marketing & Sales ModelThis is a totally different type of “marketing” or “digital marketing” course to any other course you have ever attended.
We ‘re not just about covering Behaviour Science/Nudge, Neuromarketing and Marketing Psychology techniques, we also guide to how you can develop a consistent marketing strategy will is “connected” and works in sync with all the functions in your company.
Bring your Sales and Marketing team so everyone is on the same page and you can build a compelling Persuasion Model that will beat your competitors.
Do read our full details as see why this is different from any other course in the market
















When you design your business model, you also “design” how you market and sell your business, product and services.
This is as true for established companies where markets and customer needs change as it is for start-ups designing and building their business.
Marketing and Sales do not just happen!
It can account for 15-40% of your cost structure and makes a big difference in how you achieve your results.
Even if you have had the perfect persuasion model in the past, you need to constantly evolve and refresh the way you market and sell a customer’s expectations change, competitors change their offerings.
You may need to change your model as you seek to broaden your target markets, your market matures, technology changes or customer expectations change.
It is not just about having the best salesmen or the best product or the best “software” as your competitors probably use the same Sales and Marketing Automation software.
Today it’s not just about functionality, product features, pricing, look and feel, taste or packaging.
Value may be in the eye of the beholder but you can shape that perfection by how you “market” your company and product.
It is not just about having the best automation software for marketing, or the right channels (Facebook, LinkedIn, a physical shop or channel partners), content, video, branding, look/feel or just about using techniques such as priming, anchoring, social proof/validation or about a memorable brand image/name.
The customer has to act and come to your shop and site and put your product into their basket or vote yes for you if you are looking to get elected.
The process of designing the whole journey is what Persuasive Design is about.
It’s about joined-up thinking and sequencing the right techniques, messages, triggers and programming the habit of using your product.
It is also about baking your organisational values and ethics into your sales and marketing process. Of course, you can use manipulative techniques like Dark Pattern but ultimately the leadership and management team need to give appropriate guidance and not just have a sell at any price approach.
One of the reasons successful companies such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, IKEA, Apple are leaders in their field is that baked and evolved their persuasion model into their business design.
Selling something is a process, a company has to map out the customer’s journey
Designing a company/products Persuasion Model is like “reading the route” when climbing a mountain.
Climbing is not just about strength but about “reading the route” – figuring out the most efficient pattern for climbing a series of holds as effortlessly as possible.
This is called your beta.
Each beta is unique to a climber dependent on their frame, strength, skills, knowledge etc.
In a similar way by designing a business’s Persuasion Model, we develop a unique process and sequence in the customer’s journey.
Customers won’t buy a product unless they know what it will do for them.
They will not buy from you unless they know and trust you.
An advertising campaign will not work unless the right triggers kick in.
A customer will abandon an online shopping cart if there is too much friction hence usability and ease of use are important. Equally well you may use friction in a hardcore online game or use Dark Patterns to make it more difficult to cancel a subscription.
While there are many persuasion techniques from Psychology, Behaviour Science, Neuroscience, Marketing such as:
- Social Proof,
- Reciprocity,
- Consistency,
- Friendship,
- Conformity,
- Scarcity,
- Expectancy
- Cognitive Biases,
- Priming,
- Anchors,
- Framing
- Triggers,
- Habits,
The sequencing and use of any particular technique is something that is thought through, tested and iterated/evolved.
So while there may be several mobile phone operators, they will adopt different marketing, channel, pricing and branding strategies in the marketplace.
The Persuasion Model for Cars
Every Industry’s Persuasion model evolves over time and reflects the cultural and social norms of its markets.
Let us look at the Persuasion model in the car industry.
Initially, car manufacturers focused on factors such as features and functionality (performance/ engine power).
As customer needs evolve and competition increases, other factors such as status, prestige and aesthetics/looks also became important.
Cars are segmented by type. Manufacturers provide a degree of choice, but they usually do not provide too many choices per model range to avoid decision fatigue or choice overload.
Car companies discovered that by giving financing options, the initial purchase price became less important and sales also increased as customers did not need to save tens of thousands of euros to buy a car. These financing subsidiaries have enormous balance sheets. (Similarly, leasing is growing in importance).
So while car manufacturers spend a significant amount on car advertising to create a strong brand image and create awareness and demand for their product, dealers have designed a sophisticated persuasion model to close the deal.
This (US based) dealership’s persuasion model may have between 7-12 steps.
1. Get the customer into the dealership. They may use techniques such as price promotions or Bait and Switch, Throw a low ball or throw a high ball. The aim is to get the customer into the showroom.
2. A salesman will sell himself and the dealership. If the customer does not like and trust the salesman or trust the dealership he will not buy.
3. Keep Control. The salesman will take you through a series of Yeses, size the customer and use social proof and other techniques.
4. Time is of the essence. The dealer will aim to maximise time invested with you both as a means to stop you going to other dealers and to ensure that when you have invested so much time and energy you are less likely to back out.
5. The Walk Around. The salesman will take you for a walk around to see if you are still interested and that he is still in control as he shows you the car.
6. The Test Drive/Assumed Close. The salesman will sit you in the car to “see how it feels” and will take you on a test drive long enough for you to “get a sense of mental ownership and form a connection with the car”. He may even let you “take it home” so neighbours say “nice car”.
7. Hypothetical Commitment. He may name a figure to see if you are willing to buy right now.
8. The Appraisal/Commitment.
9. The Close – Use FOMO (fear of missing out) techniques to close the deal.
Obviously, companies such as Tesla are changing the model by setting up their own showrooms rather than having dealers.
Format
This one day format consists of a mixture of lectures and a workshop.
You will be introduced to the main patterns across a range of industries, products and services which are actually common from products such as shaving, planes, services such as taxis, software, SaaS etc as well as a variety of brainstorming and creative techniques.
This will then be followed by an introduction to design thinking.
The group will then be broken in teams to develop a product including how to get customer and stakeholder feedback and design issues in production and cost reduction techniques so that you can tic-toc and pivot to develop a complete product route map from initial launch to mass market.
Who should attend:
- Leadership teams looking to improve their companies
- Startup (Founder) teams
- CMO/Marketing Managers and their teams
- Project Managers and their teams
- Designers, Innovators and
- Anyone interested in marketing, psychology, behaviour science & neuromarketing
Venue: Fitzwilliam Hotel, St Stephens Green Dublin 2
Date: 29th November 2018
Price: Early Bird from only 279.50 (plus VAT & Booking fee)

Manoj Chawla MA ACMA FRSA
Innovation Guru
Manoj has a proven track record as an innovator. He was given the largest award ever given for his work and “new Idea” which allowed BT to rollout our low-cost internet and a whole range of products and helped evolve the network to a broadband platform.
As GM responsible for Business Transformation & Innovation, He has worked with teams to launch major new and innovative business such as the world first zero touch telco, Airwave the network for the UK emergency services and across a host of businesses.
He was responsible for developing e-Hr services for Accenture, the SAP practice at PWC, major improvements in profitability for companies such as Diageo, ICI and for clients such as M&S, British Gas etc.
As an entrepreneur he has worked on and launched numerous startups from social media starts up, food ordering apps, online estate agencies, mobile payment systems for Toll roads, Valet Storage etc.
He also works as a mentor for startups as part of a number of incubators and as a Keynote speaker.
Your Lead Trainer
Our Innovation Guru

In the past, having built and run several businesses; it was very much a matter of trial and error and a lot of wasted time and money to developing our marketing and sales strategy/model; be it buying software, online advertising or effortpromoting on social media, brand building etc.
There are a lot of marketing and growth hacks and tools out there but knowing how to develop a successful system is not a matter of luck but a systematic process using the right principles and techniques.
I can now see how designing your business’s persuasion model in critical in building a successful business much faster with less risk.
The workshop covered design principles/experiment/measure to iteratively build a successful sales and marketing system appropriate for any business online or offline, etc using techniques from Neuro/Behaviour Science, Psychology and Marketing.
I really enjoyed the IKEA and Amazon teardowns as it shows how one takes a customer through the buying journey.
There are no instant buy buttons but a gradual set of steps before a customer is ready to buy, trying to rush a customer/user to buy or join before they are ready will not work and so taking them on the journey requires you to build each step of that journey.
The workshop went though loads of businesses and covered countless techniques which we then applied in the workshop case study and which I can now use in my next business when I am developing the sales and marketing strategy and plan.
Thank you Manoj
p.s. I am happy to say that I have put it to good use in starting my next online venture, which has already gained traction.
Manoj was employed by me to assist in the design and build of a start up JV company. He brought a real insight into the leading edge of technical and business model innovation that was vital in us designing a company that could stand out in its market. He worked as a mentor, educator and change leader in our technical and marketing teams, and was able to both challenge and support developments. I would highly recommend him to any company needing to get or stay ahead in its market.
I came to know Manoj through his Persuasive Design, Meetup group in Dublin, he has been the driving force behind organising a lot of interesting talks on cutting edge digital tech. and use of behavioural science through industry experts and pioneers. Manoj has excellent organisational skills, knowledge and passion for promoting knowledge sharing and building a vibrant tech. community in Dublin. I delivered a talk at one of his events and was absolutely delighted by the venue, audience and effort put together by him and his team. I wish him all the best in all his ventures!
I have been fortunate enough to attend a few of Manoj’s talks, events and workshops.
His style is interactive, engaging and fun.
His talk on “Persuasive Design” is a good example. He had the audience very engaged, laughing and excited with his “Moo” triggers.
He is knowledgeable, experienced and brings a wealth of practical know-how.
I liked his talk “Dummies Guide on How to Build a Website Quickly” at WordCamp Dublin 2017. He demonstrated some fantastic techniques. I learned about how to gather requirements and manage expectations to maximise efficiency.
His events are almost always full.
He creates an “Aha” moment in every event. The audience always gets some very useful actionable takeaways.
If you have the chance to attend one of his talks, take it and go.
An event not to be missed.
If you are organising an event, make sure to include him on your list of speakers. His talks are always very interesting. Manoj can cover a wide range of topics in every different perspective.
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Location: Fitzwilliam Hotel, St Stephens Green, Dublin 2