There’s a school of thought that in this age of the internet your ability to persuade is diminished.

People can find information all over the place, together with a myriad of opinions. So, as a vendor, the last thing you should be doing is trying too hard to persuade someone to do something — they will make up their own mind based on the information they have at hand.

Is that really the situation, or is it an excuse used by people who don’t want to use the ancient art of persuasion in the sales process? Steve Herzberg, the managing director of NRG solutions, believes it is still very important, particularly when you are giving presentations.

In this edition of BTalk he explains why persuasion is so important and gives a few tips on how to use a presentation to move people to the next action. The art is to make them feel like they have decided independently to do exactly what you’d like them to do!

First published on CBS News