What would it take to persuade you that the following statement is true: The ability to influence others is the most important skill you need to achieve professional success, greater wealth and personal happiness.

Feeling a little skeptical? Not surprising. But maybe these thoughts from Kurt Mortensen (www.kurtmortensen.com) — an author and consultant who’s an expert in persuasion, influence and negotiating — can persuade you to think otherwise.

“Research shows that 85 percent of business success stems from mastering the skill of persuasion,” says Mortensen, who’s studied the subject for more than 20 years and authored three books about it: Maximum Influence, Persuasion IQ and The Laws of Charisma.

“We may not realize it but we all persuade for a living, whether you’re a manager or a parent or a teacher. It permeates almost every aspect of our lives,” says Mortensen.

Unfortunately, persuasion these days is a tall order, about on par with cleaning and televising 2,000 linear feet of sewer line in one day. Every day the Internet, social media and advertising bombard us with hundreds of “persuasive messages.” As such, we’ve become numb to persuasion techniques. And since most people are generally better educated these days, too, we also tend to be more skeptical and less trusting.

“Years ago, I think people generally looked for a reason not to trust someone,” Mortensen points out. “Now their mentality is, ‘I don’t trust you — give me a reason to trust you.’ So the ability to persuade is more important than ever before.”

To be clear, we’re not talking here about manipulating a colleague into buying coffee or persuading a supervisor that free vending machine snacks is a great idea. Instead we’re talking about more practical applications: Convince your supervisor you need a day off ­— or a raise. Get a reluctant colleague to help you with a project. Compel a direct report to get along better with a colleague. Or persuade higher-ups that your department needs a new vacuum truck or more advanced pipeline inspection software.

The good news is that there are more than 100 persuasion tools at your disposal. The bad news: Most people only use three or four, Mortensen says. And to paraphrase noted psychologist Abraham Maslow, if the only tool in your toolbox is a hammer, you’ll treat everyone like a nail. In other words, you need more than a few skills to become an effective persuader. The do-it-or-you’re-fired mentality may get short-term results, but in the long run this style of persuasion breeds resentment and mistrust, thus salting the ground for ensuing efforts at persuasion.

Becoming a great persuader starts with understanding human nature — the complex world of human egos and emotions. And Mortensen notes that there’s one universal truth about human nature: Even the best idea — a no-brainer by anyone’s standards — will likely meet resistance.

“We just don’t like to be told what to do,” he explains. “Having a better idea shouldn’t prompt resistance, but it does. It’s human nature. We all have egos. We’re not logical creatures. It’s how we’re hard-wired.”

So how do we become great persuaders who can surmount this built-in, knee-jerk resistance? Here are some things to consider:

Underlying cues. Mortensen says that up to 95 percent of persuasion is tied to what he calls “subconscious triggers,” minute things such as words, gestures, smells or even colors that either help us or prevent us from being persuaders and influencers. If you think that’s baloney, consider these research-supported facts:

• Playing the right music in supermarkets makes people shop 18 percent longer.
• Darker colors, especially for guys, make you more credible.
• Facial hair decreases credibility (so ditch the beard before negotiating that raise).

Words matter. Every word we use has an impact, Mortensen says. For example, one study showed that just the mere use of the word “because” in a sentence lent more credence to what was said; when we hear that word, our brains automatically assume a valid reason will follow — even if the reason may be nonsensical.

Also consider how marketers persuade by substituting words like “preowned” for “used” and “marbled” instead of “fatty.” Since words do matter, say, “I will,” not “I’ll try,” and avoid weasel words like “may,” “possibly,” “hope” and “almost,” he says.

Personality issues. Consider who you’re trying to persuade and prepare accordingly; figure out how to persuade them in a way they’d want to be persuaded, not as you’d like to be persuaded. For instance, if you’re going to talk to a techno-geek staffer who’s very analytical, be prepared to cite more statistics and cut to the chase instead of chatting and telling stories, Mortensen suggests. On the other hand, don’t go into a meeting and do a total data dump on someone who’s not analytical. “Put in the time up front and figure out how to approach people or you’ll lose on the back end,” he says.

Ask and ask some more. Influential people tend to ask three times more questions than the rest of us, Mortensen says. Why? By asking people about their concerns and feelings, instead of telling them what you want done, you’re actually helping them to persuade themselves. “If you ask questions, they discover the answers themselves,” he explains. “Then they’re more likely to do what you want because they feel it’s their idea. Let them find out what’s in it for them.”

Pick up the pace. While it may sound counterintuitive, research shows that a faster rate of speech is more persuasive than talking slow. “Most people talk at about 150 to 180 words a minute, but our brains can cruise along and handle 400 to 800 words a minute,” he says. “People who talk faster with a high level of energy get rated as more charismatic.”

Anticipate objections. When you try to persuade someone that, for instance, your crew needs an expensive vacuum truck, think about the logical objections that’ll pop up and be prepared to refute them, Mortensen suggests. A little homework might reveal that a more technologically advanced vacuum truck could increase efficiency enough to pay for itself within 10 years, for example.

Be likeable. If people like and trust you, there’s a 90 percent chance you’ll successfully persuade them, Mortensen says. “The challenge is that most of us think people like us and trust us,” he points out. “Just because you think you’re a trustworthy person doesn’t mean people trust you.”

Watch what you say. If you bruise someone’s ego, perhaps by using the aforementioned hammer-versus-nail approach, the doors of influence slam shut. There’s a better way to persuade people, as Mortensen notes with an anecdote about a job where he oversaw customer-service operations as a general manager.

One of Mortensen’s direct reports was very belligerent and often yelled at fellow employees and customers. So he set up a meeting and when she arrived, he asked her to sit in his chair. Then he told her that because she’d been an employee at the company longer than him, he was interested in her insights into how she would handle an employee who acted the way she did.

“She said basically the same things I would’ve said,” he recalls. “But this way I didn’t have to say them and bruise her ego. In the end, she went ahead and made changes on her own because they were her own ideas. Truly influential people help other people persuade themselves [that something is a good idea].”

So now that you’ve got the tools, go ahead and negotiate that raise with confidence. Get that day off. Persuade your colleague to help you with that project, and go for that new vacuum truck. You have the tools to make it happen.