Persuasive Communication - How Audiences Decide. 2nd Edition

Types of Audience Decisions 79

bankers favor objective information about the borrower’s past profi tability over subjective infor-

mation about the management’s competence.^84 But when evaluating new companies, bankers are

signifi cantly infl uenced by the management’s personal characteristics such as the realism of their

ambitions.^85

Commercial bankers also use somewhat different decision criteria depending on the industry

the borrower belongs to. Commercial bankers deciding whether to extend credit to construction

project owners base their decisions on criteria that include the borrower’s creditworthiness, the

borrower’s marketing and operating experience, the tightness of credit, and the risk at the con-

struction site, as well as the political and economic stability of the project location.^86 Experienced

real estate banking lenders make commercial loans to apartment complex developers on the basis

of the developers’ experience, the strength of the market, occupancy rates, and the nature of the

underwriting.^87

The following list of questions generalizes the lender-specifi c decision criteria identifi ed pre-

viously and provides a starting point for predicting an expert lender’s decision criteria for any

particular lending decision. The list can also serve as an outline for the documents and presentations

borrowers produce in order to elicit lending decisions from potential lenders.

• What is the amount and use of the loan applied for?


• What is the nature and character of the borrower?


• What is the borrower’s current and future financial performance?


• What is the borrower’s credit history and rating?


• Does the borrower have sufficient liquidity and collateral?


• What are the current conditions in the economy and the industry?

In addition to borrowers’ answers to the previous questions, lenders may also need to consider

benchmark information about the borrowers’ prior loans, alternative lending opportunities, and

other loans in the lender’s current portfolio.

Usage Decisions: Responses to Requests to Try Out

Audiences who want to choose the best product, service, or information available to them make

usage decisions. For example, consumers make usage decisions when they decide to try out a new

product or when they give up their attempt to use a new product. Students make them when

deciding to try out a new technique their teacher recommends. Purchasing agents make usage

decisions when they beta test a new piece of equipment for their fi rm.

A usage decision in the commercial environment is the fi rst half of many purchasing deci-

sions. The other half of a purchasing decision is a sourcing decision. When making sourcing

decisions, the audience decides which supplier offers them the best deal on the desired product,

service, or information. Sourcing decisions will be covered in detail in the next section of this

chapter.

Audiences make usage decisions for many different reasons, but usually in order to make their

work more productive or their lives easier and more enjoyable. Product manufacturers and service

providers seek usage decisions when they encourage their clients and customers to use their prod-

uct, service, or information. Documents and presentations manufacturers and providers produce in

order to elicit usage decisions include product packages , direct mail ads , sales pitches , cut sheets , manufac-

turer’s advertisements , and training manuals.