Great post by Rohit Bhargava today: “3 Reasons Why Likeability Will Decide The Next US President”.

Here’s one of the things he said:

“During the debate, President Obama started with a heartfelt anniversary message to his wife. Romney wished him a happy anniversary and then went on to talk about real people he met on the campaign trail and what they told him. Both candidates are desperate to find more ways to humanize themselves and connect on a deeper level with the American people.”

I know, you’d think that something as soft as likeability shouldn’t play such an important role in the way we make decisions, particularly when choosing a president.

Of course, a good looking, shirtless guy sort of talking about the benefits of Old Spice Body Wash – particularly when we all know he’s an actor and don’t even assume he uses the product – shouldn’t have an impact on Old Spice sales either. But it does.

Here’s the point. If you’re going to attempt to influence human beings, you need to take into account that number one, we’re not rational, and number three, we’re not that good with numbers.

We respond to clear, simple, emotion-filled stories and yes, we hire people we like. If likeability isn’t part of your marketing strategy, you’re working a lot harder than necessary to find and keep clients.