Influence:
The Psychology of Persuasion (2006)
by Robert B. Cialdini
This is interesting,
Cialdini writes, "What I'm talking
about is pre-suasion, directing their minds to the moment before they
experience the content. There's this interesting study. A guy goes to a
shopping mall in France. And he tries to get women's phone numbers as they pass
various shops so he could call for a date. But in neither of those cases was he
very successful. He only got a number 13% of the time. But there was one kind
of shop that doubled his success rate when women were passing it, a flower
shop. Why? Because flowers put women in the mindset of romance." Wow!
I love to learn psychology and the human mind. When I listened to Les Brown, my
favorite motivational speaker, he had a list of books he recommended. Top 10 on
his list was this book, which was a really fascinating and enlightening read.
It reminds me why being a skeptic and a cynic sometimes are so valuable and
necessary – particularly in today's world.
In my observation, today
the word "persuasion," especially in the Christian circles, have a
very negative connotation. Sometimes we (wrongly) equate it with
"deception" or "intimidation" – but not so. There are
principles of persuasion that are both moral and ethical (In Acts 28:23, it is
written that Paul "explained and
testified about the Kingdom of God and tried to persuade [others] about Jesus
from the Scripture." This is not a Christian book, but what I'm trying
to say is that there is such a thing as ethical persuasion). In this book,
Robert Cialdini, a well-known expert in the field of influence and persuasion,
outline 6 Ethical Principles that
are helpful not just for sales people but for anyone who wants to become a
skilled persuader:
#1 RECIPROCITY.
"In many social situations, we pay back what we received from others."
When you offer something first, people will feel a sense of indebtedness, which
will make them more likely to comply with your subsequent requests. We're
deeply wired to be reciprocal. There are three factors that will make this
principle more effective: 1) Offer something first – allow them to feel
indebted to you; 2) Offer something exclusive – allow them to feel special; 3)
Personalize the offer – make sure they know it's from you.
#2 COMMITMENT & CONSISTENCY. "We tend to stick with whatever we've already
chosen." We are bombarded with hundreds of choices to make every
single day. For convenience, we simply make a single decision and then stick to
it for all subsequently related choices. Cialdini suggests three ways to
leverage off this principle in sales setting: 1) Ask your customers to start
from small actions – so they'll have to stick to it; 2) Encourage public
commitments – they'll be less likely to back out; and 3) Reward your customers
for investing time and effort in your brand.
#3 SOCIAL PROOF. "We tend to have more trust in things that are popular or endorsed by
people that we trust." For examples, we tend to trust more on
experts – approval from credible experts in the relevant field; or celebrities
– approval or endorsements from celebrities (paid or unpaid); or users –
approval from current/past users (ratings, reviews and testimonials); or
‘wisdom of crowds' – approval from large groups of other people; or peers –
approval from friends and people you know, etc.
#4 LIKING.
"We are more likely to comply with requests made by people we like."
That can range from our closest friends to complete strangers that we are
attracted to. This explains why we trust word-of-mouth recommendations from our
peers, as well as stuff endorsed by our favorite artists. In marketing line,
the Liking principle work like these: 1) Physical attractiveness – make your
website well-designed, function and suit what you're selling; 2) Similarity –
behave like a friend, not a brand. Show them that you can relate to, and
understand them; 3) Compliments – have a voice; use social media platforms not
to broadcast, but hold intimate conversations and form relationships with your
customers; 4) Contact and Cooperation – fight for the same causes as your
customers. Nothing builds rapport and closeness like good old-fashioned
teamwork; and 5) Conditioning and Association – associate your brands with the
same values that you want to communicate and possess.
#5 AUTHORITY.
"We follow people who look like they know what they're doing."
This holds especially true in fields where we aren't experts. Most headlines
utilize this principle by including phrases like "Scientists say",
"Experts say" or "Research shows". You can give off the air
of authority if you pay attention of these factors: 1) Titles – positions of
power/experience; 2) Clothes – superficial cues that signal authority; and 3)
Trappings – accessories/indirect cues that accompany authoritative roles
#6 SCARCITY.
"We are always drawn to things that are exclusive and hard to come
by." We assume that things that are difficult to obtain are
usually better than those that are easily available. We link availability to
quality. You can learn to trigger your customers' sense of urgency with these
methods: 1) Limited-number – item is in short supply and won't be available
once it runs out; 2) Limited-time – item is only available during that time
period; 3) One-of-a-kind special offers – sometimes utilize one or both of the
above techniques. Also from one-off events (e.g. collaborations,
anniversaries); and 4) Utilising competitions – our inclination to want things
more because other people also want them is often utilized in auctions or bids.
There are lots of good,
interesting and memorable examples that Cialdini used to clarify and apply each
of the principles in our daily lives. Every principle is so basic that you may
not realize that you’re using it all this while or were being used to you. If
you're in the marketing business, definitely you have to buy this book. If
you're interested in how people think and make decisions – persuading and
influencing others – read this book. If you're a leader, this is a book that
you must own. Why? Because Robert says, "If leadership, at its most basic, consists of getting things done
through others, then persuasion is one of the leader's essential tools."
THINK BIG.
START SMALL. GO DEEP.
