The Better to Convince You With – Understanding what Makes Us Say “Yes”

When it comes to sales and marketing, it’s hard, sometimes, to realize how similar we all are. At heart, we each want to be seen as likeable, as reasonable, as an authority on our given product, as committed and consistent. Surprisingly, this is true whether you’re the seller…or the buyer. Understanding these frequently unconscious desires can help you better position yourself as a quality purveyor, and, more importantly, better your chances of convincing your customers to make appropriate purchases. The principles of persuasion are simple and finite and, thanks to Dr. Robert Cialdini’s seminal work Influence: Science and Practice, easy to put into practice.

Written in 2001, Cialdini’s book reflects the three years he spent working, undercover, with restaurant servers, car salesmen, and pink ladies, trying to determine how the best in the biz close their sales. Additionally, the just-recently-retired Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University assembled an enormous amount of empirical research supporting these same methods.

My personal favorite? The principle of social proof or consensus: When uncertain, people tend to look around and mimic what other people – similar to them – are doing. Just watch an indecisive table all order the same entrée! Practically, this means that we are susceptible to sales pitches that invoke a comparable majority. Think of Amazon.Com’s “Customers Who Bought This Also Bought…” link. Cialdini himself found that just by adjusting the wording on a sign requesting hotel guests to reuse their towels – from ‘Help Reuse for the Environment’ to ‘The majority of People who stayed in this room Helped Reuse’ – nearly 20% more guests complied.

Ultimately, Cialdini defined a total of seven persuasive principles that, when properly employed, tend to color the bottom line black. Here’s a great summary of all of those techniques; you’ll be amazed at how recognizable they are! Truth is, they’ve been probably been used on you before…Or, you can watch the Doc explain them himself in the video below.