Using The Principals Of Persuasion For Your Business

the small business playbook classic adHow persuasive are you?

Are you the type of business owner who can turn a random passer-by into a loyal customer with a 5 minute conversation, or do you struggle to effectively  convince potential customers to give you a try?

Robert Cialdini, author of the bestselling book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion writes about 6 key principals of human behavior that can help you in understand the key influencers that can turn potential customers into real customers.  Often times, people will see these principals as somewhat manipulative, when in fact, it's an important understanding of human principals that every business owner should understand about people.  Below are the 6 principals and some ideas on how you can use them for your business.

Reciprocation

People are obliged to give back to others who have given to them.  What do you do when you receive a Christmas card from someone you forgot to send one too?  You send one back right away because you feel both bad and obligated to return the kind gesture.

What you can do

Give a small gift to potential customers as a thank you for trying your services.  Send hand written notes to your customers, thanking them for being a trusted and loyal customer.  If you give without expecting things in return, good things usually happen.

Consensus

People decide what is appropriate for them to do in a situation by examining what others are doing there.  We do this all the time with clubs and restaurants.  If we are unfamiliar with a business, we look to see where the crowds are gathering and take that as social proof that it's a good place to be.  What do you think when you walk into a restaurant where you've never eaten before and it's empty on a Saturday night?  Exactly.

What you can do

Next time you run an open house or event for potential customers for your business, make sure it's busy!  Call down past customers, friends, neighbours to come down and be part of the action.  That busy and festive atmosphere you create will help with creating that “social proof” that you are a rockin' business.

Authority

People rely on those with superior knowledge or wisdom for guidance on how to respond.  When people are unsure about something, they look to someone who is sure.  That's usually someone they believe knows more about the subject than they do.  People defer to experts all the time, take your doctor for instance (though you should't always trust experts)

What you can do

Become an expert and the go to person in your industry by keeping up to date with the latest trends.  Speak and act like you know what your doing, it's not only knowing alot that matters…..its conveying that to others with the way you carry yourself.  Be loud and proud about what you know.

Consistency

Once people make a choice or take a stand, they will encounter personal and interpersonal pressure to behave consistently with what they have previously said or done.  This is the concept behind announcing your goals aloud to your friends and family…….it puts pressure on you to follow through on your bold claims that your going to run that half-marathon you've been bragging about doing.  Most people don't want to admit they were wrong, even if evidence later proves otherwise.  It's an ego thing.

What you can do

Get people to say “yes”.  The more you can get your customers to say yes and to agree with little things, the easier it will be to get the bigger yes (closing the sale) at the end. Getting agreement from a potential customer early and often is critical to closing the sale.

Scarcity

Opportunities appear more valuable when they are less available.  The Home Shopping Network made billions off of this principal.  When the spokesperson hocking that set of silicon bake-ware on TV tells you “Call now, we only have 200 of these left, if the phones are busy…..keep calling!”.  Guess what?  Hundreds (or thousands) of people run to their phones, hoping they haven't lost out on that “killer deal”.  That's creating perceived scarcity, whether it's actually scarce or not.  And yes, they have plenty in stock and you will be able to get through if you call.

What you can do

When you are running special offers, put a small window of time on which to act.  Often times, people need a little pressure in order to take action so don't be afraid to let your customers know (as long as its truthful) they will lose out if they don't act fast.

 Liking

People prefer to say “yes” to those they know and like.  People like to buy from people they like, even if the quality (to a certain degree) is less than that of a competitor that offers a similar product or service.  Mom and pop shops all over America are still in business today, not because they are cheaper or offer more than their bigger competitors, but their customers enjoy the conversation and experience they get out of visiting these little shops.

What you can do

Make you business a pleasant place to visit.  Do you train your employees to find out more about your customers?  Do you take the time to learn your regular customer's names?  Make visiting your business like visiting a friends house and turn your business into a place your customers don't want to leave.

 

What do you think about these principals?  Do you use them in your business?

 

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Gary

CEO at 3Bug Media
Gary Shouldis is the founder of 3Bug Media, a web marketing company that helps businesses create 360 Marketing Strategies to dominate their market. His blog is read by over 20 thousand small business owners a month and has been featured in the N.Y. Times Small Business, Business Insider and Yahoo Small Business.
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