He wrote a bestseller titled Influence: The Psychology Of Persuasion. In it, he discusses 6 principles that drive sales.
The psychology reflects a basic truth about human nature. More on that in a minute.
Let’s look at the six principles. Sadly, they all have buzzword names.
Here’s a plain English summary:
1. Reciprocation
Give to get. I give you something, you feel obliged to give me something.
Cialdini cites a study done in restaurants: if the waiter gives you a mint with your bill, tips go up by 3%.
If he gives you two mints, tips go up by 14%.
And if he gives you a mint, starts to walk away, then comes back and gives you a second mint “because you’ve been so nice,” tips rocket up by 23%.
Lesson: Be the first to give and make sure what you give is personalized and unexpected.
Under-promise, over-deliver. It will always set you apart from the competition.
2. Commitment
If we commit to something, say yes to even a small thing, it’s hard to renege. We want to be consistent, true to our word.
A health center reduced missed appointments by 18% by asking patients (not the staff) to fill out their own next appointment cards.
Lesson: Think long-term. Small sales can lead to bigger sales. It takes time to establish trust.
3. Social Proof
Nobody wants to go first. We look to others to determine our behavior. It makes us feel safe.
Cialdini mentions sitcom laugh tracks. Everyone hates them, but they make us more inclined to laugh. I’ve seen the same thing in theaters: if enough people start laughing, others will join in.
Lesson: Show prospects how you’ve helped past clients succeed. Write up case studies. Ask for testimonials and feature them prominently on your site.
People distrust statistics, but they love stories. If others are happy with your work, prospects will be more inclined to
take a chance on you.
4. Liking
People buy from people they know and like. It pays to be likable. So where do we go wrong?
We go wrong when we pressure people. Try to butter them up. The old glad-hand routine, done for the sake of a sale.
People see through it. Plus it’s ill-advised because it fails to build the trust needed for repeat business.
Cialdini tells of a psychology experiment involving business school students. Groups had to negotiate with one another.
Some groups were told: “Time is money. Get down to business.” They were able to negotiate an agreement about 55% of the time.
Other groups were told to exchange some personal information before negotiating. They reached an agreement 90% of the time.
Lesson: It pays to establish rapport. You have to take a genuine interest in your clients.
5. Authority
We listen to people who project authority. We’re more inclined to trust them.
Look through an old magazine from the 40’s or 50’s and you’ll see ads with “doctors” pitching cigarettes. At least they look like doctors with their lab coats and stethoscopes.
Many of us are authorities. We have the knowledge and experience. We need to demonstrate that authority.
People used to do it by posting diplomas on their wall. Now we write blogs and post client testimonials on our site.
Why are testimonials so effective? Because it’s someone else testifying to your expertise– not you.
Cialdini mentions a very simple (and ethical) technique used by a real estate company to establish authority.
When someone called about selling their home, the receptionist would say, “I’ll connect you with Ms. Smith who has over 20 years experience selling homes.”
Lesson: Just stating a simple fact can establish authority. It’s always better if someone else does it for you.
6. Scarcity
The ol’ limited time offer: people will buy it today if they’re afraid it might not be available tomorrow.
A limited time offer jibes nicely with Principle #2 above: it induces prospects to take that necessary first step. Having done so (and hopefully been happy with the result), they’re more apt to become repeat customers.
Scarcity is also about missing out in a larger sense.
It’s not enough to stress the benefits of your product or service. You need to communicate to prospects what they
will lose if they fail to hire you.
One Basic Truth
Those are the 6 Principles– what’s the One Basic Truth?
The truth at the heart of the six principles is this: decision making is hard. It requires effort.
Most of us prefer to avoid that effort. So we use shortcuts to decide what to do and how to behave.
One of my favorite quotes comes from psychologist Daniel Kahneman:
Thinking is to humans as swimming is to cats; they can do
it but they’d prefer not to.
In his book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, Kahneman writes that our minds have two systems of thought.
The first is instinctive, emotional– we can’t really control it. The second requires logic and analysis, and takes sustained effort. It’s painful.
Behavioral scientist Richard Shotton puts it this way:
Even when we think we’re making reasoned conscious decisions, often the conscious mind is merely post-rationalizing decisions that have already been made.
We make emotional brand choices. To justify those choices, we tell ourselves we like the brand.
Cialdini’s six principles are about the shortcuts we take to make decisions.