Principles of persuasion

As sales and advertising people we are professional persuaders. The following principles are taken from Robert Cialdini's excellent book "Influence: The New Psychology of Modern Persuasion

1) Reciprocity--This is the "I'll scratch your back, I'll scratch yours" theory. When you do something for a person, they naturally want to do something for you in return
2) Consistency--When you make a series of requests that causes the customer to answer in the affirmative, they are more inclined to answer in the affirmative when you make a larger request.
3) Social influence--"Monkey see-monkey do" People tend to follow the crowd and do what others have done. Testimonials are the best way to leverage this principle
4) Familiarity--People are more likely to go along with people they know or like. This is why asking for referrals is so important.
5) Authority--People tend to trust people in authority or who look like an authority figure. Don't forget to dress for success
6) Scarcity--This plays on a fear of loss. When you close an ad by saying "I only have a few sots left on this promo" you are applying this principle

I hope I've persuaded you to read this great book.

Keeping smiling, keep selling

Thanks Jim B.