Influence PEOPLE – What’s Coming in 2013

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As we get ready to start another new year I want to take a moment to thank all of you who subscribe to Influence PEOPLE and those who click in occasionally to read the latest blog posts. I’d like to let you know what you can expect in 2013.
Of course, I’ll continue with weekly blog posts to help you learn how to ethically use influence so you can enjoy more professional success and personal happiness. New articles will come out every Monday at 5:30 PM EST. If you subscribe via email you’ll get notification every Tuesday around 9 AM EST.
The first Monday of each month will be dedicated to the Influencers from Around the World series. Once again you’ll get to hear from Sean Patrick (Ireland), Yago de Marta (Spain), Marco Germani (Italy), Hoh Kim (South Korea) and Anthony McLean (Australia). This is an opportunity for you to learn how persuasion is used in different parts of the world and in different cultures.
If you’re on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter look for weekly updates multiple times throughout the week. When new blog posts come out I’ll be sure to let you know Monday evening as well as Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings.
For those who are newer followers of Influence PEOPLE, every Wednesday at noon there will be Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter updates with links to an older blog post. As NBC used to say, “If you haven’t seen it before then it’s new to you.”

In addition to the blog posts I’ll be doing something new next year. Every Monday at noon EST I’ll post an influence tip on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. These short snippets are designed to give you something you can use right away to be more persuasive.

Finally, one of my bigger goals for the year is to get some short, 2-3 minute video clips online to share “in person” ways you can use influence in everyday life.
Again, thanks for taking time to read and follow Influence PEOPLE. Of course, feel free to pass this along to others who you think would benefit from learning more about the ethical application of influence at work or in their personal life.

Happy New Years!

Brian, CMCT® 
influencepeople 
Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.

PAVE Your Way to Success in the New Year

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If you’re like many people then you’ll be making New Year’s resolutions shortly. And if you’re like most people you’ll be breaking those resolutions within days. In one study, 52% of people making resolutions were confident of achieving them, yet only 12% actually did so. It’s a shame because most of the goals people set are good ones! Here are some of the most popular New Year’s resolutions people make:

  • Spend more time with family
  • Lose weight
  • Start exercising
  • Quit smoking
  • Quit drinking
  • Get organized
  • Get out of debt

The list is admirable so why are these goals so difficult to achieve for the vast majority of people? There are probably as many reasons as there are resolutions, but we don’t need to spend time on them because you’ve probably heard just about all of them…and perhaps even used a few yourselves! As I’ve done in years past I’m going to share an influence technique that can help you PAVE the way to success in the New Year.

In the study of persuasion there’s a powerful motivator of behavior known as “consistency.” This principle says that people feel compelled to act in ways that are consistent with their prior actions, words, deed, beliefs and values. When we act in consistently we feel better about ourselves and people perceive us in a more favorable light, which adds to our authority.
We are going to take a look at consistency as it pertains to you and four simple things to strengthen its power in your life. These simple ideas will PAVE the way to your success because they’ll dramatically increase the odds that you’ll follow through on your New Year’s resolutions.
Public – Any time you make a public statement, whether verbally or in writing, you’re putting yourself on the line. The mere fact that another person knows your intention and might ask you how you’re coming along with your commitment is quite often enough motivation for people to follow through. Recommendation #1 – Share with another person or group of people, your New Year’s resolution and ask them to hold you accountable.
Active – You have to actively do something. Merely thinking about a resolution, just keeping it to yourself, will lead to the same results as people who don’t make resolutions. In other words, nothing will change. This came to light in a study with a group of students who wanted to improve their college grades. One group was asked to write their goals down, one group kept their goals in their heads, and the last group had no specific goal whatsoever. As you can imagine, the group with the written goals succeeded, with nearly 90% of students increasing by a full letter grade! With the other two groups the results were almost identical. In each group fewer than 1 in 6 students improved a full letter grade. It’s worth noting, they were all given the same study materials so they all had the same opportunity. Recommendation #2 – Make sure you have to take some active step. It could be as simple as buying a book to help you learn more about the changes you’re hoping to make.
Voluntary – This has to be YOUR goal, not someone else’s goal for you. If you’re trying to do something – quit smoking, lose weight, get in shape – it’s not likely your motivation will last if someone told you to do it. The goal has to come from you because if it’s forced on you it’s not likely your desire will last long. Samuel Butler said it best when he wrote, “He who complies against his will is of the same opinion still.” Recommendation #3 – Make sure it’s something you want to do.
Effortful – It was noted above that you have to actively do something. In other words, making the commitment should require some effort on your part. In fact, the more effort you expend setting up your goal, the more likely you are to succeed. Something as simple as writing down your resolution can make a difference, even if you don’t share it with anyone. But, taking the time to share it also fulfills the public requirement, which gives you more bang for the buck! Dr. Robert Cialdini puts it this way, “People live up to what they write down.” Recommendation #4 – Commit pen to paper and you’ll increase your chance for success significantly.
None of what I just shared is new but I’m willing to bet many of you have not tried the PAVE technique before. If you’ve been one to make resolutions in the past only to fail, then give this different approach a try. If you fail again you’re no worse off but this different approach might just be your key to success in 2013. Good luck and Happy New Year to all of you!

Brian, CMCT®
influencepeople 
Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.

Tis the Season to Reciprocate

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Here in the U.S. and across much of the world, it’s the holiday season and for most people the biggest holiday of them all is Christmas. Some celebrate Christmas as the season of joy and peace.  For others it is the season of love and for many more it’s the celebration of the birth of Jesus.
A huge part of celebrating Christmas is Santa Claus, Christmas trees and holiday music. In some stores Christmas music started around Halloween! Of course, the holiday season represents the bulk of sales for many stores, sometimes accounting for as much as 70% of their annual sales.  Sales success during the holiday season is a matter of economic survival for some stores.
All of this leads to another Christmas tradition – gift giving. The television show The Big Bang Theory had an excellent skit on the exchange of gifts, where Sheldon feels pressure because Penny got him a Christmas present. Here’s some of their exchange.

Sheldon: You bought me a present?

Penny: Yes.

Sheldon: Why would you do such a thing?

Penny: I don’t know, because it’s Christmas.

Sheldon: No Penny, I know you’re thinking you’re being generous but the foundation of gift giving is reciprocity. You haven’t given me a gift, you’ve given me an obligation.

Penny: Honey, it’s okay, you don’t have to give me anything in return.

Sheldon: Of course I do. The essence of the custom is that I now have to out and purchase for you a gift of commensurate value and representing the same perceived level of friendship as the gift you’ve give me. Gosh, no wonder suicide rates skyrocket this time of year.

It’s a very funny scene so if you’d like to watch the clip on YouTube, click here. The skit does hit the rule of reciprocity fairly well. This principle of influence tells us people feel obligated to give back to those who have first given to us. We also feel we should respond in kind so Sheldon was responding to a lifetime of conditioning when he felt like he had to match Penny’s gift.
We also see reciprocity at work in another of the Christmas traditions – exchanging holiday cards. Have you ever gotten a Christmas card in the mail from someone not on your list? How did you feel? I bet the majority of you reading this would respond in one of two ways:
  1. Get a card in the mail to the other person right away, or
  2. Add the person to your mailing list for next year.
Why do we respond this way? Because we’d feel socially awkward around the other person if we didn’t get them a card or gift and they took note of that.
We are so conditioned by reciprocity that we even respond when we don’t really want to. Here are some examples:
  • You’re at the mall and someone from a kiosk shoves something in your face and begins asking you questions. You respond – even though you’re rather they not do that – saying, “No thanks” when in reality you’re not thankful.
  • You get mailing labels in the mail and you respond to these “gifts” by sending the charitable organization money.
  • You’re out for drinks with friends and have had enough and are ready to go home but you stick around to buy one more round because you don’t want to be seen as having several drinks and not paying for a round yourself.

But there’s good news in all this. Sheldon wasn’t 100% accurate in the skit. He said suicide rates skyrocket this time of year and that’s not true. According the NYU Lagone Medical Center, “The media often links suicides during this time of year to the ‘holiday blues.’ However, various studies have shown no relationship between depression and suicide, and the holiday season. In fact, researchers found that depression rates and suicides actually drop during the winter months and peak in the spring.”

So while it may be the season to reciprocate, don’t buy gifts and send cards this time of year under penalty of death. However, beware, you might feel awkward around some people if you break the rule of reciprocity but that feeling will pass eventually.
Brian, CMCT®
influencepeople 
Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.

Knowing Your Audience is a Key to Persuasion

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In late October, I was in Arizona to address the Arizona School Administrators on the science of influence. Jane and I went out early to enjoy the weekend in Scottsdale and spend time with friends. During our stay we had the good fortune to share lunch with Robert Cialdini, PhD., and his wife. The morning we were to dine, while on the treadmill, I pondered what we might talk about and what gem I might take away from our time together. In the midst of that run I came up with my own gem.
Understanding the science of influence isn’t a magic wand and it’s certainly no guarantee you’ll get everyone to do what you want. There are still plenty of times when I don’t get the response I want and even the master himself, Dr. Cialdini, doesn’t always get what he wants.
As the treadmill sped under my feet and my mind raced along I thought about a story Dr. Cialdini shares quite often when he speaks. Many years ago he was a member of a gym and one day he happened to lock his keys and wallet in the trunk of his car upon arriving at the gym. He asked Paul, the guy folding towels behind the front desk, if he could use the gym’s phone and was promptly told no. He persisted, explaining his situation and reminding Paul he’d been a member of the gym for years and that surely Paul recognized him. Paul didn’t budge from his original answer because of a bad experience with another member who abused the phone privilege the week before. Dr. Cialdini announced, “You’ve just lost a customer,” and walked out. Despite his best effort he was no better off and had to panhandle a quarter in order to call someone to come help him out.
A couple of principles of influence were at play in the conversation – liking and scarcity. Liking was at work because of Dr. Cialdini’s and Paul’s familiarity with each other. The connection obviously wasn’t strong enough because it didn’t persuade Paul to let him use the phone.
Scarcity was at play because Dr. Cialdini let Paul know he stood to lose something, a long-term customer. This didn’t move Paul either because he still didn’t allow him to use the phone.
As I thought about this it took me back to my day job – sales training with State Auto Insurance. In sales we place a lot of emphasis on knowing your customer because they’re not all alike and different things motivate different people. For example, at independent insurance agencies, a field rep wouldn’t want to talk about winning trips and earning a bonus to customer service reps because they usually don’t get to enjoy those awards. In fact, talking about those things can cause resentment. Understanding what motivates the CSRs then tailoring communications using the principles of influence will be far more effective.
Back to Dr. Cialdini and Paul. It’s my guess that Paul was probably a minimum wage guy and wasn’t about to possibly get in trouble by allowing anyone to use the phone after getting an earful from his boss the week before. Dr. Cialdini, likely caught up in the emotion of the moment, announced the gym would lose a customer but even that didn’t matter to Paul because it’s doubtful his pay was tied to customer retention. He was paid to follow the rules and guidelines.
So what could Dr. Cialdini have done differently? Setting emotions aside and understanding his audience might have changed his actions. Perhaps there was nothing that was going to get Paul to change on the phone issue but recognizing Dr. Cialdini as a gym member he could have allowed him inside where Dr. Cialdini might have used someone’s cell phone or borrowed a quarter from a familiar face. Either option would have been better than panhandling strangers to get the needed quarter.
I first heard this story many years ago and I’m not sure why it came to the surface at this time but whatever the reason, we should all be encouraged. Even the master fails sometimes so we should never let failure deter us. The right response should be to learn from the situation and resolve to try a different approach the next time. Do so and soon you’ll find yourself successfully persuading more often than not and that will lead to more professional success and personal happiness.
Brian, CMCT® 
influencepeople 
Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.

Influencers from Around the World – I Can vs I Did

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Most of you long time readers of Influence PEOPLE know Hoh Kim because of his many guest posts to the Influencers from Around the World series. Hoh is also a Cialdini Method Certified Trainer (CMCT) and has his masters in communication from Marquette University. You can find out more about Hoh by visiting his website, The Lab h, and his blog, Cool Communications. You can connect with Hoh on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. 
Brian, CMCT 
influencepeople 

Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.

I Can vs. I Did 

What
are the key differences between more influential people and less influential
people?

I
participated in the Principles of Persuasion (POP) workshop in 2005. Then, I was trained by Dr. Robert Cialdini to be Cialdini Method Certified Trainer (CMCT) in 2008. Since then I have facilitated the two-day (16 hours) POP workshop more than 20 times. Sometimes, I meet some of the past participants of my workshop and discuss how they have used the principles of influence.
People
who participate in the POP workshop learn the scientific research and practical
application of the six principles of influence, which come from Dr. Robert Cialdini’s lifetime research. Even people who never participated in the workshop or read his book would be familiar with one or some of the Cialdini’s principles, like scarcity; people want more of what they can have less of, or authority, which says that people defer to experts.
But still, even after learning all the principles and tools, there are differences and some people become much more influential while others don’t. What makes the differences?
I
came to realize there are two types (or levels) of “educated” people: those who say, “I can do it,” vs. those who can say, “I did it.”
  1. “I can do it.”

    2. People get various sources of influence/persuasion; from books, advice from experts, school, seminars or workshop like POP, and so on. Let’s assume that you read the right books, got the right advice, and attended the right classes, seminars, or workshops on influence and persuasion. Once people learn the principles and techniques, they are in the level of “I can do it.” This is a level of possibilities and knowledge. For example, all the POP workshop participants can reach this level. Education and training can put the knowledge into your head but you need more than just that in order to become more influential. You have to move from “I can do it” to “I did it.”

  1. “I did it.”

    2. Over and over, year after year, I found that previous participants of my workshop who have reported they became much more influential and negotiated better outcomes for themselves share one important factor. They said “I did what I learned – at least one or some of the principles and techniques.” These people are in the level of practice (not just possibilities) and action (not just knowledge). They not only have the knowledge in their heads but they actually take actions with their hands.

Less Influential
More Influential
I
can do it
I
did it
Knowledge
Action
Possibilities
Practices
Head
Hand
The
last slide of my POP workshop says, “All know the ways, few actually walk it.” This is a quote from Bodhidharma, a Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th/6th century. The more I think about this quote, the more I come to believe its truth. For example, I know how to lose weight; i.e., eat less, exercise more. But, simply knowing that doesn’t mean I walk the way.
These
days, we can learn all those “ways” from the Internet and skip school, seminars and workshops. In most cases, the reason we fail to do something is not because we don’t know the way, but because we don’t walk the way we know.
So,
here’s a little tip for all of us as we are approaching Christmas and year-end. This is the opportunity to “practice” the principles of liking and reciprocity.
  1. Allocate at least one “uninterrupted” half-day in December (I allocated two full days for this).
  2. Review your calendar/schedules or business cards/your contact list. Select 30-50 people you really want to thank in the year of 2012.
  3. Write
    down short messages via cards, emails, or even text messages for them. You have to be specific in what you thank them for, not just “thank you for your help!” Praise them as appropriate. For some of the people, you can send little gifts.

For
the year 2013, let us “walk the way” not just “know the way.” 

Hoh, CMCT

Does Your Audience Know You’re an Authority?

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Earlier this year I spoke at The Ohio State University to a few dozen business coaches where I shared some insight on
Robert Cialdini’s principles of influence and their application to the coaching process.
In this short video I briefly explore the principle of authority, which tells us people look to those with superior knowledge and expertise when they’re not 100% certain about what they should do. When you want to persuade people having them know something about your expertise up front can sometimes make all the difference.

If you’re viewing this post by email click here for the video.

Are you looking for a keynote speaker, training, or consulting on how to apply scientifically proven principles of
influence to your sales, marketing, management or leadership? If so, reach out to me (BFA654@gmail.com or 614.313.1663) and we’ll talk about your specific needs.

Brian, CMCT 
influencepeople 
Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.

PEOPLE – What is Ethical Persuasion?

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Influence PEOPLE – Powerful Everyday Opportunities to Persuade that are Lasting and Ethical. Can we persuade others in an ethical manner? My nephew Max asked me about that a while ago and that prompted this series of posts on PEOPLE. We’ll explore the ethics of influence this week in the last article of this series.

Interestingly enough I first made contact with Dr. Cialdini because of ethics. Stanford University had come out with a new marketing piece advertising his best selling video on the principles of influence and the headline read, “Call it influence, persuasion, even manipulation…” I emailed Stanford and told them since no one wants to be manipulated and no one wants to be known as a manipulator that word could not be helping sales. Shortly after my email I received a call from Dr. Cialdini’s office thanking me and letting me know Stanford was changing their marketing of the video.
Manipulation isn’t bad when we use it to refer to things like a carpenter manipulating the wood he’s working with. However, when it comes to people the connotation is always negative because it implies shrewd and unfair dealings. As I noted above, people don’t want to be manipulated and no one with an ounce of integrity would want to earn the title manipulator.
I do believe we can ethically persuade others and influence them in non-manipulative ways. College courses are taught on ethics and books are written on the subject so no doubt some of you might have questions after reading this short post. I encourage you to leave comments and I will do my best to respond.
My challenge as someone who teaches others about sales and persuasion is to distill the question of ethics into something quick and easy so it can be used in real world situations. All too often we don’t have time to consider every aspect of ethics nor do we have time to debate hypothetical situations.
Having shared that, I believe we can be ethical in our attempts to persuade others in everyday situations if we’re doing two simple things. First, we have to be honest and forthright in what we share. Sharing untruths and half-truths to get your way won’t cut it, especially if the person you’re attempting to persuade questions your integrity because of your presentation of the facts.
Second, we should always consider the well being of the other person we are trying to influence. Is what we want them to do really in their best interests as well as ours? This goes to the heart of what Stephen Covey called a “win-win” outcome. If we believe what we’re asking them to do will benefit them and not just ourselves we can usually feel good about proceeding with our attempt to persuade.
A couple of questions might come to mind with what I just wrote. First has to do with the facts. As I shared in an earlier post on politics, people will present information in a way that best highlights their case. Was the state income tax increase from 3% to 5% a 2-point increase or a 66% increase? It’s factual to say either. One side says 66% to arouse emotion to persuade people to vote against the tax increase while the other side emphasizes it will only cost voters two percent of their income. I don’t think either side is being unethical but each has an agenda so we need to be aware of all the facts so we can make the most informed decision.
The question my nephew raised had to do with whether or not the person persuading truly knows what’s best for the other individual or group. I don’t think anyone always knows what’s best for other people. As the father of a teenager I’m attempting to influence Abigail all the time. I believe I know what’s best for her but as she grows up and continues to develop her own ideas, views and interests it may not always be the case that I know best. I don’t think that negates my good intentions because I do believe what I ask of her is in her best interests.
Sales can be very much the same. Is my company’s insurance right for everyone? No, but assuming agents who represent us have prequalified potential customers – they should assess their needs and match them to the best company(s) – they should feel confident when they decide to present State Auto as a solution. The potential customer will make the final decision because they will know best what they need. The role of the agent is to inform them and make a recommendation as the expert.
What I find manipulative is when someone presents information in a manner to influence other’s thoughts and behavior when they know revealing the larger context would change people’s opinion. For example, early on in the presidential campaign Republicans showed a video clip of President Obama and chided him for certain statements. What most people didn’t know was the clip was edited to manipulate people’s thinking because in actuality President Obama was quoting Senator John McCain’s words from the prior election. When asked if this was right, former RNC Chairman Richard Steele said there was nothing wrong with it! Sorry, but I think that’s sleazy politics.
Having shared that I’ll say the Democrats did something similar when they hammered former Governor Romney when he said he was willing to let the auto industry go bankrupt, as if the doors would close, everyone would lose their jobs and we’d no longer make cars in the United States. That wasn’t the whole truth because they conveniently left out the larger context. Romney wanted the automakers to declare bankruptcy to get out from under certain debts and reorganize as many large corporations have done over the years. That’s a very different picture than doors closed and assembly lines stopped.
Obviously this is a deep subject, much too deep for a short blog post. However, I hope it’s prompted your thinking about the subject. In closing my encouragement would be twofold:
  1. Do your homework so you know what you’re asking someone is truly good for them as well as you. Make it a win-win to the best of your ability.
  2. Make sure you’re honest in your communication and if context is needed then supply it.
I believe if you do these two things you’ll be able to look yourself in the mirror and sleep well at night. A side benefit is the trust you’ll gain will make it easier for you to work with and persuade others down the road because you’ll be building a good reputation.
Brian, CMCT
influencepeople 
Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.

PEOPLE – Persuasion Can Have a Lasting Impact

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Influence PEOPLE – Powerful Everyday Opportunities to Persuade that are Lasting and Ethical. Can persuasion really have a Lasting impact on the people we interact with? We’ll explore this aspect of influence this week.
I’d like to start with a personal story. When I was in college I was really into weightlifting. I was the president of the Miami University Weightlifting Club and had aspirations of owning my own gym one day. I was competing in power lifting during college and after graduation I competed in bodybuilding for a several years. I loved the gym and hated running because I thought running only burned calories I could be using to get bigger and stronger.

To me the gym was fun because there were different exercises on different days, I was surrounded by friends and meeting new people all the time, and of course there was great music blasting to fire
you up. Compared to that, I thought running was lonely and boring.
I share this with you so you’ll understand my reluctance to an idea put out by my friend Jud Beachler, the owner of The Yoga Factory. More than a dozen years ago Jud tried to persuade several friends we could run the Columbus Marathon. I wanted no part of it but gave in when my wife Jane kept on me about trying it.
I’m proof that people do change because I fell in love with running! All of a sudden I started to train, not just jog. I began racing in 10Ks and half marathons and eventually ran six marathons. Even though
I don’t race anymore I still try to get four to six miles in during the morning most days of the week.
I share this as an example of a lasting change. Jud never had to persuade me again to train or race. Once I got involved, my self-perception changed and I saw myself as a runner. From there it was only natural to do what runners do. Today, if given the choice between lifting or running I’ll choose running every time.
Not all of your attempts at persuasion will
have a lasting change like Jud’s did with me but sometimes they do. Here are just a few examples where the principle of consistency can be used to change personal perception:
  • A coworker isn’t putting forth much effort but you see their potential and “label” them as having outstanding potential. All of a sudden they begin to live up to that potential because they don’t want to disappoint you or themselves.
  • You share with someone about a good cause which leads to them signing a petition and making a small donation. They look into the cause more and become an advocate. Before you know it they’re
    volunteering and regularly donating without any prompting from you.
  • You’re a salesperson who finally made a small sale to a potentially large client. Now that your foot is in the door you’re a supplier and the new entity is no longer a prospect, rather they’re a client. As a client they behave differently towards you without much persuading on your
    part.

In sales we often talk about not just wanting
customers, we want fans. Fans love their teams, root for them and find
themselves talking about the team well after the game. Here are some businesses
that have fans, not customers:

  • How likely is it that Harley Davidson owners with a Harley tattoo will be shopping around when they decide it’s time for a new bike? About zero!
  • Owners of Apple products are committed because they have cell phones, iPads and Mac Books. Not too easy to switch when you’re that committed but most wouldn’t switch even if it was easy because they love their Apple products.
  • Pepsi and Coke drinkers both fall into the fan category. It’s nearly impossible to get them to switch … even when they say the other drink tastes better in blind taste tests!

It’s a beautiful thing when someone’s self-perception changes and the behavior change takes on a life of its own
because it frees you from having to continue to persuade the individual. Lasting changes like this allow you to move on to the rest of life’s issues that are demanding your time and attention.

I hope you’ll join me next week as we conclude this series when we look at the “E” in PEOPLE which stands for the Ethical. We will explore the question of ethics in your attempts to persuade other people.
Brian, CMCT
influencepeople 
Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.

PEOPLE – What Does it Mean to Persuade?

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In recent years there’s been a proliferation of books and blogs on the subject of influence and persuasion. Some are quite good but many are nothing more than a rehash of Dr. Robert Cialdini’s material.

Another problem is this; what some people call influence or persuasion is nothing more than vague advice without any basis in scientifically proven data.
If you’ve followed this blog for any length of time, you know what I share is often called “the science of influence” because findings are based on the research of social psychologists and behavior
economists.  In this series we’re working through the word PEOPLE and we now come to the second “P” which stands for Persuade. This begs the question, what does it actually mean to persuade someone?
A formal dictionary definition might read as follows, “to induce to believe by appealing to reason or understanding;
convince.” That’s okay, but I prefer Aristotle’s definition. Aristotle told the
world more than 2,000 years ago persuasion was “The art of getting someone to do something they wouldn’t ordinarily do if you didn’t ask.”
I like Aristotle’s definition because it’s nice and simple; get someone to do something they’re not currently doing. If you’re a manager and your employees make it to work on time everyday then you don’t
need to change their behavior and no persuasion is necessary. The same could be said of your child; if your child is doing his/her homework then you don’t need to persuade him or her to study.
But here’s the problem; quite often people aren’t doing what we’d like them to do and when that’s the case, we need to communicate with them in a way that hopefully leads to a change in behavior. How we communicate; i.e., persuade, can make all the difference in hearing “Yes” or “No.”
Earlier in this series I shared why influence is Powerful; because it’s rooted in science. What I share with readers isn’t just someone’s good advice because sometimes people’s “good’ advice has no bearing for you. And sometimes people succeed in spite of themselves! Imagine a
relatively healthy 85-year-old person telling you they’ve smoked two packs of
cigarettes a day for more than 60 years and tries to convince you it wouldn’t harm you. Would you want to emulate their behavior just because they’ve lived a good long life? Of course you wouldn’t. Like most people you’d probably prefer to know what decades of studies have to say about healthy eating habits and lifestyle choices.
And so it is with learning the science of
influence because it’s rooted in six decades of research by social psychologists and behavioral economists. We’re much better off following the advice of people who study this for a living vs. people who might have made it big more by chance than skill.
Having shared that, I’d change Aristotle’s definition ever so slightly by replacing “art” with “science.” Doing so makes our definition of persuasion read as follows, “The science of getting someone to do something they wouldn’t ordinarily do if you didn’t ask.” If
you’re in business you might say there are “best practices” in how to communicate if you want to get solid bottom line results.
So taking our lesson from science, here are a few examples of how you might want to alter your communication:
  • Stop making statements and start asking questions because it engages the principle of consistency. Once people give you their word they’ll do something, the odds of them following through go up significantly vs. telling them what to do.
  • Make sure people know your credentials up front. The principle of authority clearly shows that people listen to those with knowledge and expertise, but they have to know what your expertise is before you start talking.
  • Tell people what they stand to lose by not going along with your request because the principle of scarcity tells us people are more motivated by what they may lose as opposed to what they might gain.
  • Take extra time to personalize whatever you do for someone else. Reciprocity is the principle that tells us people feel obligated to give back to those who first give to them so going an extra step is usually met with a better response.

These are just a few ways to incorporate scientifically proven principles to persuade into your everyday communication. Next week we’ll examine the “L” in PEOPLE to see how persuasion can have a Lasting impact on people.

Brian, CMCT
influencepeople 
Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.

PEOPLE – There are Opportunities

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Here’s one of my favorite questions to ask audiences, “How many people have purchased a new car in the past year?”

Usually, several hands go up, so I’ll ask someone with their hand up, “After you bought your new car did you happen to notice it on the road more?” There’s usually a smile, sometimes a chuckle and they agree. My next question is, “Were there really more of your car on the road?” That answer is always “No,” so I follow up with, “Then what changed?” I’ll usually hear thinks like “my focus” or “my perspective.”

I’m sure many of you can relate to what I just shared whether it’s with a car, clothes, cell phone, computer, etc. The bottom line is once people buy something new their eyes are opened to notice that new thing that’s really been there all along.

This phenomenon has application when it comes to learning the science of influence. Working through PEOPLE we now come to “O” which stands for Opportunities. 

As you learn the principles of influence your eyes will be opened to opportunities that have been there all along; ones you either didn’t see or didn’t know how to ethically leverage before.

Allow me to share a story to illustrate. At my company, State Auto Insurance, I help to recruit new agencies. We’re always on the lookout for high caliber insurance agencies to represent us and sell our products. As you might guess, other insurance companies want to sign up these same high caliber agencies so we’re competing for the cream of the crop.

One way we try to set ourselves apart is by actively recruiting agencies and marketing to them. For more than a dozen years we’ve sent quarterly marketing materials, letters and emails to prospective agencies but were missing a golden opportunity to persuade them to represent us.

Each year we had a set goal for our field people in terms of new agency appointments. After learning about scarcity – people tend to want things more when they are rare or diminishing – we looked for a way to naturally leverage our limited opportunity. After considering the principles of influence, here’s an example of what we used in a third quarter marketing letter several years ago:

Speaking of partnering with State Auto; to date we’ve appointed 33 agencies toward our goal of 42. That means we’re looking for just a few more new appointments before year-end. If you think the time is right for the ABC Agency, Inc. to join forces with State Auto, I’d be happy to speak with you.  Of course, you can always contact our Business Insurance Underwriter John Doe who has been in touch with your agency with questions as well.

Any time you try something new in business a couple of questions will need to be answered: 1. did the new approach work, and 2. how much did it cost?

The day we sent the email my boss stopped by and said something like, “I can’t believe it; I’ve had eight agents contact me within the first hour of sending the email! I’ve never had any contact me the same day we sent out these emails.” The only difference was that last paragraph pointing out the limited opportunity.

Before the end of the third quarter, we met our agency appointment goal and leveraged that fact into new opportunities for the next year. We did so by encouraging other agency prospects to start their paperwork in the fourth quarter to ensure and early appointment with us the following year.

And here’s the best part; it cost us nothing! As I noted earlier, we had already committed to a quarterly email marketing campaign, so we were going to send a communication no matter what. However, with our new understanding of the psychology of persuasion we were able to slightly change what were already doing to get a much better business result.

I could share dozens of stories about how my company has used the science of influence to generate better results and I can share just as many personal stories. In fact, there were so many on both accounts that’s part of the reason I started this blog. My goal is to help readers learn the science of influence, see the opportunities that are naturally available and the ethically leverage them for better results, whether professionally or personally.

So far, we’ve looked at the Powerful Everyday Opportunities of PEOPLE. Next time we’ll look at the second P, which is Persuade. It’s a term people use quite often but don’t actually know what it

Brian, CMCT
Influence PEOPLE  
Helping You Hear “Yes”.