« | Home | »

46 Persuasion Tricks

March 7, 2009

persuasionHave you ever read a great book that could’ve been written with the same amount of punch (or better) in only a few pages?

I run across books like this all the time. Most of them are too wordy or take too long to cut to the heart of the matter.

Authors (especially mainstream authors who depend on large volume sales via Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Borders, airports, etc.) usually fluff up their content by a couple hundred pages for 2 reasons:

1. To make themselves look smarter, more authoritative.

and…

2. Because most people (a.k.a. the mindless mainstream) don’t like to pay $30, $17, or even $12 for a 15 page book.

Hand the mainstream buyer a few power-packed pages loaded down with money-making meat they can fire up immediately and most will balk at the price. Nevermind whether those 15 pages are worth 200 times what you’re asking or not. They’d ship it back and pound their fists for a refund at once. Truth be damned.

Why?

Because in the hands of a loser, the Keys to the Kingdom are
just another set of keys collecting dust on a rusty ring.

One book I read recently did an unusually good job at keeping things pithy. It was a book on persuasion and any one of it’s lessons could net you some serious dough, and possibly even change your life forever.

(Aside: Hmm… there’s that oft-worn phrase “change your life” – we hear it so much these days it’s nearly lost all meaning. And when we do associate it, it’s usually with a positive thing like making more money or finding a lover. But what if I came over to your house right now where you’re sitting at your computer and chopped off your left foot? Would that “change your life” forever? Exactly. And what about the words that motivated me to do such a thing? Don’t underestimate the power of the persuasive word or the small change. People are irrational, yes. But predictably so.)

So here are…

46 Pithy Persuasion Tricks
(use them ethically, and… at your own risk!)

#1. Hint at social proof

When most marketers think of “social proof”, testimonials come to mind. But testimonials aren’t the whole picture. Smart copywriters hint at social proof in clever ways that slip by the customer’s skeptical mental radar.

In the past, infomericals used to famously say “Call now! Operators are standing by.” But what kind of image does that conjure up in your mind? To me, it’s a bunch of women in a big room with their hair up in a bun, twiddling their thumbs and filing their nails, waiting, just WAITING for that first phone to ring.

Hmm, not too many people must want the product, eh?

That’s why smart infomercials changed the line to: “If operators are busy, please call again.”

One small change. Lots more orders.

Or take McDonalds. When I was little, the sign used to say “XXX Billion Served” and you could clearly see the numbers on the sign weren’t printed on, they were replaceable squares, which indicated they were updated recently and were going to be updated again. Nowadays, the numbers are gone and the sign just says “Billions And Billions Served” – I guess because the number got so high they couldn’t fit it on there anymore.

Social proof in action.

The general thinking in the customer’s mind is “Well, if it’s good enough for all of them, there must be a reason. It should be good enough for me too.”

This is especially true in the case of testimonials, which ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS need to be delivered from the point of view of the customer AS SIMILAR AS POSSIBLE to the target prospect. That includes language, dress, gender, occupation, and physical appearance. I like to go one step further and include and audio or video of the testimonial just so everyone knows the guy/girl is REAL and that I didn’t just make the whole thing up.

And that’s another thing; the best testimonials are nearly impossible to make up because the real customers tend to say things you either can’t say, won’t say, or would never dream of saying in a million years. Little personal details that are so weird and specific, there’s no way a “professional business” would ever make them up.

Some people make the mistake of having their “best looking” or “most professional sounding” testimonial do most of the heavy lifting in a campaign. No. Wrong guidelines. The RIGHT guideline is to match up the testimonial with who you’re presenting to at that particular time. And if that’s a fat, bald, loser – then make sure your testimonial shows a picture of a fat bald loser who is now experiencing the benefits of what you did for him.

#2. Don’t try to get people to change behavior by emphasizing how many people DON’T do the desired action; instead, focus on the people who DO.

For example, you want to stop people from littering so in your anti-litter ads you make a big deal out of how many people litter or how many tons of litter are collected every day/week/month/year, thus burdening the world.

Ah, so you wanna guilt them into behaving themselves, right? Well, your approach is dead wrong.

The approach is a mistake because it gives people the subtle indication that “everybody litters” therefore “littering must be ok” because its socially acceptable.

To change their behavior, the ads should focus on how many people DON’T litter (which is the desired action in this case) and COMPLETELY IGNORE statistics to the contrary. Don’t add social proof fuel to the enemy’s fire.

Think of it this way: if I published a newsletter online, would it make any sense to say “70% of everyone who sees this website does NOT subscribe to my newsletter. This causes me a lot of pain and anguish. I spend sleepless nights questioning my manhood because of you. Please subscribe.” ???

Yet that’s very similar to what you’re doing with the litter ad.

The solution: I should instead focus on that 30% who DO subscribe to my newsletter. Quote it in the form of a number of subscribers per day or week and let the lookie-loos know about it.

And to pile on even more pressure, demonstrate social DISAPPROVAL for the actions you don’t want them to take and/or straight-up tell them the penalty for it being illegal (if that fact applies, of course – littering is illegal, however my efforts in lobbying Congress to socially mandate my newsletter remain unsuccessful)

Another example, take smoking. Almost the entire 20th century branded smoking as the “cool” thing to do. Not only was it socially acceptable, but it was the stuff of legends. Who didn’t want to be like Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall? They lit one up every few minutes onscreen.

But toward the end of the 20th century, anti-smoking people started taking a different approach. Slowly, it wasn’t cool anymore. And nowadays, you’ve even got popular magazines like GQ reminding us men that, despite what we may see on Mad Men, smoking conjures up images of your grizzled old friendless loser of a virgin uncle, life hanging by a thread.

Wanna be like uncle Charlie, kids? Didn’t think so.

On personals ads nowadays, smoking is a turnoff for many young American women. The tides have changed. Never underestimate the power of “what’s cool” or even “what’s acceptable” – those who control what “normal” is control everything.

#3. People like to gravitate to the statistical middle

When it comes to social behavior, people with “less than average” performance will gravitate upward toward the average (but only IF you tell them what “average” means) and people “above average” will gravitate downward – both toward the statistical middle.

That’s fine for the people who started behaving themselves, but… what about the ones who got worse?

To prevent the backfire from people who were already behaving the way you wanted, you must reward them with a symbol of approval and “punish” those who behaved to the contrary.

Reward and punish them with WHAT, you might ask?

Well, in a test, a simple yellow smiley face for “good” people, and a little frownie for “bad” people was enough to keep the good people in line and cause the bad people to shape up a little.

Focus on how many people do the desired action, add emphasis of social disapproval to those who don’t, throw in a little reward and punishment and BINGO… Persuasion Cocktail.

4. Too many options result in no decision at all.

Reduce choices and you will see an increase in sales/actions/whatever. In my own marketing, my personal preference is no more than 3 choices per offer (a “good/better/best”), ideally 2 (normal/deluxe), and sometimes only 1 (take it or leave it.)

Going against this approach may work for Baskin Robbins’ 30-whatever flavors, but not every business has the luxury of customers who love to sample their products by tasting them.

Even still, you should know that out of all the hundreds of flavors of ice cream out there, vanilla is #1 and chocolate is #2 in terms of sales.

So maybe the A/B option isn’t such a bad idea after all.

5. When you give something away for free, always attach a value to it or else people will devalue the free gift in their minds.

A lot of companies like to give away a premium (or “freemium” if ya wanna get all buzz-wordy on me) to people who respond to their ad. It’s a great idea. But they’re selling themselves short unless they put a value on the “free” gift.

Why? Because a lot of people are inclined to think “If they’re giving it away for free, it must not be much good, or if it is good, maybe there’s something wrong with it. Is it damaged or something?”

Place a dollar value on the free gift and let people know about it. As in, “We normally sell this pen in our stores for $70, but if you come in today and buy our new Omega Seamaster watch, we’ll give it to you free as a gift to say thank you for being our customer in these uncertain times.”

…or some such copy to that effect.

(as an aside: I usually laugh to myself when I hear the words “these uncertain times” – a private joke to anyone who has studied economics and history – every generation thinks theirs is somehow “unique” and so even people back in the 30′s, 40′s, 50′s, the 1800′s, the 1700′s and any other time you can think of, always said their time was “uncertain” HA! As if that’s something new. When do we really live in “certain” times? Never. Same goes for people who say “today’s attention deficit hyper competitive environment” – guess what? They said the same exact shit back in the 1800′s, using only slightly different words. Nothing has changed.)

Even if the “gift” is your time, be sure to point out how valuable you know it was to the person receiving its benefit. They’ll get the picture.

6. When offering choices, best to show your most expensive stuff first

…because it can make your “middle” option (the one you REALLY want them to buy) seem more reasonable by comparison.

I know of a guy who sold Yachts like this:

First he showed them the top-of-the-line, ultra-expensive cruiser. Wow, impressive. The customer also noticed the impressive price tag in the process.

What’s that you say sir? Too pricey? Yeah, maybe you’re right. Well, how about this one…

Then he shows Mr. Customer the cheapest, tiniest, most shoddy clap trap of a Yacht he had at the dock.

“Damn… is that all you got at that price?” asks Mr. Customer.

“Well, at THAT price… but if you’re willing to go a little higher…”

Now all Slick Sam has to do is show the middle model (which looks fan-freakin-tastic compared to the other 2 options he’s seen) and the sale is won without any resistance at all.

Bonus Moral: It’s always good to have “Good, Better, Best” options when selling physical products.

7. People will block out fear/disaster based messages as “not pertaining to them”…

…UNLESS the message is delivered with an exact plan of action to take to remedy the situation.

Fear is a highly motivating tool of persuasion… but if you educate people why they should be afraid and then leave ‘em hangin’, they’ll dismiss most of your argument out of hand.

Instead, always have an exact plan of action mapped out for them to follow. THEN they’ll do it. For sales, this means an exact step-by-step easy way to order. (Your product IS the remedy to their fears, no?)

And for things like business proposals and even getting that lucky girl to date you, having a complete plan mapped out will increase the odds of them taking you up on the deal (just don’t play the fear card with the girl; they tend to frown on such things.)

8. Reciprocation – If you do something for somebody else, they will feel an obligation to do something for you.

For a lot of people in my business, this means giving away free content (videos, PDF’s, audios) to your prospect list over a series of days and then later asking them to do something for you (usually buying your Next Big Thing)

But it doesn’t have to be that involved.

You can use this same principle to get better customer service over the phone (or any number of things.) Simply tell the customer service agent you’re sooooo happy with her service so far, you’d like her to transfer you to her supervisor right after you’re done so you can tell the boss how wonderful she is…

She’ll love you for it.

…then make your most difficult request immediately after. She’ll feel compelled to try her damnedest.

9. Attaching post-it notes with hand-written messages to stuff increases response to the attached message.

Direct mail people have known this for eons. Now it’s time for you to benefit too. The basis behind this weird snippet is that adding a personal touch and personal accountability to the action you’re wanting people to perform increases the chances they’ll actually do it.

10. Tips at restaurants increase when the after dinner mint is given by the waiter at the end of the meal, instead of at the door on the way out.

That’s because patrons attribute the waiters “gift”, however insignificant it may appear, as a sort of personal “favor” in their mind. Tips increase even further if 2 mints are given and further still if one is given and then he doubles back and gives a 2nd as a sort of “what the heck” action.

But if you think you gotta be shoveling fries at Steak n’ Shake to benefit from this one, think again. The core principle at work here is the mental significance people attach to those who “go the extra mile” for them… yes, even if that mile means another 3 cent candy. Just make sure they know it was YOU who was responsible.

11. Reciprocation works even better when you ALREADY DO your end of the deal

…and THEN ask for their compliance instead of proposing it in the form of an exchange.

In other words, a “I’ll do this IF you do that” kind of deal is not nearly as persuasive as “I already did this for you, could you do this for me?”

The trick is to phrase it where only a real dick would turn down your offer.

12. Favors increase in value in the mind of the giver over time, and decrease in the mind of the receiver.

Useful because it tells us that asking for reciprocation “favors” need to be done soon after you helped them. Wait too long and they’ll downplay it’s value.

On the flipside, if it’s been quite awhile since a certain someone did a favor for you, it’s likely reached monolithic proportions in their mind by now. To win them back, you should acknowledge that you never forgot what he/she did for you “that one time” and then do something for them.

13. Asking people for a small version of a commitment up front will lead to a dramatic increase in their acceptance of a much larger request later.

This is why I like to design my new online order forms with a 2 step process. The first step is asking simply for their name and e-mail address. Then when they hit “continue” and move to the next screen, their name and e-mail are already filled in on the payment form and all they have to do now is choose which A/B package they want and enter in their credit card info.

The 2-step approach is better for several reasons:

1. I ask for a small commitment first. Just name and e-mail. Easy as pie.

2. The simple name/e-mail form not only pre-fills their info on the next screen, but also adds them to a follow-up list behind the scenes so that in the event they abandon the checkout process, I can contact them via e-mail and hopefully nudge them back into a sale.

3. People are more likely to complete the order process and not close out the window if they’ve already made a form submission commitment. In the mind it goes something like this “I’ve already said I was going to buy this product. I wouldn’t do that unless I really wanted it, so let’s go ahead and get it.”

Another good example of this in action is a study done where people were FAR more likely to accept a big gaudy sign in their nicely manicured front lawn if you first approached them asking to put a small sign in their front window. Then 2 weeks later, come back and hit them up about the gigantic lawn-monster. A shocking 70-80 percent of affluent homeowners let the survey guys junk up their yards when they got them to make the small commitment first.

Don’t underestimate this. It’s powerful shit.

Get this: Political prisoners can eventually be molded to denounce ALL their former beliefs and even praise their captors if they’re run through this same process of accepting the new doctrine a little bit at a time, over and over and over – bit by bit.

The bottom line is most people want to be consistent with their past behaviors.

14. People will want to act in line with the standards you’ve set for them.

For example, “I know you’ll do the right thing. You’re a good person.”

To get this principle to work, what you’ve got to do is label them and they’ll act in accordance with the label.

The airlines use a subtle version of this after every flight: “We know you have many airlines to choose from, so we thank you for choosing ours.” After all, you must’ve chosen that airline for a REASON, didn’t you? Well, a good reason for sure, because you’re a savvy consumer. And “savvy customers” will make the same “good decision” again.

This one’s particularly fascinating to me because it can be used in very subtle ways to get people to do (or not do) all kinds of things. I bet if you really thought about it for awhile, you could figure out how to dramatically reduce refunds in your business (even if the customer is dissatisfied) if you only used the proper labels… (I know I can…)

15. Asking people to predict what they would do in a given situation made them want to perform consistently with that prediction when the time came.

More Consistency Principle in action with this one.

For example…

Restaurants (or anyone) can reduce no-shows by changing “Please call if you have to cancel” to “Will you please call if you have to cancel?”

See how it works? You’re asking for a commitment and for them to perform in line with expectations.

To increase attendance even more, say “We’ll mark you down as a ‘yes’ and I’ll let the others know as well” – now you’ve attached the subtle hint of public humiliation to the outcome – they’d better show up or else… what will the “others” think? My oh my…

To bump response even more, find out why they say “yes” and use that info to bind them to their words.

16. Get them to take an active approach.

Getting people to write down their commitment is more likely to get them to follow through.

This is why direct mail people have used “involvement devices” on their order forms for decades. When you order Playboy magazine, they’ll make you move a little colored circular sticker a whopping 1-inch into a little area set aside for it. Why? A task uncompleted is more likely to bother you, which is more likely to get you to complete it, which is more likely to get you to go ahead and send in the order card.

Weird? Irrational? Yes. But the numbers don’t lie. It works.

In a sales office, a good example of this would be getting everyone to write down their sales/income goals. And in retail, getting people to fill out the credit app themselves will result in fewer disputes later on than having the salesperson do it for them.

In doctors offices, making patients write down their own appointment times on the little appointment card will get you fewer no-shows.

Don’t try to make logical sense out of it, just shut up and use it. It just works.

17. “The best way to ride a horse is in the direction the horse is going.”

In other words, to get stubborn people to switch over to a new way of doing things, first demonstrate how they were correct in the past, and how this new way is aligned with their CURRENT practices, beliefs, and values.

Doing it this way frames their old decision as “good based on the info they had at the time.” Because nobody likes to be told they’re out of date or wrong.

If there’s still a few stragglers hanging around afterward, you can bend them to your will by applying a cocktail of social pressure and social proof of the “new” idea. They’ll crack soon enough.

18. Asking someone for a favor will actually increase their perception of you.

If you borrow a book from someone and they give it to you, their mind dialogue will go something like:

“Why am I going out of my way to help Greg? I wouldn’t do that for someone I didn’t like. Maybe Greg’s not such a bad guy after all.”

And if they refuse your favor, you’ll only end up with the same “nothing” you had from them in the first place.

19. When asking for a donation, adding the phrase “even a penny will help” boosts donations

…without hurting the average donation amount. Likewise wth time; “Just an hour of your time would really help.”, “Even a brief phone call would help.”, etc

A lot of people don’t donate because they think their paltry sum won’t make a dent, so therefore they shouldn’t even bother. But by adding this sweet little line to your request, their pocketbooks will open.

20. When auctioning, start the bids low to get people committed and emotionally involved.

I’ve been doing this on eBay since 1998. It works for 3 reasons:

1. Low barrier to entry for people wanting to bid.

2. Social proof for more people to bid once they see how many other people are bidding.

3. Commitment. People are more likely to bid higher once you’ve wrapped them in your invisible web of commitment and emotional attachment. Hell, they might not even WANT the item itself… they just want to WIN.

21. To show yourself off without looking like an egomaniac, get someone else to do the talking for you.

Public speakers do this all the time. A musician’s manager talks up his artist like there’s no tomorrow. But there’s an even sneakier way of employing this principle.

The funny thing is, people don’t discount the bias as much as they should, so it doesn’t matter if the person signing your praises is paid by you or not.

If you work in an office with other people, train the receptionist to do these steps before transferring you:

1. Find out what the caller wants

2. …then say “Oh ok, you want [blank], I’ll transfer you to Sally who [give ultra credientials here].”

3. Bingo. Now Sally will have a VASTLY easier time talking to the prospect and will likely clinch the sale.

Another way of doing this is to plaster the walls with stuff showing off your credientials and testimonials. Works well for doctors, therapists, lawyers, personal trainers, etc. It can work for you too.

22. Ask for the input of your “lesser mortals” to build their trust and favor of you.

As long as each team member’s input is recognized and considered, they won’t feel raw about it if you decide to go a different direction. After all, you’re still the leader; you’ve got to lead.

23. The true dissenter is a better persuader than the devil’s advocate.

So when testing your idea for holes, it’s better to bring in someone who’s passionately against it to see if they have any good arguments you might not have thought of, than to just name one of your group as the devils advocate.

People in a company must not feel reluctant to disagree. It doesn’t mean you have to do what they suggest, just understand what they really want is to be HEARD.

24. Educating people based on others’ screw-ups and solutions is more effective than simply telling them the “right” way to do things.

If your training materials present things from the point of view of “Here is how things are done around here” then you’re wasting a lot of time and money.

Instead, present it like this: “Here’s Bob. Watch Bob really fuck up this assignment. Ok, can you tell me what Bob did wrong and what he really should have done instead?”

Believe it or not, training in this way will help the ideas sink in FASTER and for LONGER than ever before. And in case you can’t connect the dots, Buckwheat, that plugs up a huge gaping hole of time and money you’re losing right now. You can thank me later.

25. Acknowledge a weakness, then parlay it into an advantage.

Popular examples from big companies:

“Avis – we’re #2 but we try harder.”

“The Peace Corps: The toughest job you’ll ever love”

“Motel 6: Our rooms aren’t fancy but our prices aren’t fancy.”

“Listerine: The taste you hate three times a day.”

“L’Oreal: We’re more expensive, but you’re worth it.”

Also, whenever confessing a fault, the advantage needs to be logically RELATED to the fault:

“Our restaurant doesn’t have much space, but that’s exactly what gives it our cozy atmosphere.”

1984: Reagan vs Mondale – Reagan acknowledged he was old then said “I want you to know that also I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”

HA! Great line.

26. Admitting you were wrong and screwed up will win you more persuasive trust than blaming a result on uncontrollable outside events.

The trick is to afterward offer how you’ve learned from the mistakes and fixed the problems that caused them so they’re not going to happen again.

This one works SO WELL that I’d even go as far as to say it’s a good idea to claim personal responsibility for something even when you’re not really sure who’s responsible and who isn’t.

It flies under the radar of popular skepticism! It’s cunning, it’s devious… I love it!

You just gotta have the balls to fess up. Just try it. You’ll be amazed how much trust it wins you later on.

27. People respond better to others’ with similar names, similar birthdays, towns with the same name, etc.

Kinda weird but true.

People also tend to pick professions (statistically) based on how similar it sounds to their own name. Even first letters count: Hardware store – Harry. Dentist – Dennis.

People move to locations with similar names, cities with numbers corresponding to their birthday “Two Harbors, Minnesota” 2/2 – Three Forks, Montana 3/3

People also choose streets matching their name, marry others with similar names (Eric/Erica, Charles/Charlotte), and even pick favorite candy: Allan/Almond Joy.

Knowing this could clue you in on how to name products, plans, reports, etc… dealing with Peterson at Pepsi? Try “The Pepsi Proposal” or “The Peterson Plan”…(alliteration always helps too)

28. Repeating a customer request back to them verbally will increase satisfaction and persuasion.

ALWAYS do this. Remember, people want to deal with people who they feel UNDERSTAND them.

Also, mirroring a person physically will get better response than merely doing your own thing. Pickup artists always teach students to match the energy level of a group of people when you approach the group. It’s just smart. Calm people don’t want to be around a spaz, and people having an energetic good time don’t want to be around a sleepwalker.

29. When smiling, the smile must be real and sincere.

Sounds obvious, but too many people employ the fake smile. Fake smiles can be detected, even if unconsciously.

If its difficult for you to smile, find something about a person you can honestly admire and then tell them. You’ll often get a surprising result.

30. Scarcity sells even formerly undesirable products.

Limit the quantity. Limit the time period it’s available.

A lot of people know this, but few do it right. The trick is to make the reasoning as REAL and BELIEVABLE as possible. To me, this is a little bit art, a little bit science. Usually, the number of words increases with the level of believability you’re wanting to convey. Not always. Usually.

Master it, and you’ll sell more, get more responses, whatever.

31. Threat of loss is more powerful a motivator than promise of gain.

POWERFUL stuff. I can’t emphasize enough.

Remember, people are slothful to change of any kind. Threatening a man’s job he already has will motivate him TONS MORE than promising him a new job… even if that new job is markedly better.

Same goes for selling. Writing a pitch to point out how you’ll fix a hole that ALREADY EXISTS within your prospect’s life will get a lot more orders than one written promising him all sorts of new fixes, changes, benefits, and technology.

The mind says to itself: Change = hard. Me no like change.

On the other hand: Losing something I already have = better get off my ass and fix this NOW!

32. Giving a good reason using the word “because” increases compliance.

Simple and oh-so-true. Personally I like to give reasons for just about every damn thing I say. Makes sales life easier that way.

Also, get people to give their “because” to you to reaffirm their own decision to buy from you. It’ll serve to reinforce in their mind the decision they’ve already made. A powerful adhesive.

Speaking of that…

33. When asking for reasons, asking for only one good reason is more persuasive than asking for many.

One reason = easy.
Lots of reasons = hard.

The brain does not enjoy “hard”

On the flipside: Making it difficult (by asking your prospect for a lot of reasons why they should get a competitors product) will make your product’s 1 or 2 good reasons look better by comparison.

Likewise, asking prospects to imagine themselves on a vacation or using your product is more persuasive as long as its easy for them to imagine doing so.

Bonus Moral: Make it as idiotically EASY as physically possible for your prospects to imagine (or see, or feel) the benefits of your product. Never try to be abstract or cute. A sale is a very fragile thing. Being anything less than crystal clear will kill the sale.

Which brings me to…

34. Names that are easy to pronounce get better response.

Stock symbols that can be pronounced perform better. Bad handwriting is less persuasive than nicer handwriting. Messages that are simple and easy to understand are more persuasive than using big words and complicated sentences.

35. Statements that rhyme are perceived as more persuasive.

“A stitch in time saves nine.”

“Caution and measure will win you treasure”

“What sobriety conceals, alcohol reveals”

“Loose lips sink ships”

“The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup”

“Gillette: The best a man can get”

“Click it or ticket”

“Bounty, the quilted, thicker, picker-upper”

“Birds of a feather flock together”

“If the gloves don’t fit, you must aquit!”

As David Ogilvy once said:

When you have nothing new to say about your product, sing about it.

…just make sure it rhymes :)

36. Prior experience colors perception.

Ten pound weights feel heavier after lifting a five pound and lighter after lifting a twenty.

Compare the cost of your product to something similar, yet unrelated.

Dan Kennedy calls this an “apples to oranges comparison”

Example: Comparing the cost of the consulting CD audios to the cost of the same amount of consulting time if they paid you by the hour. Now those $495 CDs with 20 hours of audio look like a bargain compared to your going rate of $250 per hour. Why, they’re getting 20 hours of you for the price of 2! Amazing! ;)

37. Loyalty programs work better when you start them out with “points” right off the bat.

Affiliate programs get more signups if you start their accounts off with a positive balance of $25 or whatever. Loyalty punch cards that use stamps: give them 2 stamps immediately that contribute to their total.

And if you’re worried about giving them free stuff like that, just raise the goal total by the same amount. So if they needed 10 stamps and you started them with 0, now give them 2 stamps and raise the total needed to 12. Same difference. You’ll get more participation and faster compliance. Really.

38. Naming products:

Crayola figured this one out long ago.

Unexpected/descriptive names (like “Kermit green”) and ambiguous names (like “millenium orange”) create more mystery and intrigue (and therefore desire) than simply saying “green” or even “forest green”

So think about how you can name your product in an interesting way, but still have it be simple to pronounce and easy to understand.

39. Use point of sale branding reminders that tie into the advertising so prospects make the proper mental connections before making a purchase.

Memory aides can take the form of posters/logos in bars, cardboard displays at Wal-Mart, or even those tacky promotional items like logo’d frisbees.

Since there is often a disconnect between the location of the marketing and the location of the sale, you need to set up mental triggers to connect the ideas together in the prospect’s mind.

40. People are more self conscious in front of mirrors and are therefore less likely to steal, litter, or do other things they know they shouldn’t.

It’s cheaper than installing cameras and surprisingly… even more effective!?

Yup. At least in every test that’s been done.

And if putting mirrors in certain places is impossible or impractical for you, then in lieu of a mirror, even a poster with a pair of eyes on the wall reduces undesirable behavior.

The basis is, people don’t like the feeling of being watched when they’re doing something they know is wrong. Makes the slimeballs feel even more guilty… even if the watcher is themselves, or a fake pair of eyes in a poster.

41. Being emotional/sad makes you pay more for stuff and accept less for what you’re selling.

Some sellers explot this by purposely making the prospect emotional before negotiating the sale. That’s a little slimey even for me, but it works.

The moral is: Always compose yourself before dealing with a negotiation situation. Buying, selling, anything.

42. Pattern interrupts:

Another of my devious favorites. Weird but true.

Here’s how it works:

Say something unexpected, followed by a statement you want them to believe and they’re more likely to believe it.

Most people walk about their lives in a sort of perpetual zombie-like mental sleep. Jolting them out of their sleep opens a small window of time where they can be influenced. You accomplish this by saying something unexpected; the same thing you’d normally say, but using unconventional words.

For example: Quoting a price in pennies then saying “It’s a bargain” increased sales. Calling cupcakes “halfcakes” then saying “they’re delicious” increased sales.

But take note: it does not work in isolation. You can’t just say the unexpected thing and expect them to buy. You have to say the unexpected thing, THEN inject in your shot of persuasion you want them to believe (e.g. “they’re delicious”) and after that you’ll have greater success.

43. Caffeine makes you more persuasive to others and more susceptible to persuasion.

Get yourself and your audience hopped up on caffeine.

Give your presentations when people are most alert, and NOT after lunch when everyone’s sluggish. I’ve done this before and … it actually works wonders. You’ll say and do things you wouldn’t normally have said and done. For a brief period of time, you’ll be a dynamo in the conference room.

44. Meeting face to face and over the phone is more persuasive than over email or chat.

Personally, as some of my readers know, I hate cell phones and most communications technology in general – even though I’m a member of the first generation to grow up with it. But I’m also a member of the LAST generation to remember what it’s like to not have much of ANY communications technology beyond the normal phone.

And those were better, more personable, peaceful times. Back when people actually KNEW one another and if you were “friends” you really were friends. It wasn’t just some meaningless label you threw around, like so many people do today. Nowadays you can be “friends” and never even talk to each other.

Anyway, how this relates to persuasion is that study after study and public tests in many companies have shown that phone and personal face-to-face meetings accomplish MUCH more than e-mail, chat, and text.

Bonus nugget: Knowing personal details about each other will help more of your negotiations reach a successful deal for both of you.

45. Individualistic cultures are more influenced by a “benefits me” approach:

This means the US, UK, and Western Europe will be persuaded more by a more “selfish” sounding message.

Collectivist cultures are more influenced by a “benefits us” approach: Asia, South America, Africa, Eastern Europe.

The key difference here is messages of “treat yourself” versus “share with others”

The differences are also seen in how the Consistency Principle is applied: U.S. people are more likely to follow through because they personally committed to it. People from collectivist cultures are more likely to follow through when you add that they and their peers committed to it.

46. Collectivist cultures hate voicemail because its impersonal

…because they like to experience feedback with regard to their relationship to that person. Americans tend to just jump straight to the point and leave a blunt message without regard to how its being perceived.

If ya ask me, I like the American way of doing business best. It’s no bullshit, more direct and to the point. Less mumbo-jumbo. If an American says “yes”, he means “yes” – if a Japanese businessman says “yes” he means “yes I heard you.”

And the thing that REALLY frustrates me about Japanese businessmen is they’ll never be straight with you and just say “no” flat out. Instead, they’ll throw out some weak statement like “It is difficult”

“It’s difficult” essentially means “no” in Japanese businessman talk.

*sigh*

Whatever.

Anyway, there you have it. I’ve given you 46 persuasion keys as promised. Now it’s up to you to unlock the doors in your life with them that lead to greener pastures.


Email this post Email this post

People Who Liked This Article Also Liked:

Tags: advertising, consistency, copywriting, marketing, persuasion, reciprocation, sales, statistics, tactics, tricks

Topics: Money & Business | 3 Comments »

3 Responses to “46 Persuasion Tricks”

Leave A Reply

WP Like Button Plugin by Free WordPress Templates