How’s your week been going?

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks for me with moving house and figuring all of that out. We’re not in Spain yet, we’re in an interim property with our stuff in storage which has been quite a process to navigate. I will keep you posted as things evolve! 

Anyway on with todays newsletter.

I want to share with you today the 6 principles of influence by Robert Cialdini. 

You see the thing is we can talk about sales and marketing, about building businesses, signing clients, making money and all that good stuff. 

But in reality all those outcomes will be very touch to achieve if we don’t get the basics right, the fundamentals that underpin ‘why people say yes’  and this is all down to the principles of persuasion. 

I also want to stress to you here that this is not about sales. It’s about life. 

Everything in life is persuasion.

Negotiating with your children is persuasion. 

Marketing is persuasion. 

Agreeing where you’ll next go on holiday is persuasion. 

Sales is persuasion. 

Finding a great partner and being a great partner is persuasion. 

Literally everything is persuasion. 

So it’s pretty important right haha! 

The History of Persuasion

 “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” is a seminal work by Robert B. Cialdini, a professor of psychology and marketing. The book was first published in 1984 and has since become a classic in the field of psychology, marketing, and persuasion.

The 6 Principles and how to apply them to YOUR business

Reciprocity:

The reciprocity principle suggests that when someone does something for us or provides us with a favor or gift, we tend to feel a social obligation to return the favor. It’s the idea that people are more likely to say “yes” to those who have given them something first. When someone offers us a kindness or assistance, we often feel compelled to reciprocate, creating a sense of obligation and mutual trust. 

What can you learn from this?

Well remember the last time you gave your email address to someone in return for them sending you something of value? 
This is an example of reciprocity called a ‘Lead Magnet’. 

I teach people how to build their list through lead magnets in my coaching programmes and in fact Emma literally gained 50 people into her database last week by writing one simple thing that helped her people to succeed. 

You can do this too.

Commitment and Consistency: 

People have a deep desire to be consistent with their past actions and statements. Once someone commits to something, they are more likely to stick to it.

“Once we have made a choice or taken a stand, we will encounter personal and interpersonal pressures to behave consistently with that commitment.”

In my experience this is where the free versus paid consideration comes into the equation. 

It’s great giving out free content, but don’t expect people to achieve amazing results because they are simply not going to commit or value it highly enough. 

A question to ask yourself is this: 

If you were to treble or quadruple your prices would you get better results from your clients? 

Very likely you would because they would have massively committed more to this course of action. 

The balance point for me is this:

1. Create excellent free content. 
2. Charge what you’re worth for your paid content. 
3. Demand and drive excellent results for people. 

Social Proof:

People tend to follow the actions of others, especially in uncertain situations. If many people are doing something, it must be the right thing to do.

“We view a behavior as correct in a given situation to the degree that we see others performing it.

This is all about case studies. Showing people your results. Leaving no doubt. And showing that more and more people have made the decision to be a part of what you do. This is critical and really makes an impact in your business. 

Authority:

People are more likely to obey figures of authority or experts. Symbols of authority can greatly influence decision-making.

“Inexperienced consumers, in particular, are guided by authority figures they believe to be valid experts.”

It probably comes from our experiences as children being led by our parents. We don’t really question their instructions do we. And although as we get older we still have that tendency to believe people in authority positions. Think about your GP, even though they are defined as a ‘general’ practitioner, many people would take advice from them for very very specific conditions. 

Building your authority is an important step in your personal branding. 

Liking:

People are more easily persuaded by those they like. Factors like physical attractiveness, similarity, and compliments can increase likability.

“The important thing for the compliance professional to remember is that, in the matter of securing the goodwill and friendship of his clients and customers, there is only one way to do it—by earning it.”

The quote says it all for me really. You need to earn the trust and friendship of people, it’s not given. 

How do you do this? 

Be present. 
Be visible. 
Communicate authentically. 

If you do this people will follow you in the right way. 

Scarcity:

The perception of scarcity or limited availability can trigger a sense of urgency and increase the desire for something. 

This is a critical piece of the puzzle.

Fundamentally we want what we can’t have don’t we.  

Scarcity can be used to your advantage in your business, especially if it’s genuine. I think people can see through fake scarcity, but if you only have a limited about of time, spaces or products communicating this to your prospects is an absolute no brainer. 

In Summary

This is the foundation, it really is. Get this right and you will get nore leads, more sales, more impact and more money. My suggestion to you would be to consider which of the 6 principles are your strongest and which are your weakest.

For your weakest begin to work on these straight away.  maybe it’s being more authentic in your content, maybe it’s using scarcity more in your marketing. Lean into it and make them a strength. 

Here’s 4 ways I can help you move forwards: 

1. Follow me on instagram for video content, I did a video version of ‘the meeting’ over there for you to check out.

2. Follow me on Linkedin for business content that will help you.

3. Join my entrepreneur coaches group for free support.

4. Reply to this email with the word COACHING if you want to talk to me about bespoke business coaching support.

I’ll be back soon,

Much love,

Brendan