Influence With Honor ??The Cool Way To Get Agreement From People
Author: Ingvar Grimsmo

What makes people see things your way? Threaten them? By forcing them to do things your way? Sure, if you want a short term agreement that can backfire on you at some later date. You can threaten to fire people if they don?™t so what you ask. But if you want to build a long term relationship with people ??and have them see things your way ??you need to understand what makes people do anything.

People do things because they WANT to. Not because they need to. Sure, you can force people to want a lot of things, short term. You can put a gun to their heads and most people will want to give you their money.

So, how to create WANT? Well, the simples way is to use some of the subconscious influence rules that Dr. Cialdini of the Arizona State University have been researching for over 20 years. The beauty of these are that they are automatic. It is really strange, and I am not sure I understand it but we are all conditioned to react to these rules.

What's the definition of influence you ask... INFLUENCE IS THE ACT OF GETTING COMPLIANCE WITHOUT EXERTING FORCE.

There are about a dozen subconscious influence principles that affect everyone. The key issue here is the automatic reactions to these principles. People don't even think about them. They just react when they are presented. These rules are mental shortcuts by lazy thinkers. Their reaction is automatic and immediate.

Here are the three top ones, you can use these on your web site, in sales or personally to get agreement faster.

SCARCITY
Scarcity is a shortcut to compliance widely used to create value. It really doesn't make any sense, why is something better or more expensive just because it is in limited quantities? Or why do you just have to have it because tomorrow it might be gone?? One clue is that when something becomes less accessible, the freedom to have it may be lost. Scarcity is a great way to keep your web site current and compel people to come back. By limiting access to information for example, people will want it more and the information will more persuasive. In order to convince people to leave their e-mail address - try offering the "inside scoop" on a topic in your industry. Maybe as a special access area. (Since it is not available to everyone visiting your site, it must be valuable and worth registering for!)

People will come back for more if you have something scarce on your site on a regular basis. Have weekly limited quantities, special shipments, 50% off sales on selected product (while supplies last). If they don't come back and check, lord knows what they could be missing! Why people still fall for this is beyond me, but they do. Subconsciously.

RECIPROCITY
More and more companies sites offers a free gift of some kind. You say to yourself - it's only a sales gimmick. Yes, it certainly is. It's a calculated gift as well. Compliance goes up by a healthy margin if a free gift is included. In our society this rule requires that one person try to repay what another person has provided. This might be a little overused on web sites these days, but applied with finesse it works well. Especially if the free gift has at least a perceived value. Oh, imagine if the gift is also something SCARCE..!

For this principle to work best you need to give the gift BEFORE you try to get compliance. The obligation to repay lingers, and kicks in when you ask for the commitment. This is evident in sites offering a high quantity of very hard to find and valuable information. Visitors use the site daily, and the pressure to repay is mounting. Then comes the request for a commitment. Closing ratios are reported to be very high!

SOCIAL PROOF
A deep-rooted mental shortcut to compliance. No one even thinks twice about using it as justification to comply. It's automatic. Establishing credibility on the web is key to success. Anyone can set up a site that looks like Amazon.com, but can be a fraud. If a site visitor is uncertain about your credibility, pointing out that several of his or her colleagues, people just like them are happy customers will trigger this shortcut to compliance. Their trusted brain just automatically decides "It's OK to buy this." That's why testimonials are so important to include on any web site. The more detailed the testimonials are - the better. People like to read about others.

For a limited time only I will leave you with another little know secret, a secret that your best friends know and use everyday. It's a FREE gift to you from your likable pal in cyberspace:
People buy for emotional reasons and justify it with logic.








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mailto:ingvar@j2mediagroup.com
http://www.j2mediagroup.com
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Ingvar Grimsmo helps people and companies communicate better, and sell more. Web masters, non-profit organizations, sales people and business owners have all benefited from his insight in what makes people act. He is the author of a research report called: ?œInfluence and Persuasion Tactics ??On or Off the WEB?? which is available on his web site for .
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