Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion Review

Did the title catch you? Why is it only available for a Limited Time?

It was probably enough to get you to click on the link, right?

Remember that annual sport-shopping event called Black Friday? Why do seemingly sane, smart, conscious people suddenly transform into frenzied and psychotic shoppers?

What is this invisible force that’s causing them to push and shove each other over that $200 32-inch 3D-LCD TV?

Don’t they realize that, when the dust clears, they probably won’t want that TV in the first place, and most will simply dig themselves further into mind-numbing credit card debt?

As an internet marketer, this is probably your fault. You are consciously aware of what drives monkey-brains to salivate over the latest gadgets. Simply put, you know how to influence others to act in a certain way…

The big boys know how to do it, and so should you!

Robert Cialdini

I heard about this book from an internet marketer affiliated with the Jesus of self-development himself: Tony Robbins, who incidentally pulls in six-figure digits on a monthly basis.

As such, I had to follow through with reading this—ultimately a masterpiece of important psychological concepts for ALL marketers and salespeople.

Psychology of Persuasion is exactly what the title implies. How do you persuade people to do something? More importantly, how do you get them to take an action—either submit their email, make a phone call, buy something, or even convince their friends to buy it as well?

First published in 1987, the concepts are very much applicable today, because they still relate to our monkey brains, which are easily influenced. These concepts are:

1. Reciprocity
2. Commitment & Consistency
3. Social Proof
4. Authority
5. Liking
6. Scarcity

With Black Friday past, and the holiday shopping season coming up, bringing these concepts to your conscious awareness will make you think twice about your next decision.

So what is…

Reciprocity

Give a little, get a little bit more. You know those free samples we love getting at events?

What about free internet content? When you give a little, people tend to feel indebted, even slightly, and ultimately ‘reciprocate’ in some way.

A great example in the book involves asking for a donation after giving a canned drink to a potential donor. Those that received the drink donated WAY more than those that did not.

In internet marketing, you see a lot of free eBooks in exchange for emails, which is a fairly common practice.

Commitment and Consistency

Getting someone to commit, orally or in writing, increases their likelihood of following through. Get them to commit multiple times, and you increase that likelihood even more.

The Chinese used this psychological trick to convince American prisoners of war to slowly become pro-communist, by having them gradually write down small anti-capitalist statements.

With internet marketing, you have email lists, which gradually convince you towards a product or service purchase. Ultimately, you rationalize that it is in your best interest.

Social Proof

Ever seen a celebrity strutting around, with an army of fans and security, yet you have no idea who it is—YET, you still want a picture or autograph?

The celebrity status and cool status simply comes from the imaginary perception of you and those around you. It gets worse when that status is amplified by dozens, if not hundreds of fans.

For IM, this is called a testimonial, which is incredibly powerful for encouraging an action. Have 1–2 convincing testimonials, and you get social proof.

Authority

You listen to your doctor, right? What about your mechanic, computer technician, software guy?

All of these people are ‘perceived’ experts in their field, therefore you listen to them and take action on what they say. Well, your doctor can be wrong sometimes too—they are only human.

In the self-development niche, Tony Robbins is considered an authority. For IM, if there is a specialist in the niche, then you typically listen to their advice and strategies.

Liking

Have a cool, fun friend, or do you follow someone on YouTube on a regular basis? You’ve probably grown a liking to them, and will listen to what they say.

You are more likely to take advice from, and buy things from, people you like, even if you don’t need these things. Multi-level marketing companies also employ this tactic, by having ‘friends’ enroll their friends into pyramid schemes.

Attractive people can make you buy things as well—we like attractive people, it’s a monkey-brain stereotype.

And Finally, Scarcity

No matter how smart you think you are, this one can still catch you off guard.

‘Only available for a limited time’, ‘limited edition’, ‘only 3 left’, ‘70% off for a limited time’.

This is what drives insane consumerism during the shopping seasons—it can cause violence, competitive shopping, and insane debts.

I will admit, I bought my first car because I wasn’t sure if I could afford it later, or would have the time later, thus getting a really terrible deal. Scarcity drives demand, and it drives sales.

We don’t usually know when the scarcity is simply faked to drive sales (i.e., digital product sales… only 3 left… Frank Kern), the scarcity is psychological (that other person might buy that laptop if I don’t buy it now), or it’s actually physically limited (cheap plane tickets).

So Who Do You Need to Watch Out for the Most?

Doctors who you like, whom others like as well, who offer you free stuff, although that free stuff is limited.

Yep, this combination can be dangerous.

Ultimately, uninformed people fall into these ‘psychology of influence’ traps, because our brain sometimes needs to make decision shortcuts. When you are sick, following your doctor’s advice is essential, or if you are trying to improve yourself, then consistency and commitment are important.

But when you are caught off guard by a salesman, with a tactic such as ‘limited time’ or ‘free sample’, then be prepared to fight off your monkey-brain automated responses.

Do I recommend Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini? Yes!

“People seem to be more motivated by the thought of losing something than by the thought of gaining something of equal value.”