Influence

Case Study: People Make No Sense

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Researchers at Princeton University conducted a study on the effects of framing to see how it impacts people’s responses.

They divided students into two groups. Group 1 was asked to imagine scenario in which they were on their way to a show only to realize that they had lost their tickets once they arrived at the theatre.

They were then asked if they would buy another ticket.

Group 2 was asked to imagine a similar scenario only this time the person hadn’t actually purchased a ticket yet but when they arrive at the theatre, they realize they have lost a $10 bill.

They were then asked if they would still buy a ticket.

Here are the results:

The people in Group 1 (who imagined that they lost the tickets that they already paid for) were 46% likely to buy another ticket.

The people in Group 2 (who lost the $10 in cash) were 88% likely to buy another ticket.

Pay close attention here. The people in both groups have lost something valued at $10 but the people in group are almost twice as likely to still make a purchase of something in the same amount.

What does this tell us? Well for starters it proves just how illogical people really are.

We are talking about the same amount of money on both cases but seeing 2 completely different response rates.

There is no logical explanation for this. Even if perhaps you ventured to guess that it has something to do with the associations that people make with losing something once and trying to regain it as opposed to trying to gain something that you didn’t have in the first place, it still doesn’t make sense because both items  have the same value.

The key takeaway here is that nothing about the way people make decisions is logical; it’s all emotional.

Keeping that in mind, you can use the dynamic of anticipated regret to get your target to comply with your requests.

People do not like loss. Loss equals pain and if you can show your target how not complying will eventually result in loss and pain, they will take action to avoid that anticipated regret.

Write down 10 things that your target potentially has to lose by not getting involved in your offer and then tactfully point them out during your presentation.

Case Study: More Choices Equals More Problems

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Researchers at Stanford University conducted a study at a grocery store where they set up tasting booths that offered selections of jam for people to taste.

One table featured 24 different types of jam while the other only featured 6.

Here are the stats for tasting: 60 percent of people who stopped at the table with 24 jams tasted while only 40 percent of those who stopped at the table with 6 jams tasted. Why? My guess is the larger selection is more appealing and interesting to most people.

Here’s where things get interesting though.

Here are the stats for the PURCHASING (this is what we really care about) - Of the people who stopped at the table with 6 jams, 30 percents actually made a purchase whereas only 3 percent of people who visited the other table (with 24 jams) made a purchase. That means people were 10 times more likely to buy from the table with less choices….ten times!

Imagine if you could increase your amount of sales by that much. Or, even if you’re not selling anything, image if you could just make people ten times more likely to comply with you. It’s a pretty amazing and powerful thing.

So what’s the takeaway?  People like choices and are attracted to them because it gives them a sense of freedom but too many choices will actually cause your target to freeze up and do nothing.

This has to do with cognitive dissonance which is a feeling that surfaces when you are faced with 2 or more choices and don’t know which one is more aligned with your true inner beliefs. You see, people like to act in accordance with their true inner beliefs and values. When they don’t, they experience overwhelm, anxiousness and general feelings of discomfort.

When you start giving people too many options, it becomes harder to decide and this causes the person to want to escape the feeling by not making ANY decision.

Realize this, every time you offer another choice or option, you reduce the odds of your target buying or complying right then and there.

Lack of choices also brings about a sense of scarcity which makes people desire things more. Remember, the less available something appears to be, the more the human mind desires to have it.

Five Ways To Repel People (What To Avoid)

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Influence is really all about connecting with other people. Many times however, people think they are connecting, engaging, intriguing or entertaining but in reality, they are repelling their target without even realizing it.

Here's the deal, whether you choose to realize it or not, there is a formula for effectively influencing others and it involves some rules that you MUST follow if you want to achieve the desired result.

One very important rule is to not piss people off and have them itching to escape their interaction with you.

"But Paul, I would never do anything to make such a thing happen".

Think again, if you are doing anything even remotely related to what I'm about to mention here, you should begin to rethink your approach when interacting with others.

Here we go:

Wrong Volume Selection - There are 3 levels of volume that you can use when speaking; too low, too loud or just right. Guess which one is correct. Seems like common sense but many people either speak so low that their target gets tired of listening and starts listening to other things like other people's conversations, their thoughts or music in the background or they speak at a volume that others find annoying and irritating. Either one of these will cause you to lose your target so pay attention and make sure you speak loud enough that they can hear you but low enough to not annoy them.

Improper Attire - Let's face it; looks may not be everything but they sure as hell matter. Within the first 4 seconds of meeting you, your target is making rapid unconscious decisions about what they think of you. Much of this dates back to the primate days where we would have to figure out if someone else posed a threat to us or could help us. The result is that people try to figure out what status you have in society when they first meet you. Therefore, it's extremely important to dress accordingly. If you're at a business meeting with professionals that will be in suits and ties, do the same. If you're closing a deal with a tattoo artist at a rock concert, it's a different story. My point is that there is no set right and wrong on attire but it should be predicated on the occasion and environment.

Talking Too Much - Yes, the ability to open up and talk to others is a favorable trait to have as a persuader but remember, if you're doing all the talking; you're not learning about your target. That will make it hard to influence them. Aside from that, people love to hear themselves talk (about stuff they are educated about or find interesting). Giving them the opportunity to do so, will make them feel more comfortable around you. Comfort leads to compliance.

Invading Personal Space - Again, this goes back to the primate instinct of self protection and defense. People do not their personal space invaded so be sure to maintain at least a foot of distance between your toes and theirs if you're facing one another.

Poor Use Of Body Language - This one is a whole product itself (one which I am working on right now actually). Non-verbal communication accounts for more than 55% of the communication between human beings yet most people think what they say has more power than what they do. And in most cases, what they do is done unconsciously. This means that what you think you're doing right with your mouth can be ruined but what you don't even know you're doing with your body. Pay attention to both your body language as well as your targets.

Again, this is by no means the complete list of things to avoid but it should give you a basic idea of what you may be doing wrong.

The Role Of Environment In The Influence Process

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Believe it or not, a person's environment has a huge impact on the way he or she thinks and behaves. Now, you may think that you think and behave the same way no matter what environment you're in. But if you think about it, you act much differently when you're at work, then when you do when you're at a sporting event. You act differently when you are at a place of worship than you do at a party. The reason for this is because of social norms or cultural levels. And what's funny is that businesses that make money from people visiting from them actually spend a good amount of their time figuring out how people will behave in certain environments even though you may not have any preconceived thoughts that you might do something.

So for example, sporting events are typically filled with high energy comradery and an overall high level of excitement and team support and battle. So in these types of environments it's okay to curse, use foul language, scream and yell. The people who run the sporting events know very well that this will cause people to use a lot of their energy, which is why they always have food and drinks available at a very high cost. Most people would never pay what they pay for a hot dog anywhere else but at a sporting event.

The same is true of a hotel. When you are in a hotel, you would think that there are no cultural rules. There is no rule that says you have to be quiet like you're in a library and there's no rule that says you have to be rowdy and energetic like a football or baseball game. You simply go there, you're left your own devices and you can do whatever you want. But rest assured, the hotel has a pretty good idea of what you're going to do.

When you get there, chances are, you'll get something to eat or perhaps a drink at the minibar, which cost a heck of a lot more than it does anywhere else. You may even order a movie, which is much more expensive than it is anywhere else. Even if you bring your own stuff, the likelihood of you using the services provided by the hotel are still extremely high. They already know this fact, which is why they have put these things there for you to use.

My point is that environments dictate behaviors. So, if you want to make a change in someone's behavior try changing his or her environment. The environment is something that you control. You can now begin to predict the way that people will act. What's great about this is that you can also change the environment to drive different types of behaviors. Simply changing around some of the furniture in a room can have an impact on the way that people communicate with one another, because it can change their state of comfort or anxiety.

Now most people think is that to change someone's behavior, you must first change his or her attitude. But the reality is that if you change someone's behavior consistently it will lead to a new attitude. So it's actually the reverse that is true. Anytime a person is put into an environment that they are unfamiliar with there has to be a change in the way that the brain is working. The state of mind becomes more open to suggestion. This will then cause the people to think about whether or not they should stay in that environment or remove themselves from it.

The key point that I am making here is that if you remove people from their normal environments you then have a better chance of gaining compliance from them, because you have taken their mind into a state that is more suggestible. The key, however, is to take people into environments where they will still feel comfortable. You do not want them to spend most of their time wanting to then leave the environment.

Ten Observations About Customers

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Here are ten observations that I have had about the human nature of people as customers:

1. People know what they don’t want – People know exactly what they want but often times have trouble expressing it.

Key – Using the following phrase helps get people to tell you what they want: “I know you may not know now, but if you did know, what would it be?” This gets people to open up and begin talking about their interests and choices.

2. People don’t return – Most people who have a bad experience would rather leave quietly and avoid conflict.

Key – Be sensitive to your target’s needs and become their advocate. Ask open ended questions and listen closely to their answers. Never interrupt and always assure them that you value their business. Before offering the solution, ask them what they think may improve the situation. The answers can be very surprising.

3. People feel the deserve the best (entitlement) – In business settings , most people feel as though they are entitled to certain things and if you’re doing business with them, (in their mind) you owe them.

Key - Give the most real and honest treatment you can in response to the questions you get from your customers.

4. People do more to avoid pain than to gain pleasure – Pain equals loss which is what people run from. Key – Focus on what the target has to lose by not getting involved. Have your argument and touch pints written down for easy articulation.

5. People don’t listen, they wait to talk – Even though they may not listen when you talk, you gain an advantage when you listen to them because you uncover their desires.

Key - Use questions to get access to the info you need. People love to hear themselves talk; they just have to know you really care. Start by asking about things you think they enjoy talking about or that they think are relevant to them getting what they want.

6. Most people are pessimists – Nothing great ever comes of this type of defeatist attitude.

Key - Challenge them immediately and stop the negativity as it can become viral very quickly. Flip the script by asking them how they think the problem can be solved. This will quiet them because they’ll be exposed as someone who has no substance; just negative thoughts with no reasoning to support it.

7. Perception is reality – Everyone sees the world differently but we all assume what we see is real and/or correct. This is where miscommunication comes from.

Key – True masters of influence are simply masters of seeing the world through the eyes of their targets. You do this by asking the right types of questions, listening and observing.

8. People prefer the path of least resistance – Most people will not act if it’s easier to stay put or if there are no perceived consequences.

Key – Show the customer how buying now will help them avoid higher costs later, save money or avoid a potentially painful consequence. If you ask too much of them or make your request seem difficult, people will avoid you.

9. Attitude shapes experience – Anyone (including you) can completely change their perception of a current experience because of their attitude.

Key – You can improve your target’s attitude by asking a question that breaks his/her state and changes their view of the current experience to a more positive one.

10. Complainers like to complain – Seems pretty simple but your job as an influencer is to remember where your target is coming from. The complainer (especially in business settings) cares more about the experience of complaining than anything else. Often times, the complaint doesn’t even need merit.

Key – Questioning the complainer makes them more defensive and just adds fuel to the fire. Only question them to gain more information so you can help them rather than doing so to learn their intentions.

The Role of Passion In Persuasion/Influence

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Many people like to ask themselves what the right path in life and business is, where they should focus their attention, where they should invest their money and how they should be educating themselves.

In my opinion however, there is one question that come before all of those: “What am I passionate about?”

Passion ignites the burning fire that resides within all of us. This is the fire that's ultimately going to propel you to the levels of success that you always dreamed of.

Passion is going to provide you with the determination to move forward even when you're tired and want to give up.

Passion is going to provide you with the energy needed to wake up every morning and look forward to investing time into something that's going to pay you back immensely at some point.

Aside from all that, passion is extremely beneficial when trying to influence others.
Passion leads to captivation and captivation leads to engagement which positions you to influence others.

Most people want to be passionate about something so when they come across someone else that is passionate they are immediately drawn to them. They can see that you are driven by something, that you believe in something and within them comes a sense that you can provide them with some sort of help that is going to improve their lives.

Just because you’re passionate doesn't mean that people will like you but they will respect you for the fact that you can identify something in your life that you truly feel strong about and are determined to either attain or protect with immense conviction.

Past passion also allows you to transmit charisma which will enable you to tap into the hearts of others and get them emotionally vested in whatever it is that you believe in. Passionate people are constantly letting others know about their message and in turn, converting them to follow their cause.

True passion also allows you to diplomatically defend your point when someone disagrees with you by openly listening to their feedback, points of view and opinions and then making a counter argument without insulting them.

It has been said that enthusiasm is contagious but so is passion. You can transfer your energy to others by simply showing them how passionate you are about something and it will have a positive impact on their life as it pertains to the subject you are passionate about.

For example if you are trying to teach people how to sell more (and you are truly passionate about it), you will transfer that energy into the people whom you’re teaching; causing them to become more confident, more optimistic, more proactive and more willing to learn about becoming a master salesperson.

While passion is an important part to the influence process is not the only part. If you can combine education, practice and persistence on a particular subject with your passion about it, you will then begin to experience even higher levels of success.

Remember the question I asked you just a few minutes ago? “What are you passionate about?”

Most people either can't answer this question because they either don't know or they think they know but they're actually confusing passion with excitement or hype about something.

When you’re truly passionate about something, you can easily speak about it and it doesn't feel forced or fake.

If your target senses your passion is not real or that it’s forced, your persuasion efforts can actually backfire on you as people will view you as a phony. Being viewed as a phony destroys one of the most critical components needed to influence others which credibility.

Passion also never stops being developed or enhanced. Sometimes the only way to increase the level of passion is to step out of your comfort zone and do something different. Oftentimes this includes things you might not be so enthusiastic about doing but the more you expose yourself to, the greater your chances are of finding more reasons to be passionate about the things you love.

Here’s how I sum up the importance of passion in persuasion and influence. Passion leads to charisma which leads to emotional engagement. Once they are emotionally engaged, they are able to be lead in whatever direction you choose.