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The Power of Influence by Robert Cialdini

The book The Power of Influence by Robert Cialdini is beneficial book for marketers, sales, Public Relations Firms, Copywriters, and many more.

What is it that transform us to do things without any hesitations?

Do you want to know why political candidates like Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump can get a massive following of people to believe in whatever they say? There followers appear to be blinded by any negativity or even in complete denial of falsehoods for their beloved presidential candidate.

Why is it so? Could it be Influence and Persuasion?

Ever wondered why people prefer to drive a particular car or wear clothes from brand spokespeople you look up to? Could it be influence and Persuasion? Many people are using these sneaky tactics to you and you don’t even realize it.

One of the biggest challenges you go through in life is figuring out to get people to do what you want them to do. Granted it’s much easier if you are in a managerial or supervisory role. Listen to me or suffer the consequences. But not everything in life is that simple.

This is why Robert Cialdini’s book “Influence: The Psychology Of Persuasion” is very important. Getting people to do what you want them to do is much more scientific and psychological play.

This is one of the greatest books that can teach you about Marketing, Sales, Public Relations, communications, and many more. Robert does a masterful job in explaining it all to you.

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Cialdini states there are 6 principles or he also calls “weapons” are simple enough:

reciprocity, scarcity, liking, authority, social proof, and commitment/consistency.

Many people do this without even realizing it. I personally believed that trying to persuade someone was more of an art form. But he does a much better job in putting it all together in a way that everyone can easily implement

Let me explain each of the six principles:

  1. Reciprocity: If you help someone move to another house then they will feel obligated to return the favor. People basically hate owing favors but they understand that they might need help in the future. Therefore it’s best to return the favor as soon as possible.
  2. Scarcity: Is the basic principle of making people feel like they will lose out if they don’t act right away. Like many travel booking sites now will pop up a notification telling you how many people are looking at your hotel right now. Nothing gives you a more since of urgency knowing that their is only 10 rooms left but yet 200 people are currently looking at the same page. It makes you make a decision really fast.
  3. Liking: It is very human nature to only work with people you like. A good salesperson understands that getting rapport with prospects is crucial in getting them comfortable in closing the deal. Try to find similarities between you and the prospect to build bond. Once connected they will feel much obliged to work with you
  4. Authority: The reality is that many people look up to a leader. If people feel you are knowledgeable in a particular subject then they will feel much more confident knowing they can trust what you say. Seth Godin explains in detail about this phenomena in his book Tribes. We as humans are attracted to authority figures and need someone to help explain things to us. Our brains are always evolving and require a steady stream of knowledge to help us grow.
  5. Social Proof: Humans are social creatures despite what others may perceive. Infact many of us have rather sheeplike qualities. No one wants to be alone 100% of the time. Even many people are simply lazy and just want to do anything that works. This is why referrals are so important. If you need a plumber you can spend hours researching plumbers in the area online. You spend website after website sorting out reviews and be extra cautious with the fake ones. So it’s much easier to call you buddy that recently got some plumbing work done at his house. You ask your buddy if they did a good job and if they agree than that is all the social PROOF you need.
  6. commitment/consistency: This principle explains that you need to mean what you say and do what you say your are going to do. People tend to want to be both consistent and commit to their word. Getting customers or other people to publicly commit to something makes them more likely to follow through with an action or a purchase.
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In conclusion I will have to say that this book is very powerful in the way it was presented. All you need is Social Proof that this book is a winner. You don’t have to believe me but maybe you can believe people like

Robert Cialdini has had a greater impact on my thinking on this topic than any other scientist- Charlie Munger (Warren Buffett’s investment partner)

“I think it is extremely important to understand human behavior or behavior modification before you focus on technology. … You can spend a lot of time jumping from one tool to another without developing any core skill. So I would really encourage people to study books like Influence by Robert Cialdini … so you get a fundamental set of principles that you can apply online, offline, to different tools, to direct copy, to complex sales in big organizations. That is number one.” — Tim Ferriss

Scott Adams (Creator of Dilbert Comics) listed this book as part of his reading list

Hopefully that is the social proof you need. Besides that it is something I highly recommend reading. Do yourself a favor and visit amazon and get this book “Influence: The Psychology Of Persuasion” today

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