The Power in Persuasion
The Combination that Unlocks the Safe
(Part 9)
by Kevin Hogan
Page 4
"Just Like Me"
The fact is simple. As a persuader, your outcome is to tap into your customer's natural inclination toward a pack mentality. Change your thinking process from: "Birds of a feather flock together" to "Birds of a feather........... buy more birdseed."
When we see another a person with whom we identify DO something -- whatever that something might happen to be...like BUYING something -- in simple terms --- we all have mirror neurons in our brains that collectively act to create that behavior in our brain, which often is then replicated in the real world.
A meme.
Mirror Neurons
Monkey See...Monkey Do
Monkey Buys the Same as You
This phenomenon explains why television producers use a laugh track after a joke -- or what the writers thought was a joke -- is delivered during a sitcom. The audience at home knows that the laugh track is just a recording, but that doesn't stop them from chuckling along when the recorded laughter "cues" them.
The TV show M*A*S*H dealt with some pretty tough issues sometimes and a laugh track was inserted to let you know when it was "OK" to laugh. Laugh tracks are still used today. They let us know that something is funny or by lack of a track...not.
KEYPOINT: For most of us, agreeing with others is more comfortable than doing our own thing.
People Like Me....
Even more magnetic than simply "someone" doing "it" is seeing "someone like me" doing "it." People like to hear about and do what other people just like them are doing -- for business AND for pleasure. The Conformity Trigger is especially effective when it comes from people we identify with or want to emulate.
There isn’t anything more persuasive than sending a letter to a heart surgeon that has five other heart surgeons attesting to the benefits of a product or service. It’s a natural human drive for people to say, "If it worked for John, it will work for me."
KEYPOINT: Words and phrases like "bestseller" or "our most popular item" serve as your laugh track. With them, you don’t have to convince your customer that your product is a winner.
The hidden message -- lots of other people have bought this product -- is proof enough...to set off conformity...
"Conformity"
You don't have to be a teenager to experience peer pressure. People are deeply affected by what others think whether they're young, old, rich, poor, male, or female.
People will visit web sites that are on "most-visited" lists, buy cell phones on the "most useful" lists, and spend their movie dollars on "the #1 film in the country." It's because social proof is also related to people's desire to be in agreement with "everyone else," and not have a mistaken belief about what is true and what is not.
Take a Tip From Me...
This tendency is the reason that the piano player and the gourmet coffee shop barista put a few $1 bills in their tip jar at the beginning of the night. It's to stimulate tips, of course, but not 25 or 50-cent tips. "Seeding" the tip jar sends the message that the $1 tip is what "everyone else" is giving.
And why do you think "snake oil salesmen" (like television evangelists) seed their audiences with “ringers” who come forward at a specific time to give witness...and donations? It's to get the ball (and the money) rolling.
It's not an accident...it's Psychology 101 at work!
DO Ask and DO Tell...
Have you ever wondered why the heck huge, successful national brand companies like Nabisco run those contests asking people to write down, “Why I like (Name of Product)" in 100 words or less?
Nabisco is one smart cookie of a company. Rather than paying a high-priced advertising agency or research company millions of dollars to develop slogans that might appeal to consumers, companies that use contests let the target audience itself express what definitely appeals to them.
$10,000 KEY: For the chance of winning prizes, droves of people are willing to go on record as liking the product, giving the company countless glowing testimonials. Companies can confidently roll out headlines based on the benefits and features they know consumers will respond to.
For example:
- 10,000 Consumers Say, "Nabisco cookies taste better".
- "Nabisco Is A Lifesaver" says Nebraska Girl Scout troop leader.
- "When I want good quality and great value, I buy Nabisco".
The contest comments transform into button-pushers that connect with a consumer's, "Everybody else is doing it, so I should be, too" feelings.
Which brings us to the ... 
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Kevin Hogan
Network 3000 Publishing
3432 Denmark #108
Eagan, MN 55123
(612) 616-0732
Photos appear under license with Stockexpert.
