I am often asked for the names of books I read or would recommend. One that is always near my desktop is Dr. Cialdini’s Influence: Science and Practice. It is a quick read but will give you years of education on how to ethically influence people.
There are 6 basic principles of ethical influence; Reciprocation, Scarcity, Authority, Consistency, Liking and Consensus. The success of any marketing or sales system can be accurately predicted based on how closely it adheres to these principles.
First, the 6 Principles of Influence
1. Reciprocation – You, then me, then you, then me
2. Scarcity – The rule of the rare or time limitations
3. Authority – Showing Knowing
4. Consistency – Start small and build
5. Liking – Making friends and influencing people
6. Consensus – If it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for me
You will be able to capitalize on all 6 of these principles if you utilize this handwritten note system as I have set it up for you.
Reciprocation — you then me, then you, then me… Be the first to give. Question for you—do you know anybody who determines their Christmas card list based on the cards they have received?
Scarcity — the rule of the rare. If your message is crafted properly, you can leverage this into a landslide of appointments to fill next week’s calendar.
Authority — Establish position through industry knowledge and professionalism. This system allows you to share facts and tidbits about your knowledge. The information is topical, interesting, and more importantly, shareable. And what do I mean by shareable? People like to share interesting, funny, or unusual information.
Consistency — Start small and build. Trust comes from consistency. Your monthly fun fact postcards, holiday greeting cards, and articles containing personalized handwritten notes are all about consistency.
Liking — Making friends to influence people. Think about it. In todays fast pace, overscheduled, soccer mom world, we are lucky to get a generic Christmas letter from our close friends. To imagine somebody taking the time to find a postcard, find a pen, sit down, write it and think about nothing but you when they write it, find an envelope, stuff it, put a stamp on it and mail it. In today’s world that rarely happens… sad but true. It doesn’t happen anymore. What did you think when you got our handwritten card?
Consensus — people proof, people power. By utilizing the correct messages, you will get people to share your messages with friends and relatives. They will begin to form a consensus on the type of caring advisor you are. Power in numbers!
