There's a special power to be had in sharing good
ideas. Our Founding Fathers knew that when they
wrote the First Amendment. These guys didn't put free
speech on top of their list of improvements to the
Constitution because it was "fair" or "the right thing to
do."
They firmly believed that in a battle between good
ideas and bad ideas the good ones would win out and
improve society as a whole.
That's a great rationale to back up my long-held
practice of telling acquaintances about useful new
trends or insights when I run across them, but the
truth is I just like doing it because I want to add value
to my business relationships whenever I can. That said,
I've got to tell you about a book I came across while
attending one of Gill Wagner's Honest Selling Breakfast
Club meetings. (If you haven't been to one, please
consider it.)
Influence: Science and Practice by Robert Cialdini is in
its fourth edition, and is - in my humble opinion -
a 'must read.' In it Cialdini addresses everything you've
learned about selling, but he codifies it, organizes it
and puts it under a microscope for greater examination.
The book covers seven topics:
· "because"
· reciprocation
· commitment and consistency
· social proof
· authority
· scarcity
· liking
Any one of these seven topics could radically improve
how you communicate with others.
One simple example is made with the word "because."
Because is a very powerful word that has roots back to
your childhood. As a child many of the answers to
questions we asked our parents started
with "because." We learned that whatever comes
after "because" is a valid and important answer
(whether true or not). Cialdini suggests that when
you use "because" followed by a plausible reason you
get your way between 70% and 90% of the time.
INREDIBLE!
In the spirit of experimentation, Gill tried this technique
at the airport to see if he could cut to the front of
lines. Four times he politely asked if he could get in the
front of the line. In the two where he had used the
word "because," followed by an otherwise lame excuse,
he got his way. The other two times the only thing he
left out was one word. Because. In those instances, he
did not get his way.
(Now you have to get the book to read about social
proof).
Gill also added that powerful tools like the ones
available in Cialdini's book should be use only to achieve
positive results, and not for mere manipulation. After
his four-part experiment he resumed waiting in lines like
everyone else. Just because.
Gill Wagner's Honest Selling Breakfasts
Buy it Now!
