Best Books on Influence and Persuasion

Within this post I will start to collect book reviews on what I have found to be the best books on influence and persuasion. Please see below for links to these resources:





Tags: Best Books on influence and persuasion, best book on influence and persuasion, best books on influence, best books on persuasion, best social influence books, best persuasion strategy books

Influence and Persuasion Factors | Rating Your Service Offering

Part of my research on influence and persuasion is detailing how a small to medium sized business or training program could apply influence lessons to their products and marketing plans to increase their profitability.

Here are a series of way in which you could evaluate a business to see how they are operating within the 6 areas of social influence and persuasion:

Authority
  1. How many years has the organization been around for?
  2. How long as the current offering or product been in place?
  3. How many times is your web domain linked to (Using Yahoo Site Explorer Numbers)
  4. What was the size of your program in terms of total revenue? Whether this was disclosed or not it is an objective sign of how well established your group is and will reflect how many word of mouth opportunities are out there. If you are evaluating a non-profit you may look at their 990 form filings for past information on these areas.
  5. How many participants took part in the program in 2006 and 2007? This objective number is a sign of authority in terms of word of mouth presense, referrals and status as viewed by potential participants.
  6. How many books has the top 5 professionals of the organization published? These infer authority status and create a sense of reciprocation from those who have read the book.
  7. What is the pagerank of the homepage of the main website for the organization?
  8. How many pages of content from your website are indexed on Google?
  9. Does the website refer to the training program offers as THE program for the industry or the Status Quo of what employers in the field now look for?
  10. Do at least 2 of the 3 leaders or founders of the organization hold a strong or respected title within the industry? Something such as CEO - Principal, Partners, etc.
  11. Does the team of the organization convey a sense of "large" or "over-sized" In other words do the pictures make the individuals themselves look tall or authoratitive in some way? (P. 191 Influence) Does the team look very broad and well experienced? These points are important an conveying value and authority (p. 191 Influence)

Scarcity
  1. How often does your firm present "Top 10 ideas" Top 3 Most Popular Strategies" or "The 4 Worst Ways to Market Your Business." In other words how do you use sales copy or words to engage prospects and position your firm as having both unique scarce information while also positioning yourself as having scare knowledge which could be useful to those visiting the website.
  2. Does your firm explicitly eliminate thoughts of loss which could be felt by individuals when they are preparing to register for your product or service? For example - no questions asked money back guarantee of some type or something similar?
  3. Does your firm explicitly state what the individual could lose by not purchasing your service or product? For example do you state something like Bose when they said, "Listen to what you have been missing."
  4. How many other programs offer the same service or training program?
  5. Does the program use the words "exclusive" "only" "limited" "#1" "industry leading" within their marketing materials?
  6. Does the training program limit enrollment each year or period?
  7. Does the training program limit enrollment based on years of experience or other qualifications such as a certain type of degree.
  8. Does the certification training program have a pass rate of less than 75% - makes graduating from the program relatively scarce.
  9. Is your product offering or training program offered in a way which creates and explicitly discusses the competition among individuals who apply for the program?
  10. More coming soon...

Reciprocation
  1. Does your firm offer consistent or widely used - genuinely valuable thought leadership and/or "how to" articles within industry publications such as magazines, blogs and email newsletters?
  2. Does your firm offer a free download, trial product offer or free tool which could be widely used and in exchange provide value to someone with no expectation of anything in return. Is it offered before anyone has registered, provided their email address or paid for something?
  3. Does your firm offer additional free resources for individuals which are un-expected after someone has "opted-in" with their email address or paid for their first product?
  4. Does your firm offer free-to-attend networking events which genuinely benefit your target clients? Do you promote these and offer them to those which your firm has never worked with in the past?
  5. Free speaking engagements provided by the firm? Do representatives speak at schools, events, conferences and workshops?
  6. 4 more coming soon...

Social Proof
  1. How many industry expert quotes or testimonials do you have presented on your website? How many direct endorsements does your firm have from that small group of 10-20 professionals who are THE experts within your space?
  2. Does your firm cut your prospect base up into 3-5 or possibly 7 different types of individuals? Do you then ensure that you have 2-3 testimonials from individuals within different situations from each of these client bases? Do you target these bases and provide them with customized testimonials which would be most similar to their situation? 99% of the time the answer is no.
  3. Does your firm provide statistics on what individuals are doing right now - in terms of signing up for a service or product while also then describing what individuals have done in the past? Have you stressed how many thousands of individuals have registered for your product?
  4. Does the website show heavy use? Traffic stats? Does the website show how many people sign up for the email newsletter or some source of mass interaction or popularity?
  5. Does the company make explicit claims of either being overhwlemed with inquiries or being very busy with leads or interested parties? Is this stated or shown in some very obvious way?
  6. 4 more coming soon...

Liking
  1. Does your firm use images of attractive individuals, objects or places of nature? These associations help instill positive attributes with your products and services.
  2. Does your firm offer a personal view of who is on the management team, advisory board and customer service team? Do you offer stories which could be typical within the industry so that a number of individuals will find them similar to themselves? In other words do you write personable bios on yourself or rigid ivory tower accreditation details?
  3. How accessible is your team? Do you have a "call now" button? Chat now? Any type of instant access to communicating with your team?
  4. Does your firm offer pictures of the management team or advisory board?
  5. 5 more coming soon...

Commitment and Consistency
  1. To what degree does your company create a mystery or puzzle within a single discussion, blog post or resource which you offer? How does your firm engage users who are visiting your website or reading a piece of thought leadership? Once someone gets hooked by a puzzle they feel a need to complete the process and are compelled to be consistent and complete the process.
  2. Does your firm take "two steps" for your clients? If there are 10 steps to completing a program or purchasing your product how does your organization take these first two steps for the consumer? Do you make a user feel as if they already have momentum towards working with your organization?
  3. Does your firm have barriers to becoming engaged? Can someone visit your website and read about what others are saying, contribute to a conversation or comment upon a story or opinion on a relevant event in the industry or on your product? Interaction creates a sense of ownership and increases the likelihood that someone will revisit the website and participate again at some point in the future.
  4. Does your firm explicitly call upon a past action which a potential client has taken to create a sense of commitment or consistency? To make a call to action based on their past actions or on the person "being the type which would" want to take the desired action?
  5. Does the firm operate on a regular schedule? Regular events or product openings or service offerings?
  6. Are there regular points of communication with everyone who is a current member or opt-in subscriber to your firm's products?
  7. Does the firm regularly publish press releases?
  8. Does the firm regularly have a booth or speaking presence at industry conferences?
  9. Has the firm kept the same name and logo combination for a period of at least 4 years?
  10. 1 more coming soon...

Tags: Influence and Persuasion Factors, Persuasion Influence Factors, guide to managerial influence and persuasion, influence and persuasion applications, applying influence lessons to business

Robert Cialdini Interview | Top 10 Interview Note Tips

Here is a recorded interview with Robert Cialdini - applying his theories of social influence to online marketing and running businesses online. You my listen to the interview now by clicking here. This thorough interview was completed by Rich Shefren earlier this year.

Here are some lessons which I have taken away from this interview and how influence and persuasion can be applied to business, sales and online marketing.
  1. Curiousity and mystery hooks people - unexplained event or pattern. People have a NEED for closure. If they see a question, they want an answer. If a process is started and the person becomes engaged they will want closure on that process. Cialidni recommends offering a puzzle or mental maze of some type which engages the user to complete the process and complete the loop. For example Cialdini would say if you listen closely you will be able to solve a mysterly at the end of this lecture - and everyone watches intently for the whole lecture - do this with every event or speech. This is a hook - it helps form a connection.
  2. There are ways to structure requests which educates individuals as to why it would be in their interests to make a decision. Nobody looses while these types of engagements are created.
  3. Many people are generating great content and positioning themselves as a thought leader within an industry. While many pieces of literature is downloaded or purchased - what strategies could be used to get consumers to consume your resources. Cialdini recommends using lists and rankings. It is useful to use titles on articles, books and blogs Top 10 Quotes, Top 5 Ideas, Top 3 Mistakes to Avoid. These read well and are engaging - they are popular. Give people something they can hang their hats on - specific discrete ratings - the most popular, etc.
  4. Testimonials are best from individuals like yourself. While a very authoritative source is the best testimonial, having something from someone within your own position is very powerful. Their circumstances should be identical to the prospect and someone has testified to the value of the program for him or her. In times of uncertainty individuals look to people just like them. Show how others have moved just like them in a way that was profitable or successful. Make the situation as specific as possible by geographical region, education, employment situation, etc. When you say everyone is doing something it legitimizes it. If you say everyone is cheating on their taxes and it needs to stop, more individuals are going to begin cheating on their taxes. By saying many people are doing something wrong you are normalizing it, instead you should marginalize individuals "just one person" doing this it hurts our system, etc.
  5. Car wash story - 8 car washes and the next is free vs. 10 car washes and next is free with 2 car washes marked off the card already. Individuals want to complete the card more quickly and would do it more often when they felt like they had momentum towards completion. People don't want to loose the advantage they start with while using the card with two Xs on it already. Individuals want to close the loop, they started a process by having those two check boxes, they also were given something. They were given something for free in this way there was a sense of reciprocity embedded within the process. The real question is how can you make someone feel as if they have already taken 2 steps in your direction - this says something about the person. They must like this direction, they must be interested in this type of content.
  6. Cialdini on how a blogger could get more individuals to comment on your blog if your company is looking to increase this type of activity. Cialdini discusses how you are better starting off low within Ebay auctions - this allows a lot of people into the system. This suggests there is a lot of value there and this begins a snowball effect. If you have 20-25 short comments right after a post is complete than it allows individuals a quick way to scan what is going on and contribute to the conversation. For example possibly one paragraph or less within the first 20 comments and then deeper commentary is allowed possibly later on. It would also be good to ask a yes or no question and have people answer within the comments section of the posts.
  7. Cialdini recommends not just providing incentives but also removing barriers to getting people in. Shefren refers to this as "removing the friction" and how you want to remove as much friction as possible. How can we elleviate friction to get to the goal?
  8. Social Proof - What is the mob doing? This reduces uncertainty - if 10,000 people are doing it, how bad could it be? Cialdini recommends providing people with two sources of proof, first tell people what people like them are doing right now and what people like them have done in the past. Next look at expert endorsements - what do hedge fund experts say about the service?
  9. If you tell someone "this is our most popular item" it will quickly become even more popular.
  10. Cialdini stresses that when people are unsure they are adverse to losses, they don't want to lose money, they are afraid. Recently I watched a training video from Jeff Walker which stressed that he always works on a no questions ask money back gauruntee basis. What I think this does is remove that fear. He takes away that chance that you will have a fast one pulled on you. A somewhat related advertising tag line by Bose was "hear what you have been missing." Tell people what they have been missing in terms of this new product or launch. For example if you run a certification program you might want to stress what you might miss you if you do not complete the program. For example, you could say something such as learn what those who lead the industry already know.
These tactics are really about looking at what small things that could be done to make the largest impact on what you are doing. Where can you get the biggest bang for your buck? How can you improve your results through small tweaks to your current process and product offering.


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Cialdini Influence | Persuasion Book by Robert Cialdini

This blog entry briefly reviews the effects of using Dr. Robert Cialdini’s tools of influence. Dr. Cialdini has completed over 30 years of research in the psychology of influence. He holds an international reputation as the psychological expert in the fields of persuasion, compliance, and influence. His most well known book entitled, Influence: Science and Practice, was based on decades of research focused on the logic and mechanics behind influencing others in the business world. The book suggests 6 specific tools that may be employed to influence others. Below are all 6 of Cialdini’s tools with a short description of each:

1. Reciprocation: The Old Give and Take…and Take

o This deeply embedded social rule is what makes one feel obligated to repay someone who has provided us with a gift, favor, or concession.

2. Commitment and Consistency: Hobgoblins of the Mind

o Most people act in consistent ways because it is valued by society, provides a beneficial approach to daily life, and simplifies adjusting to a new process by relying on past decisions.

3. Social Proof: Truths Are Us

o One important method people use to make decisions is looking to see what others are doing or believing in that arena. This is even more heavily relied upon in situations of uncertainty or when the individual believes that the others being observed are similar to themselves.

4. Liking: The Friendly Thief

o People like to buy from other people they know and like. Physical attractiveness, similarity, and familiarity are three levers that can be employed to increase this “liking” factor.

5. Authority: Directed Deference

o There is a very strong pressure in our society to comply with authority. Three specific triggers that Cialdini believes are specifically effective include titles, clothing, and automobiles.

6. Scarcity: The Rule of the Few

o More value is assigned to those messages or items that are scarce, censored, or hard to obtain. Messages that are restricted or hard to get makes people want to receive them more and the information comes across as more persuasive. This principle of influence works best when something is newly scarce and the individual is competing with others for it.

Tags: Cialdini Influence, Cialdini Persuasion, Cialdini Science of Influence, Cialdini Influence and persuasion, Robert Cialdini Influence Research, principles of influence and persuasion, persuasion

Influence & Persuasion | The 1 Page Guide

This page represents what will soon make up my 1 Page guide to the Psychology of Influence and Persuasion. I am publishing weekly articles to this site on influence and will be aggregating and organizing this content here to make the resources easier to navigate.

To date I have published resources on these topics:


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Influence Training | Programs for Executives and Sales Professionals

Today I completed some research on existing influence training programs, certifications and training programs. There are very few. Some consultants are offering custom workshops and others are selling DVD programs and books but there are not very many certification programs or educational institutes which promote influence and persuasion.

One group which I called offers a 1 week training program which costs $5,000. They then qualify you to hold your own workshops on influence but charge you $250 for each person which attends your workshop. Seems like a great business model but I have never heard of anyone who has completed the program.

In the future I would expect to see and would like to help build influence training programs on these topics:
  • Online Marketing Experts
  • Email Marketing Professionals
  • Pay Per Click Professionals
  • Healthcare Management Professionals
  • Sales & Marketing Executives
  • Investment Marketing Professionals
I think these training sessions would be best served via video or in-person. Influence is a topic which can be grasped in relatively few words yet applied only effectively applied through experimentation, coaching, and watching others. I believe that by providing examples, easy to adapt scripts and structures by which a business could operate that a program could be very useful to many business owners.

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Influential Listening | How can you influence others by not speaking?

One of my associates is an expert in listening. He writes on listening and trains executives in how to better listen to their clients. My area of growing expertise is in Influence and Persuasion.

What I wonder is: What are the influence tactics could be applied to listening?

Here are my ideas on how to listen more influentially:
  1. Instill a sense of liking by listening closely to what is said, taking notes and repeating key passages back to the person speaking.
  2. Instill a sense of reciprocity by taking notes while the person is speaking on how you can help them. Come up with 3 tangible ways to assist them with their current projects and follow up after the meeting via email with these 3 points once again.
  3. Improve your chances of compliance with a request by listening for 90% of a meeting and serving the needs of the other person first. Just before leaving the meeting state the #1 most valuable thing you need from the other person and they will be likely to comply. This is because the person has probably already offered to repay you for favors you have provided or promised during the exchange.
  4. Listen and only comment when you can draw upon the knowledge, a quote or a story which positions you as having expert status or being closely associated with a widely recognized expert.
I think the most important part of this process is that it will not work unless you are genuine. You must come to the table with a win-win approach instead of attempting to manipulate a situation. Influence and persuasion is about creating robust communication strategies to achieve goals, not to take advantage of unknowing parties.


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Influence Consultant | Influence Consulting and Advisory Services

Influence Consultant


As the field of Psychology of Influence and Persuasion becomes larger and moves further into the edges of mainstream marketing and sales discussions I believe there is room for a set of consulting firms to offer related services.

For example, right now I work within the area of hedge fund marketing but I already apply influence lessons to how I now build websites, choose logos and discuss potential consulting projects with clients. I believe there are checklists that one could use to ensure that a website, letter, telephone call, conference or negotiation is carried out in the most effective manner towards the ends one is seeking in a way which is more efficient for both parties involved.

I'm unsure of which industries could most readily apply these lessons and be willing to pay for detailed instruction on how to employ them but if you have any creative ideas please comment below or send them in. I'm curious in seeing who is currently working in this space and which firms have been employing their services to date.

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Social Influence and Persuasion | Why Study It?

I have around 8 years of risk management consulting, building and selling an online business and raising capital for investment managers. My education includes a Bachelors in Business Administration, and M.B.A in Marketing and now I am completing my thesis for my Masters in Liberal Arts with a focus on Psychology. My thesis is on Social Influence and Persuasion and I often get the question: Why would you want to study that topic? or Don't you have enough education already?

My short answer actually comes from Gandhi: Live as if your were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. - Gandhi

My longer answer is no I do not have nearly enough education. I believe that Psychology and specifically the psychology of sales, influence and persuasion is vastly under-studied around the world. Why isn't there a single class on psychology of influence within leading M.B.A. programs when everyone in business and professors all agree that working well with others, communicating effectively, negotiating wisely and networking are all critical cornerstornes to building a successful career?

Social influence tools can help you negotiate the price of a car, communicate more effectively with your employees, build more robust relationships with potential clients and ensure you don't accidentally step on your own toes with every word which comes out of your mouth during a sales presentation.

I will be posting more on this topic and eventually hope to create a list of 101 reasons why you should study the psychology of influence and persuasion.

- Richard

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Predictably Irrational Interview

Interivew with Dan, author of predictably irrational.

Influence and Persuasion Blogs | A List

I just did some quick research to see who else is out there within the influence and persuasion world who runs a blog:

Tags: Influence blog, influence blogs, influence and persuasion blogs, persuasion blogs, influence and persuasion websites, blog on the science of influence and persuasion, influence, persuasion

Influence Guru.com Launched

What is Influence Guru.com?

InfluenceGuru.com is a blog which I will be writing in exclusively on the topic of the Psychology of Influence and Persuasion. I am writing to share my research and thoughts while completing my thesis on the topic through Harvard University's ALM Masters Program.

The posts here will links to leading research, book reviews, personal stories which connect with classic principles of social influence and interviews with influence experts in the industry.

- Richard
Richard Wilson
InfluenceGuru.com
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