The Core Influence Principles Make It Easy for People to Say YES!

Do you want to know how to dramatically increase the chances of having someone say 'yes' to your requests? If so, read this post from top to bottom as you are about to learn how you can use six core influence principles to make it easy for people to say 'YES!'

How Influence Works

We all like to think that people make decisions based purely on logic ... but nothing could be further from the truth! The reality is that we have so many decisions to make every day that this process is built into our DNA. In other words, there are principles within us that rule our decision making processes.

People who are skilled at influencing others, sometimes referred to as "professionals of compliance" - sales people, marketers, advertisers, recruiters, etc. - have long discovered these principles - the principles that make us more susceptible to saying 'yes' - and understanding the decision making process is vital in order to succeed in ANY business.

You are about to discover six core principles of influence that you can apply in your marketing efforts to help persuade others to say 'yes' to your requests.

After you've watched the video below, we'll go into more depth on how you can use these principles in your blog, social media profiles and overall marketing approach.

Core Influence Principle #1: The Rule of Reciprocity

Possibly one of the most potent compliance techniques is the rule of reciprocation, which prompts us to feel the need to repay what someone has given us or return the favor. This is why you are more likely to receive Christmas cards if you give Christmas cards and this is the reason that many marketers will offer a free trial or gift.

Using the rule of reciprocity, you can 'give' to your readers and followers by :

• Creating, curating and sharing valuable content for people to read 
• Engaging on the content created, curated and shared by others

What we gain through this process of giving is the attention of an audience, and in today's world ... attention is gold.

As you keep people interested by continuously provide value and by engaging with valuable content provided by others, they will reciprocate by sharing, subscribing, recommending, and potentially becoming a client or buying your product ... and this is done without you having to apply high-pressure or hard-sell tactics!

Core Influence Principle #2: The Rule of Scarcity

People want more of those things there are less of; therefore, becoming valuable in the eyes of others is a process of becoming a scarce resource. You can create that feeling of scarcity by having a:

• Limited Time Offer 
• Limited Amount Offer 
• Private Membership with Limited Seats 

The ultimate form of scarcity is to be so in demand that you can't possibly attend to everyone at low cost. You must increase your price to limit the amount of people having direct personal access to you.

I wonder how much it costs to have a private coaching with Tony Robbins these days...?

Core Influence Principle #3: The Rule of Authority

This rule can be quite scary and here is a story that proves how powerful the rule of authority can be:

Stanley Milgram, Psychologist, Yale University, conducted a 1974 experiment where ordinary people were asked to shock 'victims' when they answered questions incorrectly. Those in charge were dressed in white lab coats to give the appearance of high authority.

The participants were told that the shocks they gave increased 15 volts in intensity each time the person answered incorrectly. In fact, the shocks were completely imaginary - the respondents were acting.

As participants continued to shock their victims, the respondents feigned increasing discomfort until they let out agonizing screams and demanded to be released. Astoundingly, about two-thirds of participants ignored these cries of pain and inflicted the full (fictional) dose of 450 volts.

“According to Milgram, the real culprit in the experiments was the [participants’] inability to defy the wishes of the boss, the lab-coated researcher who urged and, if necessary, directed them to perform their duties, despite the emotional and physical mayhem they were causing.”

Obviously, this is quite scary.

But, how can you use this same principle of authority for good?

There are certain things that make someone look like an authority. So many, in fact, that we could be here for a day on all the possible ways to do this.

If you are a blogger, make sure to establish yourself as an expert or authority in order to make it easier for people to say yes to your requests. This can be done by:

• listing your credentials in your bio;
• showing the number of people following you on social media sites (if it is high);
• posting pictures of yourself with influencers in your niche; 
• showcasing the results you achieved for your clients;
• including testimonials on your blog; 
• having a professional design for your blog or website; 
• being a featured guest blogger on a popular site; 
• etc. 

Before the Internet, being an authority often meant you had to have letters before your name or be wearing a uniform. Not anymore!

Core Influence Principle #4: Commitment and Consistency

People like to be consistent with the things that have been previously committed to and they value consistency in others. If you are able to get a small commitment initially from a prospect or customer, preferably made publicly or in writing, you are more likely to get a larger commitment in the future. For bloggers, this initial commitment often begins with an agreement to opt-in to your mailing list; once someone has given you their email address, they are more likely to share other information with you. If, however, you ask for too much information initially, they are not as likely to comply. The key is to be consistent with asking for small commitments during the process to make it easy for people to say yes.

Core Influence Principal #5: Liking and Building Trust

People will always prefer to do business with people they know, like and trust ... every time. But what makes people like you or trust you in the first place? I believe that the most powerful tool you have in creating rapport and really getting people to know, like and trust you is through teaching and storytelling. Telling your story in a way that resonates with the core struggles that the people in your target market go through will help them better identify with you.

Core Influence Principle #6: Social Proof / Consensus

This is a very powerful principle that very few of us would like to admit to be influences us. But it does ... like it or not. Social proof is the reason why we generally like to read reviews and testimonials before making a purchasing decision. This is why when we have a lot of social shares on our blogpost, we drive even more social shares and why comments drive more comments. When we see others sharing or commenting, it makes us want to share or comment.

Recognize and use it in your marketing!

Here are a few ways you can build social proof:

1. Take screenshots when others say good things about you or your product online and use these in your marketing efforts.
2. Ask for a video testimonial from your customers and post them on the side of your blog. 
3. Use testimonials in your email marketing campaigns.
4. Embed your popular posts from Facebook and Google+ onto your blog, they are great at driving more engagement.

Conclusion

Obviously, this stuff can be used for good and for bad. I hope you have the personal ethics to use it to influence people in a good way. If I may throw the ball back to you:

How have you been using these principles without knowing it?
How are you going to apply some of these principles in your efforts?

About the Author

Blogger, Direct-Response Marketer
Renaud Gagne went from working at Starbucks Coffee Company to empowering small businesses, festivals and home-business entrepreneurs to get results through direct-response marketing know-how. He believes in the impossible and the power of the human spirit. Visit his blog at www.renaudgagne.com.

Resources
Influence, the Science of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
Jab Jab Jab Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk