Undercover influence training

His influence and persuasion strategies are used worldwide in sales, marketing, religion and education.

Robert was the Regents' Professor of Psychology and W.P. Carey Distinguished Professor of Marketing at Arizona State University where he was also named Distinguished Graduate Research Professor.

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He retired from academia in May of 2009 and now runs his own consulting business.

His book, Influence, has sold more than 2 million copies. And his new book, Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive co-authored with Dr. Noah Goldstein and Steve J. Martin which I just finished reading gives you hands-on tips and tricks you can use to convince yourself and your customers to make decisions quickly.

I highly recommend both books. They will change your thought patterns.

In fact before writing his best-seller, Influence, he spent three years going “undercover” applying for jobs and training at used car dealerships, fund-raising organizations, telemarketing firms and the like, observing real-life situations of persuasion.

That's what I call walking your talk.

In a nutshell here are how Robert Cialdini defines the BIG SIX “weapons of influence”:

1-Reciprocity - People tend to return a favor. Thus, the pervasiveness of free samples in marketing. In his conferences, he often uses the example of Ethiopia providing thousands of dollars in humanitarian aid to Mexico just after the 1985 earthquake, despite Ethiopia suffering from a crippling famine and civil war at the time. Ethiopia had been reciprocating for the diplomatic support Mexico provided when Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1937.

2-Commitment and Consistency - If people commit, orally or in writing, to an idea or goal, they are more likely to honor that commitment. Even if the original incentive or motivation is removed after they have already agreed, they will continue to honor the agreement. For example, in car sales, suddenly raising the price at the last moment works because the buyer has already decided to buy. See cognitive dissonance.

3-Social Proof - People will do things that they see other people are doing. For example, in one experiment, one or more confederates would look up into the sky; bystanders would then look up into the sky to see what they were seeing. At one point this experiment aborted, as so many people were looking up that they stopped traffic. See conformity, and the Asch conformity experiments.

4-Authority - People will tend to obey authority figures, even if they are asked to perform objectionable acts. Cialdini cites incidents, such as the Milgram experiments in the early 1960s and the My Lai massacre.

5-Liking - People are easily persuaded by other people that they like. Cialdini cites the marketing of Tupperware in what might now be called viral marketing. People were more likely to buy if they liked the person selling it to them. Some of the many biases favoring more attractive people are discussed. See physical attractiveness stereotype.

6-Scarcity - Perceived scarcity will generate demand. For example, saying offers are available for a "limited time only" encourages sales.

Watch Robert's comments on the power of influence in this great video below...

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Just Imagine Your Success And Do It Now,

P.S. Read chapter 9 and 22 on the power of influence in your personal and professional life.