The Power of Influence – BOOKED for Lunch Questions Answered

Last week over 700 people from all over Australia registered to attend the BOOKED for Lunch webinar with Dr Robert Cialdini, Author of Influence, The Psychology of Persuasion and Yes – 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive and director of Influence at Work. Below are audience questions that we didn’t have a chance to answer live. Due to Dr Cialdini’s heavy international workload, Anthony McLean of New Intelligence (Australia’s first Cialdini Method Certified Trainer and guest on the BOOKED for Lunch webinar) has answered these questions based on Dr Cialdini’s research, concepts and ideas.

Does social proof work for professional services firms (i.e. law, accountancy, etc.) as testimonials from clients? (From Katherine) Katherine, yes it certainly does.  But the key is to look at the type of testimonial that you would use.  For many professional services traditional testimonials may not do your unique or quality service justice.  A greater depth of influence is able to be achieved through the use of case studies that reflect a certain client type, demographic or case load.  In preparing to meet with a new or key client, review case files similar to theirs and then highlight where you have done similar work with beneficial outcomes.  With many of my professional service clients I encourage them to have their previous clients prepare the case study with just some broad headings for guidance.  That way when you present two or three case studies to the new client that most closely reflect their case, they will clearly see they genuine comments that highlight your strengths. The key is to use case studies from clients similar to the prospective client – similar in background, gender, age, services required, so on.  Social proof works best when we can see what others just like us have done, thought or felt in similar circumstances. How does the principle of consistency (e.g. private ‘votes’) sit with the principle of social proof? (From Sandi) Sandi, by private votes I am assuming you mean similar to a Federal or State election or when people vote anonymously in a close boardroom vote. The research into consistency gives us some insight where researchers have looked at the success of public and private goal setting.  In one such study they considered three sub groups:

• those who set no goal
• those who set a goal yet kept it private
• those who set a goal and made it public.

Those who set private goals achieved a similar level of performance as those who set no goal.  Those who publicly set goals out performed the other two groups by 60%.  This in part was because the subject who made the goal was reminded of it by the group or within the setting where they made the public commitment. In private votes if the subject doesn’t make a public commitment they are less able to be reminded of it and hence less likely to remain consistent with it.  This is of course different if the subject makes their opinions very clear prior to the vote, in which they are more likely to remain consistent with their previous commitments or statements. To look at the success of public goals and commitment we just need to look to use of Affirmation Boards used to remind people to strive for their goals.  On the flip side we just need to look at private New Years Resolutions, where we don’t share them with others, for proof of its failure. President Obama’s campaign was a great example of Social Proof at play and the use of Consistency in voting.  He first got supporters/voters to commit to change – very publicly in large stadiums, by wearing badges and commenting on social networking sites about their desire for change.  He then had them communicate this message to their families and friends – go home and tell others we need change.  It was the ground swell of support and use of Authorities like Oprah that got others involved.  This created an environment when undecided voters turned on the tv, logged onto the internet, or saw people in the street, they saw people like them committing to change and committing to vote.  Social Proof says when we are not sure what to do we look to the behaviour of others to guide our behaviour (those just like us). With the previous election won by less than 500 votes it was well understood that whichever side could mobilise their supporters to vote would win.  By getting people to publicly commit to a cause, using social proof as one of the drivers, this ensured they were more inclined to follow through in private and Obama won in a landslide. As a facilitator/trainer how can I engage my learners in the principle of reciprocation – any examples? (From Rob) Reciprocation is critical in the learning process.  To get others to open up facilitators must first be open and welcome engagement.  If facilitators want respect they must first show respect to their learners, listening to their answers and validating positions.  It all depends on what you are trying to elicit from your learners. Investing in others builds relationships; open them up where none may have existed before.  The key here is what you do first matters most.  You must create the environment, invite enquiry and give respect before it will come back to you. It is worth noting that as like begets like, if facilitators are harsh, rude or judgemental towards learners Reciprocity says the facilitator will stand to get this in return.

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What about the power of contrast? It isn’t included in Robert’s work. Contrast is a phenomenon and not a principle.  As a phenomenon it applies to all principles equally.  When applying contrast be sure to point it out to your targets of influence.  If you don’t draw a contrast for them they will draw it for themselves.  Contrast wasn’t addressed in the webinar but it is certainly part of Dr Cialdini’s work and the most important rule with contrast is – if you can’t find one, keep looking, there is one there somewhere. For a nice subtle example of contrast in yesterday’s Australian Financial Review (15 June 2010) the ANZ Bank had an ad showing that dips in the share market can also be looked upon as opportunities.  In the graph they show bridges spanning the dips.  Very clever as they subtly show that not all banks are the same and their personal bankers can help borrowers make the most of the good and the not so good times. I’m interested in hearing how you personally distinguish between INFLUENCE and MANIPULATION – thanks. (From Sandi) Sandi, this is a question that is asked frequently.  Ethics is our cornerstone and it is here the following statement holds true – with Influence you are doing something for the other person; with Manipulation you are doing something to them. If there is win-win in the engagement this is Influence.  If it is win-lose, i.e. you benefit from another’s loss, this is doing something to them and therefore manipulation. Do either of the speakers have suggestions on how to approach business relationships that do not reciprocate (say, more than one “giving”)? Does it reflect poor groundwork to engage their reciprocity or will some people be immune? (From Melanie) In business as in life there are those who will take and not invest in others.  Those who are willing to take but not reciprocate are very quickly labelled as moochers, ingrates, etc.  None of these are positive labels hence they are often avoided by reciprocating.  If you recognise that others are taking advantage and not reciprocating then recognise this self serving behaviour for what it is and stop giving. It may also be that the industry you are in is where gifts are expected.  So instead of giving generic gifts that are expected, gifts with the most impact are those that are meaningful for the receiver, customised to their needs and unexpected.  Are your gifts standing out from the crowd or are they just more of the same?  This is where true groundwork pays off.  Know your target’s values, attitudes and beliefs and customised gifts to them. If you are giving just to receive perhaps you need to look at the nature of the relationship.  Research has shown the receiver values the gift more at the point of receipt and the giver values it more as time goes on.  In some instances the reciprocation may take years, decades and in some case centuries.  Investing in others builds relationships so it may take time to come full circle.  They will get the idea if you don’t give to them anymore. Has there been any examples of times Robert has found it a little more difficult to influence the outcome and how did he work through it? (From Ameer) Recently I had the pleasure of opening a National Industry Conference in Sydney.  During the session a gentlemen in the group posed a very interesting question. “Is everyone able to influenced?” It was a really good question and my answer in short was “yes“.  Some people are easier to influence than others – because they are working collaboratively with you; they want something from the interaction; or it has been shown it is the right thing to do. However, there are those who defend their position steadfastly, simply won’t budge and you can’t move them in the short term.  It all comes down to time and effort.

• How much time do you have to influence the person?
• How much effort will it require for the return you hope to get?

The gentleman then approached me at the conclusion of the session and we went backwards and forwards on this.  I discussed responses to Social Influence and what he really wanted out of the relationship. It became apparent very quickly there was no relationship with the person this guy was attempting to influence and quite frankly he wasn’t interested in putting in the time because he believed it was of no use to him.  Experience had taught him so. No matter how I tried, both subtlety and then not so, this guy couldn’t see that it was he who had to change.  If he was not willing to make the first step then of course he would be less successful in influencing others. Therein lies the irony; this answered the question – not everyone could be influenced because I had a plane to catch and he didn’t want to hear what I had to say. With time and effort I believe you can attempt influence anybody but “It is what you do first that matters most”.  If you are not willing to even try and change you, you can’t hope to influence them – long or short term. I make heaps of valuable information freely available from my website and newsletter. Is there a danger in being over generous with your IP? Don’t you train them to expect everything for free? (From Ann) Ann, this is a really good point.  When people come to expect things for free it loses its power.  See the above response to Melanie.  Gifts that are customised, relevant and unexpected are the most powerful.  Instead of giving lots away, tailor the information you give to those you are truly looking to help.  A simple message to let them know of something new that you thought will assist them will help to highlight you have done something for them.  This makes the information more personalised and shows you have made an effort – triggering the more positive response. However if you are looking to establish or maintain your Authority, making this information freely available sets you up as a credible source and hence a trusted advisor.  So the question begs to be asked, why are you providing the information?  Is it to build a relationship or to assist with questions your clients may have?  If it is the latter keep the information flowing, just be sure to highlight the time and effort you are putting in to ensure your clients are receiving the best information available. When you are seeking to break into a new field how do you establish your credibility? (From Tamar) A quick and simple way to establish your credibility is to highlight points that are counter to your case, i.e. a potential weakness.  You must then follow this up with a related strength, for example “I am relatively new to the industry but my experience in field x allows me look at problems from a different perspective to others, etc, etc”. Only Authorities highlight weaknesses.  Those who are trying to pull a fast one will never highlight a weakness rather just oversell their strengths. If you get something wrong be quick to apologise, again only credible authorities apologise but then follow this up with how you intend to fix or manage the issue. You can have as much expertise as you like but without credibility it counts for little.

Thanks for the questions.  If you want to stay up to date with the latest research and Persuasion in Australia feel free to follow me on Twitter or my Facebook Page – Principles of Persuasion Australia (see below).