Kings of influence: Muhammad Ali and The Beatles
Robert Cialdini speaks about Commitment and Consistency in his book Influence: The Power of Persuasion.
There’s a story there about a study conducted on people placing bets at the horse racing track. People were interviewed about their chances on winning – both immediately before, and immediately after placing a bet.
What the researchers found was immediately after they placed their bet, people were more confident in their chances of winning – even though nothing about the race itself had changed.
Another example is homeowners agreeing to sign a petition that favoured “keeping California beautiful.” After a few weeks, the researchers asked the residents to allow a “Drive Carefully” sign to be displayed on their lawns – and nearly half the residents agreed, though it was a completely different public service topic. Why? Because they made the initial commitment. People will go to great lengths to behave consistently with previous actions they have taken.
How to use this piece of social ju-jitsu to your advantage? Ask customers for their feedback on their previous purchase and as soon as possible. This is when customers are most committed to their decision, and it’s the easiest way to get ten star testimonials. Ask while its still fresh in the mind – when they remember how good it felt to get the product from you. Not a few months later when they have possibly forgotten about your product. Booyah.
You need to know how influence actually works, so you know how to make decisions that fit your needs rather than someone else’s. So get this book!
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