Use the 6 Principles of Influence to Grow Your Sales

By Sarah Willis

You have a great product or service and now you need people to start buying it. But, what if the people you approach aren’t sales-ready or even interested? Do you just keep marketing and hope that your sales eventually increase organically? The answer is no, and there’s six very good reasons why.

When you need to sell a product or service, there are certain things you can do to help "persuade" people that they need/want/should buy your product or service. And these are called the six principles of influence.

Identified by Robert B. Cialdini, Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University, the six principles of influence were featured in his 1984 book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.

Below is a breakdown of Cialdini’s principles which could help you increase your sales and revenue:

It’s in Your Favour

The principle of reciprocity is based on the fact that when someone does something nice for you, human nature determines that you do something nice for them in return. By giving someone a gift or doing them a favour, you automatically create a social obligation for them to repay you in some way.

By using this knowledge in a sales environment and providing prospects and leads with free trials or helpful content, you increase the chance of them buying your product/service due to their need to reciprocate your kindness.

Don’t Miss Out

How many times have you received an email or seen a sign which said "Act now, before they’re all gone" or "For a limited time only"? This is a great example of creating scarcity -- making people feel like they could miss out. To really see the benefits of this principle though, it’s important to not only explain the benefits of the product/service, but also what the prospect could stand to lose if they don’t buy it.

If They Said It’s True...

When someone in a position of authority tells us something, we listen. A perfect example of this is the TV advertisements for tooth paste, which usually show a dentist telling us about the benefits of the product. A dentist is a specialist in a position of authority, therefore we’re more likely to listen and buy that toothpaste. In a sales environment, if your company has won any awards, make sure the prospect knows about them before you try to make a sale.

I Suppose I Better

The principle of commitment and consistency again targets the brain’s hard-wiring, which tells us to carry on with something if we have already shown an element of commitment; especially in a public environment. In a sales context, a lead who is due to meet with a salesperson is more likely to attend the meeting if they have been asked to sign-off on the meeting’s agenda beforehand. By showing the initial commitment (even just a small amount) they are more likely to show larger commitment in future.

He Gets Me

Prospects are more likely to buy from people they like and who are familiar to them. A salesperson who is similar to a prospect is more likely to get a sale than someone who isn’t. And, if they add a sincere compliment during their pitch and make themselves even more "likeable," then chances of a sale sky-rocket. Regional sales people aren’t just located around the country to save on traveling costs; they are located there because they are more likely to get a sale when they are similar and familiar to the prospect.

Feeling Left Out?

Man is essentially a tribal being and likes to feel part of a group as opposed to "out in the cold." So, what does that mean for sales and marketing? Well, if a large group of people have bought a product/service, why haven’t you? Social proof is a powerful persuasion tactic and has been used many times in the past. When a company tells you that they have sold 1 million units, it’s not to show off, it’s to pose the question "1 million people have bought this, are you going to buy it too and join them?"

The Price of Persuasion

Have a look back through these principles and roughly calculate how much it would cost to implement them. The likelihood is ... not much. In fact, many of the principles can be implemented cost-free. When you consider that 79 percent of leads never turn into a sale due to poor nurturing, making a few of these changes to a sales approach and being more "persuasive" could have a dramatic effect on the revenue generated by a business as well as its bottom line.