We’re in the business of persuasion, whether we want to admit it or not.
Don’t believe me? Try getting your child to put away the video game and eat his
dinner.
What is more effective? Forcing him to do so, or persuading him to do so?
Forcing by way of threats of punitive action breeds resentment and rebellion. Persuasion by the promise of a better outcome (you’ll no longer be hungry so you can enjoy your video games) is far more effective.
Same with selling our services, our music, our coaching, what have you.
You want to be persuasive, and when you are, you get people to KLT…
- Know you
- Like you
- Trust you
And eventually - BUY FROM YOU
The sequence happens in that order, you can’t manipulate it except in very rare occasions.
Sales psychologists agree there are 6 “triggers” that persuade a prospective or repeat customer KL&T you, which in turns makes them B from you ha ha. This is not a
comprehensive list, but it will do for our purposes and then some.
These 6 psychological triggers are:
- Expert authority
- Likability
- Commitment and Consistency
- Reciprocation
- Social Proof
- Scarcity
Most of us are lucky if we can incorporate 2, maybe 3 of these things into our pitches, our appeals, etc. That’s because we haven’t been aware of these triggers until now.
Begin to
work these into your appeals for email subscribers, clients, buyers, etc. and see if your results don’t immediately improve.
Now this can apply to any type of sales pitch, from persuading your six-year old to eat his dinner, to a formal pitch to wealthy people you want to invest in your company,
to somewhere in between. The execution and style will of course vary, but let’s quickly take a look at an example of these principles in action.
Ken is an independent publisher who specializes in writing white papers for startups in the health and wellness industry. He’s a very likable person
who goes above and beyond to help the people who hire him, and has earned a reputation as one of the top writers in that niche.
Already we see the first three triggers:
- He’s an expert in a highly specialized skillset in a niche industry. This could also apply to the sixth, scarcity
- He hits it out of the park for his clients, to the point they think he’s giving away his services
- He’s consistent with his output which is why he’s in demand any time a new health and wellness product is
about to hit the market
Ken is constantly tinkering with his website. He has an offer on the site explaining how to hire a white paper writer with confidence, avoiding common pitfalls, and clearly explaining the market fluctuations. He also shares positive reviews on the site so any visitor can quickly see others are pleased with his work.
There you go. All six are applied to his business model in just that short description, and it’s not “rocket surgery” as they say.
It’s all so easy to implement - yet it takes time to work out all the kinks and to simply stay in the game to show that commitment and consistency, and eventually earn his reputation.
You can probably
already think of ways to implement these 6 psychological sales triggers in your own artistic endeavor. Do so, experiment, and have fun with it!
And if you'd like a helping hand with implementing, give me a call: https://jamesdnewcomb.com/coaching