How to Coach Yourself and Others Influencing, Inter Personal and Leadership Skills | Page 62

commercials by buying the products and services they promote. By understanding
persuasion laws, you can control how much others unduly influence you, as well as how
to use them to your benefit during negotiations.
The laws work because they provide shortcuts to making the countless decisions people
face every day as they look for information to reduce the complexity of life. If you can
apply these laws in specific situations to your benefit, then your influence over others
increases significantly. Some of the best masters of the art of persuasion in negotiation
are highly successful salespeople who do their best not only to make the sale, but also to
meet the needs of their buyers.
Here are Cialdini’s Six Laws of Persuasion:

1. Law of Reciprocity
Human beings, in general, try to repay in kind what another person has provided to
them. If someone gives you something you want (or perhaps didn’t “realize” you
wanted), then you will wish to reciprocate because you now feel obligated.
Examples of this Law include the address labels you receive in the mail from various
non-profits requesting charitable contributions. Even though they are a minor,
unsolicited “gift,” sending them has increased contributions for non-profits many-fold,
because people feel compelled to “return the favor.”
Giving free samples to potential customers is another way in which this Law is used by
successful salespeople.

2. Law of Commitment and Consistency
People like to be (or at least appear to be) consistent in their thoughts, feelings, and
actions. Once they have made a stand, they tend to stick to it and behave in ways that
justify their earlier decisions, even if they are erroneous. If you make a commitment to a
cause or product, however small, it then becomes easier to be convinced to increase it.
This is especially true if the commitment changes your view of yourself in a favourable
way. This is why salespersons attempt to get customers to agree with them multiple
times. After saying “yes” so often, it is almost impossible to say “no” when it comes time
for the close or direct request for the sale.

3. Law of Liking
When you like someone, or believe that they are “just like you,” you are more inclined to
want to please them and, therefore, purchase whatever they are selling. This is how
successful salespeople operate; they establish rapport by demonstrating how similar
they are to their potential buyers. For example, they note that they are
from a comparable background as you, or even better, they are people you know—your
friends. As for those in-home sales parties, the kicker comes when your neighbors
provide the testimonials for the product. You don’t want to disappoint them by not
purchasing, do you?