In this two part episode we’re running through the principles of influence and how they can increase your chances of getting a deal done.

So if you’re ready to learn the skills of

influence so you can go get your neighbour to give you a couple of rolls of

toilet roll, from the 47 packets they’ve hoarded in this crisis, then hit that

thumbs up button and lets get into it…

#1 Reciprocation

The first principal of influence is the

principle of reciprocation. This law describes the phenomenon that when

somebody helps us, your brain is wired to want to help them back.

This comes from the days we lived in tribes

and really relied on the tribe to survive. Our brains became programmed to put

the tribe first before our own selfish needs by giving back to an equal amount

that we took from it.

And this principle of reciprocation seems

like something that salespeople like you and I can use to get deals done, right?

You just give the prospect a lot of value up front and they will have to give

you the business later on? Well, it’s not as simple as that.

Because humans are so sensitive to the law

of reciprocation, often times we will avoid allowing somebody to give us value,

so that we cannot become indebted to them.

So in your sales role, you should focus on

giving a small amount of value, and then closing the next step rather than

giving masses of value upfront and then hoping that the prospect will give you

what you want in return later.

So using the systematic selling process as

an example, we create a customized message for the prospect, this teaches them

something new and opens their worldview that their business could be different

by working with us. Then before we go any further, we closed them on a formal

meeting to discuss things in more detail.

We make one step, then get the prospect to

confirm the value and that they want us to proceed before too much recprication

debt gets built up. This process also starts to build up the principle of

consistency which we’re going to cover in a minute.  

Then we go through the next step of the

systematic selling process and uncover the rules of the game and the prospects

reality gap, before again closing the prospect and getting them to agree with

everything that has been discussed so far.

This breaks up the sales process into

smaller chunks and it stops the buyer being overwhelmed with a feeling of

reciprocation to us that might otherwise stop them moving forward with the

deal.

Next let’s take a look at the principle of

consistency.

#2 Consistency

The principle of consistency exists because

of our egos. When we buy into a thought pattern and start going down one

pathway, our brains don’t like to either admit that we might be wrong or change

our opinions once they have been set.

We see this with politics and religion.

Most people are brought up with certain

religious and political beliefs and then because of the principle of

consistency they spend the rest of their life avoiding other alternative

opinions in case they conflict with what they think they know.

This leads adults to believe that they’ve

made their own decisions on these things when in reality they’ve never really

questioned them.