(Photo credit: Lars Plougmann)
When you have no new leads, then you have no new business. Make sense, right? Believe it or not, you already have leads – you just haven’t properly cultivated them. Whether they are on an email list or business page or somewhere else within your reach, you have the ability to reignite those cold leads to something warm. Dr Robert Cialaini developed the 6 triggers of influence.
- Reciprocity
- Commitment and Consistency
- Social Proof
- Authority
- Liking
- Scarcity
These triggers are hard wired into each of us. The trigger you add to your sales process is the one that resonates with you the most. You can incorporate more then one, but each has their own nuance and technique in implementing.
Let’s look at Reciprocity – when you do something nice for someone, they feel obligated to you. Have you noticed that when you walk into a car dealership they offer you a cup of coffee or water? When someone enters your store front, offer them a free sample. If someone visits your web site, you can offer them a free, value packed, download (plus add them to your email list).
My personal favorites are authority and liking. Positioning yourself as an authority in your niche leads to a “hey follow me” mentality. People tend to obey authority figures (I don’t mean that in a demeaning way). As for liking, it simply makes sense, people tend to do business with people they like.
Scarcity done right creates a sense of urgency. People want what is available for only a limited time.
Social Proof is when people do things they see other people doing. Think iPods, when they hit – holy COW did they hit.
Commitment and Consistency – this pulls on people’s desire to be consistent with their past behavior. Asking someone if they take the opportunity to grow their business when one is presented to them. Typically the answer is yes. Having answered that, they are more then likely agree to the opportunity you offer them.
Which model resonates with you?
