Persuasion principles
Why people say yes
17 entries · 17 traced to a named source · 11 free
- Put a defensible number on the table first.
- (negotiates relative to that number, even if it was arbitrary)
- Frame the option you want against a higher reference point
Anchoring
Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman, Science (1974)
- How do we know this will actually work for us?
- Across the last dozen firms we did this for, the bottleneck was almost always X.
- They relax, hearing guidance instead of a pitch.
Authority
Robert Cialdini, Influence (1984)
- Make the request, then add "but you're free to say no."
- (feels their autonomy respected, and agrees more often, not less)
- Compliance goes up compared to the same ask without the line
But You Are Free
Nicolas Guéguen and Alexandre Pascual, Current Research in Social Psychology (2000)
- So it's fair to say this is worth solving this quarter?
- Yes, definitely.
- Shall we start?
Commitment and Consistency
Robert Cialdini, Influence (1984)
- Ask for something large that you expect will be turned down.
- No, that's too much.
- Follow immediately with the smaller request you actually wanted.
Door-in-the-Face
Robert Cialdini et al., Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (1975)
- Go ahead, enter your own numbers here so you can see it with your data.
- They start configuring their own view in the product.
- It starts to feel like theirs before they've paid a cent.
Endowment Effect in Demos
Richard Thaler (1980); Kahneman & Knetsch (1990)
- Nine out of ten customers renew with us.
- They hear steady and low-risk, not almost one in ten leaving.
- The same fact lands as reassurance instead of a red flag.
Framing
Tversky & Kahneman, Science (1981)
- We'll figure out the right fit together.
- They relax, seeing you as an ally rather than a seller.
- They trust you more, and say yes more readily.
Liking
Robert Cialdini, Influence (1984)
- Right now that manual process is quietly costing you about two days a week.
- They realize just how much is leaking while they wait.
- The status quo stops feeling safe, and urgency sets in.
Loss Aversion
Kahneman & Tversky, prospect theory (1979)
- Does it make sense to look at this together for fifteen minutes?
- Sure, let's do it.
- So reducing that manual work is the priority?
Micro-Commitments
Robert Cialdini, Influence (1984)
- Lead with a genuine, relevant gift before any pitch, like a specific teardown of their process.
- (receives something real, clearly for their benefit, with no strings attached)
- They're more likely to say yes when you later ask.
Reciprocity
Robert Cialdini, Influence (1984)
- I need to think about it, no rush on my end.
- Point to the real capacity limit or true deadline, not a fake countdown
- Frame what they stand to lose, not what they'd gain
Scarcity
Robert Cialdini, Influence (1984)
- Two other regional clinics your size switched last year, here's what happened.
- Sees themselves in the example and feels the risk drop.
- Perceived risk drops because comparable buyers already chose you
Social Proof
Robert Cialdini, Influence (1984)
- Attach a reason to your small request, even a fairly weak one.
- (agrees, responding to the presence of a reason more than its strength)
- The small ask gets granted with less friction
The "Because" Justification
Ellen Langer, Arthur Blank and Benzion Chanowitz, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (1978)
- Add a third option that is worse than your target option on every dimension
- (the decoy makes the target option look like the obvious win)
- Present all three side by side, without pushing the target explicitly
The Decoy Effect
Joel Huber, John Payne and Christopher Puto, Journal of Consumer Research (1982)
- Have the buyer help build the proposal, not just review it
- (invests real effort, filling in numbers or choosing options)
- Present the plan as something you built together
The IKEA Effect
Michael Norton, Daniel Mochon and Dan Ariely, Journal of Consumer Psychology (2012)
- I ran a three-person agency for years, I know that cash-flow month feeling.
- Feels you're genuinely one of them, not an outsider pitching.
- Only use a shared identity that is real and honest, never fabricated
Unity
Robert Cialdini, Pre-Suasion (2016)