Marketing Psychology Mastery Tips

I was observing an interesting phenomenon earlier.

I overheard this couple arguing. It started out in a nice considerate tone and built to a louder and louder crescendo.

By the end it was full out yelling.

She kept saying, “You’re not hearing me. Why don’t you ever listen?.”

To which he retorted “You never SEE my point. Look I see what you’re saying.”

It was abundantly clear to me she was primarily an auditory person and he was a visual person. There are 3 basic modes of communication that humans fall into.

Most people are visual, smaller groups is auditory, and an even smaller group is kinesthetic.

You’ve seen examples of visual and auditory people in ‘the fighting couple’. Kinesthetic types use words like “I feel you. It doesn’t seem right. Something just isn’t right in this situation.”

You can tell what kind of person you are dealing with by listening to the types of words they mainly use. So be observant and when you find out what kind of person you can communicate with them in the channel they are most comfortable.

You’ll be surprised how much more they like you and understand you.

ALso, there’s a cool eye position thing you can do. I’ll talk to you about it next time.

Here’s part 6 of 6 in the Influence article series. The Finale.

The 6 again are:

1. law of reciprocity
2. law of authority
3. law of liking
4. law of commitment and consistency
5. law of social proof
6. law of scarcity

Scarcity is absolutely the most powerful motivator you can use. Even something which is unproven will still be bought when you build the desire and make it extremely limited.

Look at all the coin advertisements you see. They play up the scarcity factor like madmen.

“ONly 200 coin bricks were ever minted. No more will ever be minted.”

“Get your hands on these collector’s edition gold coin sets. Comparable sets have risen 1700% in the last 4 years.”

These scarcity tactics get you into a lather that “I better buy now or I’ll miss my opportunity and they’ll all be sold out.”

It goes back to your younger days when you were in your play pen with all your cool new toys. They were all glitzy and easily within reach. And then…

Out of the corner of your eye you spot it. You see it, your new toys are cooler than it and more fun, but you WANT IT.

You don’t know why nor can you control it. You just know you want it. It’s your old beat up and chewed up ball.

You want it simply and mostly BECAUSE you can’t have it.

It’s an odd thing of our psychology as humans wanting what we can’t have makes it all the more desirable.

The problems with scarcity plays are when they are just that…plays.

Only 200 left. THe counter counts down to zero. You come back the next day…Only 200 left.

Clearly, this person will sell as many as possible and is only faking the scarcity to get you to buy now.

Be responsible and honest when you use scarcity in your marketing and it will serve you like the greatest autonomic slave ever.

Here’s part 5 of 6 in the Influence article series.

The 6 again are:

1. law of reciprocity
2. law of authority
3. law of liking
4. law of commitment and consistency
5. law of social proof
6. law of scarcity

Social Proof is probably the most used tactic by marketers the world over. It can also be called peer pressure or peer influence.

You see it on all the tv infomercials. Even the big FOrtune 500 companies show regular people using the product in question while at the same time about how great it works.

The person demonstrates using the product as they are talking about how much they love it, how easy it is to use, and how great it works.

THis is very powerful because it sends the everyman concept right into the viewer’s mind.

These are also known as testimonials. Many web pages fail to have any testimonials on them which is a big mistake.

The big players use social proof, newbies and unsuccessful people don’t.

You can and should make use of this at every turn. Unfortunately, it doesn’t just come to you. You have to ask your customers to tell you how they liked your product.

Ask them to record a short 15-30 second video on what your product did for them. “I used Troy’s product to clean my car tires and it got the dirt and grease off with only 1 wipe and no scrubbing.” THat’s a very powerful statement for everyone who likes driving around with clean tires.

Ask yourself, “how can I use social proof to get what I want in my life?”

You have reached #4 of the 6 part influence master list.

The 6 again are:

1. law of reciprocity
2. law of authority
3. law of liking
4. law of commitment and consistency
5. law of social proof
6. law of scarcity

This is one of the most powerful. Once someone commits to doing something the earth moves, providence gets behind them, and man can become supremely powerful.

You’ve heard the stories of little old ladies picking up cars to free a child’s caught leg. This takes a massive commitment.

How it relates to influence is chipping away at your prospects. Can you get them to take 1 first easy step. Maybe it’s clicking on your ad.

Then can you entice and compel them with what they want so powerfully they take the next step. Maybe it’s giving you a call leaving a message on your 800#.

Then when you call and talk to them live can you get them to answer 3-4 questions and spend 10-15 minutes on the phone with you.

Each step in the process  gets them more committed and bonded to you. As humans we inherently have an internal clock.

Time is the most precious and scarce commodity we have so choosing wisely where to spend it is always top of the mind.

Each little bit of time you can get them to spend with you increases their commitment.

Consistency is very similar. People want to be consistent. When they tell you they’re going to do something they intend to follow through.

Because they realize if they don’t follow through you may not trust them again. When people don’t trust you it’s hard to get what you want.

So when you can get them to commit to a promise or a scheduled appointment they’ll do whatever it takes to get there. Of course, you have to make it strongly beneficial to them because you’ve probably had people flake on you.

Next time we talk about peer pressure aka social proof.

Today we move on to number 3 in our 6 point influence list.

Obviously, once you master these you’ll be getting more of what you want than you ever dreamed possible.

The 6 again are:

1. law of reciprocity
2. law of authority
3. law of liking
4. law of commitment and consistency
5. law of social proof
6. law of scarcity

So the law of liking is pretty self-explanatory. When you know, like and trust someone you are far more likely to buy from them, act on their recommendations, follow their advice, and outright do what they say.

It just makes sense. The biggest hurdle is meeting a stranger and determining do they have malicious intent, a self-serving agenda, or do they want something while also having my best interests at heart.

How many times have you gone to see a movie recommended by a friend?

How many times have you eaten at a restaurant you never would have considered simply because I friend told you a story of how great a dining experience he had there?

You pay way more attention to these recommendations than ads.

“Have the Best Dining Experience in All New York City” screams a billboard. How much credibility does it have with you?

If it’s a style of food you like maybe you’ll try it. However, when your friend recommends a new place with the style of food you like you definitely put it on the calendar to eat there ASAP.

That’s the power of the law of liking. Next time the Law of Commitment and Consistency.

Last time I talked with you about reciprocity the “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” phenomenon that all humans are bounded by. Without it society would break down into selfish, greedy sects where nothing gets done.

Today, I’m going to talk with you about the Law of Authority.

1. law of reciprocity
2. law of authority
3. law of liking
4. law of commitment and consistency
5. law of social proof
6. law of scarcity

This law is one which is used mostly by governments, dictators and world leaders. Many times all it takes is a uniform to get unquestioned and mindless compliance.

However, it can have a less obvious effect. You are more prone to do what Brad Pitt, a doctor, a lawyer says than you would to do what your neighbor the trash man says.

This is because you place more authority and credibility to the celebrities and professionals. This happens because you respect celebrities for what they had to go through to achieve their place of fame.

You respect professionals because of the ‘intense’ schooling and long years of education they had to go through as if that is some kind of badge of competency instead of what it really is….a display of perseverance.

It’s nothing more than perseverance in many cases because like anything else in life the 80/20 rule applies.

You should respect them for giving up those years of their life and sticking it out to the end completion but judge them based on their competency and make your decisions from there.

The infamous ‘white coat’ syndrome has caused many problems in life. In 1 experiment people were brought in to a lab by a ‘doctor’ wearing a white coat and told they were to shock a person in another room whenever he answered questions incorrectly.

Most of the people in the study delivered up to lethal shocks to the victim because the doctor urged them to. They were informed the shock levels would be lethal and did it anyway.

So the power of the Law of Authority has vast implications that can be greatly abused. Stay alert and don’t just blindly follow the ‘Law’.

Yesterday I promised you more about the 6 laws which were:

1. law of reciprocity
2. law of authority
3. law of liking
4. law of commitment and consistency
5. law of social proof
6. law of scarcity

1. Law of Reciprocity

This means “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” You do something for another person first and then you can go back to them for help, the marketing partnership you desired, or the meeting you wanted to setup.

This even works when it’s unsolicited because the person feels some obligation to you for helping them. There’s an inherent human nature to pay you back because they know if everyone takes and never gives back the world would stop.

People would stop giving because noone else is giving back and things would grind to a halt.

Cialdini mentions the Hare Krishna group that used this unwanted giving to start the law of reciprocation. They were the weird looking guys who once roamed airports wearing white robes looking very monk like. They would give you a rose and then say “a donation would be much appreciated” or something to that effect.

They never made it mandatory but it was well known it would be appreciated. Most people didn’t even want the flower but gave a dollar or 2 anyway. People started refusing the flower because reciprocation is so powerful they didn’t want to be obligated.

Many people whether they’d donated or not threw the flower away! Those crafty Krishnas would go to the trash cans, dig out the already given flowers and recycle them by giving them to the next “victim”. So they were ’selling’ the same flowers over and over again sometimes 20 or more times per individual flower.

Needless to say this method of fundraising was very effective for them.

It shows you how to get your start. Offer, or better yet do, something to someone you just met or a contact you just made. Whether they ask for it or not as long as they know you did something to help them most times they’ll be more than willing to help you in return.

Tomorrow, law 2…

INfluence is the ability to sway people to your opinion by using a carefully crafted grouping of words. Sometimes images or video can be incorporated in for maximum effect.

The greatest influencers in history have been world leaders. Leonardo Da Vinci, Ghengis Khan, Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great.

All had great skills in persuasion and influence even if some were not the greatest orators.

Being able to convince people with your words is the most highly paid skill you can ever acquire.

Eliciting the emotional triggers you want to pull by the way your words are ordered and laid out on the page is what we’ll be focused on. Because this is what sells your product or service.

In his book Influence, Robert Cialdini talks about 6 different kinds of Influence:

1. law of reciprocity
2. law of authority
3. law of liking
4. law of commitment and consistency
5. law of social proof
6. law of scarcity

More about the laws to come…

This blog gives you advice about the psychology of the consumer and humans in general. The emphasis will be on how the inherent psychology affects decision making.

OF course once you have this knowledge it can have far-reaching effects for you, your business and your overall prosperity. Be careful because it also breeds a great deal of confidence.

I can’t be held responsible if you get “attacked” by the opposite sex due to your new found confidence.

Now that the ridiculous legal disclaimers are out of the way let’s get down to brass tacks. I always wondered what this means. Just sounds cool to use it.

What makes me qualified to advise and consult with you about marketing psychology?

I have studied and been an active copywriter for over 9 years now. I’ve read over 200 books on the subjects of psychology, marketing, and salesletter writing. I charge clients between $50-$100/hr for my copywriting services to write salesletters, opt-in pages and other parts of their marketing funnel process.

These experiences have taught me many things that work, and many that don’t, that I’ll be passing over to you so you can use and profit from my experiences. This cuts your learning curve by 50%-75%.

One philosophy I recommend to you is “do what you do well and partner/hire others to do the rest”. This keeps you efficient and productive which will overall make you happier. Also, “always be reading”. Readers are leaders so devote 10 minutes or more everyday to read from a book related to your business or industry.

Now, I plan to develop you into a thought reading machine. You’ll feel like you are in the head of your customers. This is exactly where you want to be…in the middle of the “conversation your prospect/customer” is having in their head AND YOU are the trusted adviser guiding them to the correct, best decision.

You have to have quality products and never use this for evil. Your products must add value and solve the problems your customer has. In this way you’ll be doing exactly what is in their best interest.

You and I will be talking about these main concepts:

• INfluence: all the main factors of influence from this classic book
• Persuasion: ethically using this (I’ve learned a great deal from Dave Lakhani)
• Suggestion and Compelling Persuasion: mostly from what I’ve discovered from Kurt Mortensen
• IMplicit vs. Explicit Decision-Making: much of this from Frank Kern
• Psychological Triggers: Joe Sugarman wrote a book about these
• 9 Persuasion Factors: Kevin Hogan wrote about these
• Influencing people on the street: this will be tailored to your business pursuits (courtesy of magician, hypnotist Derren Brown)
• Hard vs Soft sell: knowing your customers personality and which will be best to use with them, when to use each

There will be much more to come and I’m certainly open to answering questions you pose in the comments of these articles as well as exploring other areas that interest you or you think would benefit your profit bottom line.

Talk again soon.

Alexander