One of the most famous marketing books of all time is “Influence – The Psychology of Persuasion” by Robert Cialdini. This book discusses the six weapons of influence, which are now marketing principles that are using everyday in both offline and online marketing. I’ve outlined them below and explained how they can be applied in network marketing.
1. Reciprocity – People tend to return favors to those who they have benefited from or received value from. If someone feels you have helped them, they are more likely to buy something from you or join your business. This is the reason why so many online marketers offer free reports, they are hoping it will inspire you to reciprocate by sharing your email address with them. It’s also one of the reasons behind free product samples – they are hoping you will like the product and reciprocate by buying it. As you market your business, think about what you are putting out there and how you are marketing. Are you only marketing to get or are you also marketing to give? You should strive to find a balance between giving value and getting leads. Striving to give more will actually help attract more people to you and it will inspire reciprocity as well.
2. Commitment and Consistency – When someone commits to an action verbally, the probability that they will actually do it later increases. If you have a list of subscribers, you can send an email asking whether people on your list would buy a product you are considering promoting and if they say yes, they will be more likely to do so when/if you offer the product to them later (even though they are not really obligated to do so). This is due to the natural internal pressure that human nature exerts on us to uphold our commitments and follow through on what we have said we would do. When you’re prospecting and have found a persons core needs, ask them something like this: “If I showed you a company/opportunity that could give you [insert core need here... i.e. more time with your kids, more money, more time freedom, etc.] would you seriously consider it?” If they say yes, they will be more likely to join (or at least strongly consider joining) than if they had not made that verbal commitment.
3. Social Proof – People are more likely to do things or join opportunities that they see a bunch of other people involved with. This is why when you join a brand new company, the ability to get someone to join your team is often harder in the beginning – no one has heard of the company and no one knows anyone else that is involved. This is also why so many websites and products display testimonials. Testimonials are solid social proof that something does what it says it will do, or that it is worth someones time or the money being charged. Testimonials from authority or celebrity figures are even more valuable because of people’s perceptions of these individuals. When you’re sharing your opportunity, offer a place to find testimonials or, better yet, give your prospect access to other individuals who can validate your claims (your upline is great for this).
4. Authority – People of authority have more influence than those who don’t have any known authority. This true in everyday life and in just about every industry you can think of. Think about if a police officer were to walk up to you on the street and tell you to show him your I.D. Most people are likely to follow such an order for an officer of the law than for some stranger in plain clothes. Now imagine if a leader in your company or in the network marketing industry recommended a new opportunity. Most are more likely to at least look at the opportunity or the company when it is recommended by an authority. In Network Marketing, these authority figures include Mike Dillard, Jeffrey Combs, Todd Falcone, and others. If there is an authority figure you can point to that is involved in your business, it will increase your ability to sway your prospects.
5. Liking – People are more likely to say yes to you, to join your business, or buy your product if they like you! This is a simple principle, but a very powerful one. This is the reason why it is so important to build rapport with your prospects when you are sharing your opportunity with them – you want them to get to know you and to like you! This principle becomes even more powerful when you can build trust with someone in addition to them liking you. People are much more likely to join your business if they know, like, and trust you.
6. Scarcity – Scarcity is a principle that makes people think that something is rare or that there is not enough to go around. Scarcity makes people feel that if they don’t act quickly, they might miss out on something – and no one likes to miss out! A product generally seems more valuable when there a fewer of them available. When an offer is only available for a “limited time” it also helps to inject this scarcity principle. When it comes to new network marketing opportunities, getting in on the “ground floor” is using the scarcity principle because as the company grows this opportunity will no longer be available to those who join later.
Now that you understand the six weapons of influence, think about how you can start using them when you do your marketing, lead generation, and prospecting. If you can arm yourself with all six of them during your recruiting cycles, you have the potential to become a more powerful recruiter.