We’ve been talking about a special day: 1/1/11.  On this day, we want you to wake up successful!  While the Internet is now an unavoidable part of your life, it is also a way to connect yourself to 2 billion people.  We are continuing our discussion this month on Internet marketing, referencing my book, Multiple Streams of Internet Marketing.

Marketing goes beyond just sales and advertising.  It represents every encounter and experience a customer has with you, from the very beginning exposure to their eventual status as a raving fan. Theodore Levitt, the famous Harvard marketing professor, said it this way in 1975: The marketing process consists of … “a tightly integrated effort to discover, create, arouse, and satisfy customer needs.”  The marketing process should start by identifying specific  “starving strangers” - people who are predisposed to want what you have.  Convert these starving strangers first into friends, then into customers, then even into partners - loyal allies who profit with you in sharing your business with others. The Internet further helps you to turn these customers into ‘partner’ affiliates, who then sell your products to their customers for a commission from you.  Most businesses still don’t take their customers to that “partner” level.  Those who have, are benefiting from a  tremendously expanded market.

During the late 80’s, the market demand was slowing down for our seminars.  We had been using an independent sales team who handled the sales process in conjunction with our seminars.  Previously their commissions were becoming significant, but as the market slowed down, my partner Tom Painter suggested I needed to start doing the selling myself.  We wouldn’t have to pay out all those commissions during these harder times.  But I was convinced selling was not my strength.  And I proved it, as I made some nervous attempts at closing.  I could teach and entertain any-sized audience, but it seemed too pushy to be up there asking for money.  So my belief made me inevitably up-tight and unconvincing.  I remained horrible at closing, and continued to feel petrified doing it.  I find that most people feel this way.

Sometimes out of the blue you are given a gift with the answers you need.  Bill Martin was an audio/visual specialist who helped in our various seminars, including those for other speakers such as Tony Robbins.  One day, Bill handed me this book by Dr. Robert Cialdini called, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.  As I read this powerful book, the lights went on.  These principles of influence were an easy-to-learn science of psychology, not a complex manipulative sales strategy.  I could finally understand how people would be so eager to buy what you have, that you’ve caused a “feeding frenzy”.  They are actually happy to part with their money.  Cialdini’s book is filled with case studies and stories demonstrating the success of applying six principles of persuasion: 1) Reciprocity, 2) Commitment and consistency, 3) Social proof, 4) Liking, 5) Authority, 6) Scarcity.  So of course I started to apply these principles to my own marketing and presentations.

I first considered Reciprocity, and translated that into my version, “Gift-giving”.  Generosity is inherent in our universe anyway, as your Heavenly Father is a giver.  We are receiving so many magnificent gifts every single day from Him, that we often take it for granted.  But we are children of this giving Universe, so part of our DNA is to give back.  Although our society can teach us to hoard and refrain from giving too much away, the truth is that when you give, people are more naturally induced to give back.  It’s almost an automatic urge to reciprocate.

Although this is a fundamental law of marketing, I’ve been delighted to give things away just for the sake of giving.  And I will always give things away during my seminars, without expecting reciprocation. I will never do this for some hoped-for effect.  I just enjoy giving.  During the 80’s, I was less of a giver, but that has changed.  I found that I enjoyed giving so much, that I became a more likeable person, partly because I was no longer worrying about the closing process.

I know that 90% of people won’t buy anyway. The other 10% or so are usually already predisposed to buy, upon their arrival.  They are ready for the deeper experience.  But the other 90% still deserve a gift, even if they don’t have money, time or readiness to buy the next level.  Your gifts will provide them some tools to begin their road to success.  They receive a taste of you, and they become fans, at a minimum.  They trust and enjoy being around you.

I learned the power of this single principle.  My attitude toward sales was transformed, just from the good feeling of giving alone.  Even though some gifts will cost you money, many others don’t have to. You can give your time, your attention, your smile, your recommendations, your referrals. You can give a meaningful quote from a book, rather than the whole book.  Just listening with caring focus is a huge gift that is surprisingly rare.  But this is difficult for most people, since they are usually thinking, “What’s in this for me”, rather than, “How can I help you”.  There are all kinds of ways to give without it having to cost you a dime.  Just ask yourself how you can be a better friend.  Start by truly listening to their needs.

Too many people want to just get.  They are focused on getting something from you. People are either go-getters or go-givers. I’ve recently started reading a book by Bob Burg and John David Mann, called The Go-Giver.  If you’re a “getter”, you’re always looking out for what somebody can do for you.  If you’re a “giver”, you’re always looking out for what you can do for somebody else.  The go-givers prevail as they are considered more trustworthy, and start receiving more because of the law of reciprocity.  There are a lot of people in my life who have tried to get me to help them with their personal projects.  But there are others who simply jump in to help me when they see a way to be of service.  They don’t ask for anything in return.  It’s these givers I cannot resist wanting to help back.

 Cialdini’s second principle is called “Commitment and consistency”, and I have called this one “Baby steps”.  If you can get someone to take a small step toward you, they’re more prepared and likely to take a major leap.  It can start as simple as asking them to raise their hands, like a vote for what they believe in.  If they don’t get such an opportunity to “vote”, their critical voice continues to talk them out of things.  That negative voice is a skeptic that maintains control of the belief system.  But just ask something like, “How many of you would like to learn how to earn $24,000 in 24 hours”, and people will physically raise their hand, effectively overriding the critical voice.

Cialdini’s third principle is called Social Proof. This concept – which I call “Popularity” - suggests that if lots of people want something, even more people will line up for it.  Without proof of popularity, fewer people will line up.  But with evidence of popularity, people are lured just from that alone.  They perceive greater value. This Social Proof effect can compound in either direction.  So in your influencing of people, you’ve got to show that everyone wants what you have.

In my seminars, I will effectively neutralize the few inevitable skeptics, again by having people raise their hands to my questions.  This creates not only that “Baby step” I mentioned, but also evidence that my ideas are popular.  The skeptics find themselves outnumbered, while witnessing that what is being taught is considered valuable.  They start to second-guess their own resistance.  And I as the speaker, also receive that extra proof of my own worth so I can carry on with continued confidence.  It is also essential I persist to get their response.  You as the influencer must make sure people are paying attention and responding actively.  Never pass up an opportunity to create social proof, because if you do, your self-doubts might resurface, and audience members might get discouraged from the lack of popularity evidence.  You must train people to move, by showing that others have moved, even if it started by just raising their hands.

So I have taken the first three principles from Cialdini’s book and renamed them as:  1) Giving Gifts, 2) Baby steps, 3) Popularity.  I consider these the three most important and necessary principles of influence.  To Cialdini’s original set of six principles, I have added six more proven principles of my own, renaming all of them to simplify and relate to them: 

1. Giving Gifts

2. Baby Steps

3. Popularity

4. Credibility

5. Scarcity

6. Honesty

7. Rapport

8. Urgency

9. Greed (pleasure)

10. Fear of loss (pain)

11. Belonging

12. Curiosity

These principles (to be further explained later) are an essential checklist for your marketing or persuasion efforts of any kind.  Sprinkle them liberally throughout your sales presentations, and you’ll be rewarded.  You’ll become a natural influencer, first consciously then unconsciously.  If you use these principles, people will say yes more often.  Even the people who still say no will continue to like you, predisposing them to either eventually say yes, or to at least refer you to someone who will.  This way, there is rarely rejection to fear.  Everyone continues to like you and trust you, and the word-of-mouth marketing remains positive.  You have treated them right, even when they said no.  If you do the old “hard”-sell method (versus “heart”-sell),  you’re using closing tactics that are pushy and can actually repel people. They get turned off, and may spread the word against you.  But these persuasion principles we’re discussing make you more “pully”.  Sales flow to you more naturally, somewhat like the law of attraction.  People are attracted to your influential style.

When I had finished reading this book, Influence, I was astounded. Despite my low self-esteem about selling, and my fear of rejection, I realized that if I am solving their problem, people will almost effortlessly share their credit cards with me.  I no longer felt “pushy”.  I proceeded to use Cialdini’s six principles of persuasion in the set of campaign emails I sent out to make $24,000 in 24 hours on the Internet.  The response was overwhelming, as I had successfully created a feeding frenzy.  In 30 hours, I made $115,504!  Ever since then, I have continued to confidently use Cialdini’s principles along with the additional ones of my own.  Next week we will continue our discussion of these persuasion and marketing principles.