How to Influence - Robert Cialdini's Amazing Book

A man is walking down a street when he’s approached by a 12 year old boy scout.

Boy scout????? “We’re raining funds for our scout group and we have a circus on Saturday evening.? The tickets are €5 each – would you be interested in taking one?”

Man??? “No thanks”.

Boy scout????? “if you don’t feel like taking a ticket, how about buying our chocolate bars – they are only €1 each.

The man bought 2 bars, even though he does not like chocolate.

2 factors are at play here.

The contrast rule - €1 is so much cheaper than €5

The Boy Scout seemed to make a concession by backing off the €5 dollar sales

We feel obliged to make a concession to somebody who has made a concession to us.

Above is an example of ‘rejection then retreat technique’Principle 1 – Reciprocation

This is taken from Robert Cialdini's best selling book 'Influence'.

Here is another similar story.

A college professor sent dozens of Christmas cards to complete strangers.

He received a card back from many of them.? None enquired who he was.

If somebody does us a favour, we feel obliged to do them one back.

People who sample cheese in the supermarket often feel obliged to buy some of the product.

Picture the scene.

A businessman is walking quickly through a crowded airport.

He has a flight to catch.

Would you think this is a good prospect to stop and look for a charitable donation?

Most people would think not.

Well wait and see what happens next.

A woman approaches him and hands over a flower.

The man, reacting with surprise, takes it.

Almost immediately he tries to hand it back.

The Hare Krishna member says it’s a gift from them and it’s his to keep.

A donation to further the society’s good works would be appreciated.

The businessman tries to hand back the flower again.

“It’s our gift to you” the woman responds.

There is visible conflict in the man’s face.

Should he keep the flower and walk away without giving anything or should he give a donation.

With a nod of resignation, he fishes in his pocket for some notes and hand them over.

The woman thanks him and he walks away.

At the first rubbish bin he sees, he quickly disposes of his ‘gift’.

What has just happened?

Why does a busy businessman take a flower he clearly does not want?

And then hands over money.

Only to throw away his gift at the first opportunity.

The man has been subjected to one of the most powerful laws in the universe.

It’s called the law of reciprocation.

If somebody gives us something, we feel obliged to pay them back.

Even if the gift is something we don’t want.

The Hare Krishna know this law and use it very well to extract lots of money from people.

Look at the reaction of the businessman.

He clearly did not want the flower.

But once he accepted it, he felt obliged to pay back the person, in this case, with a donation.

What does this mean to you in business?

Well lots of business people out there use this principle every day.

Ever been offered a free cheese sample in the supermarket?

Ever receive a bundle of charity cards at Christmas with a softly message saying if you would like to keep the cards, you can make a donation of your choice to the charity?

Think about ways you can use this in your business.

Joe brought people a can of coke and later mentioned raffle tickets.

Although Joe’s coke only cost 10cent, most people spent 50cent on raffle tickets.

The value of the initial favour is not really a big factor – people’s return favour is often much bigger.

Another example is how women often mention feeling an obligation to a man who buys them dinner or a drink.

Neil