Balancing our responsibilities, consumer desires and employer objectives makes juggling street performers of us all. But, we can count on knowing how the mind works.
These 5 principles should turn you into a guru of persuasion.
1.Author of “Thinking fast and slow”, Daniel Kahneman suggests there are two ways in which people make decisions. The primary method is fast, reactive and based on intuition. The second involves a more calculated, slow and thorough approach.
Humans are usually instinctive by nature, so its not surprising that 95 percent of all decisions and purchases stem from the primary process of thinking. So what does this mean?
Less copy and less said appeals to the instinctive nature by simplifying the process, too much information and people’s brains decide to opt out.
Web designers know, when people stumble onto a website, there is usually a 15 second time frame to catch viewers attention so its always best to offer just enough to intrigue viewers.
If the product or service of the website is better suited for the more thoughtful decision makers, then stats and facts are your friends of persuasion.
2. People have a greater fear of losing what they have over the desire to gain what they don’t. It’s an inconvenient truth but at least being armed with this knowledge helps. Time and money are two pots of gold that no body wants to part with. Instead of trying to convince them of potential benefits, remind them of what they won’t have to do if they choose to consider your proposal.Copywritersdo this everyday. In connection with this, people are also more willing to give more after they have given or committed to something smaller.
3. The primacy effect governs what we choose to prioritise and remember. The first few things within a list tend to be remembered. Do you remember what happened to things at the bottom of your To-Do list? Probably not, because you don’t remember what they were.
4. Give a little…not too much
When faced with too many decisions, people become too indecisive to make any decision. This is why market research exists, know what people want and give them a restricted variety or number of choices within that group.
5. Studies by Guadagno and Cialdini (2002) have shown that men are far more responsive to emails than women, while women prefer face-to-face relationship forming contact. This applies typically in a situation where familiarity is low. The art of persuasion should start before you even approach the individual. Moral of the story, to side step busy schedules and competitive natures, choose your mode of initial communication carefully.
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