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How to Be Persuasive

Guy Kawasaki of How to Change the WorldGuy Kawasaki of How to Change the World | August 7th, 2008 - 08:56 AM
(113) found this useful. Do you? Yes

yes.jpg
In simple terms, there are three kinds of business books:

  • You read, and you ask yourself, “Why did I buy this piece of crap?”
  • You read, and you ask yourself, “Interesting, but how do I apply this stuff to my business?”
  • You read, and you immediately change what you’re doing.

    • In my experience (and I get a book a week to review), books in the third category appear once a year or so. One such book is “Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive” by Noah J. Goldstein, Steven J. Martin, and Robert B. Cialdini. This book ranks in the top 10 business books that I’ve ever read. The book is a collection of 50 short chapters that document an experiment—usually in social psychology—and then the ramifications of the findings. In a nutshell, the book truly does explain how to persuade. Here are some illustrations that you can probably immediately use in your business.1. A telemarketing company increased phone calls to its 800 line by changing part of its script from “Operators are waiting, please call now” to “If operators a busy, please call again.” Thus, the impression changed from idle operators waiting for the phone to ring because sales weren’t great to operators too busy to handle all the business. This is called the principle of social proof: When people are uncertain, what others are doing influences their behavior. This is why we think restaurants with a long line to get in must serve good food.

    2. Researchers found that the more options offered in a company retirement plan, the fewer people participate in that plan. Similarly, when experimenters offered only six flavors of jam, 30% of the people who approached the display bought any jam. When the experimenters offered 24 flavors, only 3% bought some. Therefore, instead of trying to offer every color, size, and price point of gizmo, you might want to reduce the choices to increase sales.

    3. When Williams-Sonoma offered a new, improved, and more expensive bread maker, it found that sales of the original model doubled. This is because people like to make compromise choices that fall between the minimum they need and the maximum they can afford. Suppose you’re a restaurant. Should you list the expensive wines or the cheap wines first? Probably the expensive ones because it will cause people to order the less pricey ones.

    4. Which of these two questions is more likely to help you garner influence? “Who can help me here?” or “Whom can I help?” The answer is the latter. This is the concept of paying things forward. Most people have a deep sense of reciprocation and gratitude–indeed, most societies are built on these concepts. Hence, when you help people first, most will help you in return.

    5. In an experiment, waiters gave candy with the restaurant bill to diners in three different ways: one piece of candy for each guest; two pieces of candy to each guest; and one piece of candy for each guest followed by walking away from the table and then turning around to give a second piece of candy to each guest. The results were: 3.3% increase in tips for one piece of candy; 14.1% increase for two pieces of candy given at once; and 23% increase in tips for the walk away and return with a second piece scenario. What’s this tell you? Unexpected and personalized gifts are powerful motivators.

    6. The authors of the book were able to almost double the likelihood that someone would donate to the American Cancer Society by adding five words to their pitch. The standard pitch was “Would you be willing to help by giving a donation?” The pitch that was twice as effective contained these additional five words: “Even a penny will help.” Apparently asking for a little step in the direction you want is highly effective.

    To illustrate the usefulness of the book, here is the email that I send when we add a person’s website to Alltop.com. Alltop is an “online magazine rack” organized by topics that contains feeds from the top news and opinion aggregation sites.

    My name is Guy Kawasaki, and I’m the co-founder of Alltop. I am also a partner at Garage Technology Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm, and I was the chief evangelist of Apple. I live in Silicon Valley, California.

    You may notice that visitors to your site came from Alltop.com because we added your site to http://smallbusiness.alltop.com/. (If Alltop is slow or down, please try it again later because we often get hammered by traffic.) You’ll see many of your peers at this site, too. We created Alltop to provide an “online magazine rack” for people who do not use RSS feeds.

    I hope that you will share Alltop with your readers by writing it because we are trying to achieve critical mass–even a small mention is great. Also, many sites display our badge, and we’d be honored if you did so too. (In fact, we serve approximately 250,000 badges per day.) They are available at http://badges.alltop.com/.

    I added the boldfaced text immediately after I read Yes! to increase the impact of this email by telling the recipient that the site is very busy, “even a penny” of mention will help, and many sites have added our badge. (Incidentally, all of what I added is true.) I am pretty sure that if you read “Yes!,” you’ll find things to change about your business too.Update: You’d probably enjoy this story of buying a rug in Turkey. (Thanks to Mitch Weisburgh for pointing it out to me.)

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    Posted:

    8:56 AM on Aug 7, 2008
    By: Guy Kawasaki

     

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    Comments

    1. Joel Libava | August 7th, 2008 at 12:25 pm

      Guy,
      Fantastic article, and so true. I remember reading about the “jam” experiment. TOO many choices tend to make potential clients/customers not be able to make a choice. I think I’ll get the book…
      Oh yeah. Alltop.com rocks!
      Joel Libava
      http://thefranchiseking.typepad.com

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    2. Daan Jansonius | August 7th, 2008 at 1:24 pm

      Another one to add to the growing wish list!

      The research in point two is also mentioned in the Long Tail by Chris Anderson - he argues it’s not about too much choice, but it’s about making that choice manageable. Amazon sells God knows how many products even though they offer millions of products. Their filters (categories, user reviews) help make sense of it all, which keeps it manageable.

      Also, I do wonder how this research holds up internationally. Your email is the perfect example, the lines added in bold would be construed as blagging by plenty of people who I know.

      I’ll be keeping an eye out on it though, because the topic does interest me!

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    3. Anthony | August 7th, 2008 at 2:16 pm

      Hi Guy,
      Great website, really enjoy reading your blogs and reviews.
      One interesting thing for me is that you said you sent the review to your friends at Amex. This seems a bit Bizzare to me as the guys I used to work with at Amex (in an international customer engagement role) (before I left to set up my own company) had studied their doctorates with Robert….
      Perhaps your friends at Amex don’t know their is a team of people in Phoenix actively implementing influence and persuasion across the globe !!
      Perhaps I could introduce them for you, or at least pass on their names to them..

      All the best
      Anthony

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    4. Thursday Links | Subverting Mediocrity | August 7th, 2008 at 2:19 pm

      [...] How to be persuasive.  Check it. [...]

      5. ----------

    5. Andy | August 7th, 2008 at 2:20 pm

      This isn’t showing on Amazon. Is it available yet?

      Thanks,
      Andy

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    6. David Damore | August 7th, 2008 at 3:40 pm

      So much great stuff in this post. Have never seen a review with so much “MEAT” ;)

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    7. David Damore | August 7th, 2008 at 3:45 pm

      @ Andy,
      The book is available on Amazon.

      http://www.amazon.com/Yes-Scientifically-Proven-Ways-Persuasive/dp/1416570969/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218145365&sr=1-2

      # Hardcover: 272 pages
      # Publisher: Free Press (June 10, 2008)

      Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive (Hardcover)
      by Noah J. Goldstein (Author), Steve J. Martin (Author), Robert B. Cialdini (Author)

      40 Reviews
      5 star: 87% (35)
      4 star: 10% (4)
      3 star: 2% (1)
      2 star: (0)
      1 star: (0)

      See all 40 customer reviews…
      4.8 out of 5 stars (40 customer reviews)
      List Price: $25.00
      Price: $16.50 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25.

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    8. Phyllis | August 7th, 2008 at 5:53 pm

      Guy,
      I appreciate the amount of content in your review. Even better is your real life example of changing your email copy after learning the priciples of this book. After all, that’s what a great business book should do right? Affect change; a point you demonstrated perfectly.

      Nicely done.

      Phyllis Nichols
      http://www.soundadvice4you.com

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    9. Michael Daehn | August 7th, 2008 at 8:18 pm

      Looks like a great book for business owners, copywriters and salespeople…hey that’s everyone. I better get a copy!

      Michael Daehn
      http://www.michaeldaehn.com

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    10. Seth Garrison | August 7th, 2008 at 8:19 pm

      Guy

      I don’t need to read the book now. You just boiled the main concepts down and I learned a lot just from this review.

      Thanks
      Seth

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    11. T | August 7th, 2008 at 8:21 pm

      Great article. Too many choices paralyze me, so I don’t want 24 different jams from which to choose! And if the waiter brings dark chocolate, and then returns with more? He has my undying love, and a big fat tip as well.

      Sounds like a great book.

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    12. Nettie Hartsock | August 7th, 2008 at 8:23 pm

      Guy,
      I’m a giant fan of Cialdini’s “The Psychology Of Persuasion”. I heard that he wrote that book actually to teach consumers how to not be persuaded - is that true?

      In particular in the aforementioned book, I found the Social Proof idea very interesting. And every time I see the Kleenex commercial where folks are crying on a couch it makes me think of the social proof that Cialdini mentions.

      I’ll have to get this new book too!

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    13. Breanne Potter | August 7th, 2008 at 8:30 pm

      Love it! This will be the next book on my list. I had a similar perspective-altering experience after reading Influence by Robert Cialdini. It’s an oldy, but a goodie.

      It’s basically a social psychology book with great real life applications. for instance, if you want to cut someone in line, you have a better chance of succeeding if you give a reason (even if that reason is “because I need to go first). Basically, you don’t need a real reason…all people hear is the word “because” and feel obligated to allow the request. Fascinating!

      Breanne Potter
      http://www.thembtiblog.com

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    14. Holly | August 7th, 2008 at 8:41 pm

      Can you use these tactics with your husband and children too? :)

      Thanks for the mini case studies. Human behavior is so interesting.

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    15. Naomi Moneypenny | August 7th, 2008 at 8:47 pm

      Definitely sounds like a must read. Cialdini’s book on Influence was really groundbreaking and interesting. Looks like this is in a similar vein, and sounds very usable and practical. Great review - thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.

      Naomi Moneypenny
      http://www.ManyWorlds.com - the knowledge network for business thought leadership

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    16. Wendy Perrin | August 7th, 2008 at 8:50 pm

      Fascinating. I’m going to order the book right now. You’ve persuaded me!

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    17. ilinap | August 7th, 2008 at 8:56 pm

      I spent the greater part of my professional life at Amex and think very highly of the brand. That’s where I got lots of my schooling to be a marketing consultant now. I learned the art of persuasion from my cohorts at the golden standards of brands, American Express. A call to action is a must. Without one, there’s no hook. There are plenty of great branding and sales strategists within the company. Like I said, I learned from the best (well, I’d include my Northwestern cronies in there too!).

      And about Alltop, I’m not even a shimmer of hope. How I can persuade my readers to boost me up there? Ha ha ha.

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    18. Shawn | August 7th, 2008 at 9:04 pm

      Wow, even if you’re not in sales…what great truths–that waiter study was a perfect example of the benefits of going the extra mile. Imagine if Airlines did that!

      Can’t wait to read it!

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    19. Thomas | August 7th, 2008 at 9:05 pm

      “Whom can I help?” is my #1 rule for networking. Helping others builds trust and loyalty (and whuffie) in a way that goal-centered networking can never do.

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    20. Bruce Eric Anderson | August 7th, 2008 at 9:13 pm

      Guy: your very persuasive tweet (please go comment on this posting on persuasiveness) drove me here :). It was the please that got me here.

      Your summary is interesting and I think there are personal scenarios where if, as a husband and father, I can just change my tone or words slightly with my family, the outcome would be different. The first example you give (long line at a restaurant must mean they have good food) reminds me of the logic and reason fallacy of argumentum ad popolum, which essentially says it is wrong to say that if a lot of people believe something, therefore it is true. This is different in that the people are in line, their actions demonstrate their desire for the food but it is similar. I’ll look for this book on Amazon. Thanks, Guy.

      bruceericatdell

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    21. Matthew Bowe | August 7th, 2008 at 10:10 pm

      Cialdini has made life-changing differences in several of my friend’s lives. He communicates “how things work” to the everyday man. That awareness, combined with thoughtful insight, means avoiding the manipulation that normally happens to “nice guys.” Influence is natural to some, hard to come by for others. Cialdini and friends make the rulle book accessible to everyone… leveling the playing field. Nice post Guy.

      Matthew Bowe
      http://www.matthewbowe.com
      http://www.rapidproductsuccess.com

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    22. Maura Burns | August 7th, 2008 at 11:06 pm

      I, too, was brought here by your tweet requesting people to comment — are you drunk with the power yet?

      This is a fascinating look at consumer behavior, boiled down wonderfully concisely. I plan to use the knowledge as a consumer and try not to fall for it, seeing as how I embodied #3 earlier this evening!

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    23. Liz Guthridge | August 7th, 2008 at 11:12 pm

      Agree with earlier post. Guy, your tweet (with the please) persuaded me to come here. Robert Cialdini has always been a favorite of mine. If you admire his work, you also may enjoy Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely. He’s a behavioral economist with some great case studies of how we hardly act rational.

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    24. Gerhard Rivera | August 8th, 2008 at 12:29 am

      I’m sold! Ordering first thing in the morning. @David Damore thanks for the link.

      Gerhard Rivera
      http://www.flingitgirl.com

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    25. eMarv | August 8th, 2008 at 12:47 am

      Great post and sounds like a great book! I already have Influence but it looks like I’ll be needing to reread it (and modify our copy for investor partners for Panama Hotel Projects especially the fact that Hilton, Marriott and Orient-Express, among others are expanding here, in Panama).

      Thanks for the rug salesman link, too, Guy!

      Marvin
      http://www.eMarv.com

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    26. Saravanan S | August 8th, 2008 at 2:46 am

      “Whom can I help?” though have used in the past, i haven’t used it consciously in the recent times. Thanks for reminding it.
      Guy ur tweet drove me here too

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    27. Lisa | August 8th, 2008 at 5:11 am

      Great review, Guy. I’ve been reading Cialdini’s Psychology of Persuasion and am almost done. As this book has made me more conscious about my actions and those of others, I’m not surprised that his new book will do so as well. I’ll have to check it out next time I’m buying books!

      28. ----------

    28. Working with People « Can the World Change? | August 8th, 2008 at 8:40 am

      [...] Guy Kawasaki also does a fantastic job of reviewing the latter here. [...]

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    29. San | August 8th, 2008 at 9:24 am

      Perhaps the best review, Guy. I will buy this book right away and read to learn more asap.

      San
      http://www.sannayak.com

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    30. Kate McLaughlin | August 8th, 2008 at 9:48 am

      Thanks for this article Guy! You aren’t quick to recommend books… Amazon here I come to get that book.

      Great post!

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    31. Doug Smith | August 8th, 2008 at 12:45 pm

      Great summary report for a fascinating book! I found this book in the book store and became so absorbed in reading it that the store closed with me still reading it and I didn’t even realize it!

      Thanks for reminding me that it’s time to buy the book and finish reading it!

      Doug Smith
      http://www.dougsmithtraining.com
      Developing leadership skills

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    32. Wesley Alford III | August 8th, 2008 at 3:46 pm

      Talk about hitting the nail on the head! I’m going to purchase this book ASAP so I can begin enhancing my clientele skills. Thanks Guy for the great article and for your blog…keep posting.

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    33. Andy | August 8th, 2008 at 4:41 pm

      David D - Thanks for the Amazon link. Not sure why my search didn’t yield it.

      Oh, well. Thanks!

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    34. Glen R. Graham | August 8th, 2008 at 9:34 pm

      I would love to just copy the whole article and post it on my blog: http://www.tulsacriminaldefense.blogspot.com but instead I will post a link to this article and do a short explanation in my own words. Thank you. I am always looking for insightful ideas on persuasion. As a trial lawyer, the art of persuasion is a very necessary tool.
      Sincerely,
      Glen R. Graham, Attorney at Law, Tulsa, Oklahoma
      http://www.tulsacrminaldefenses.com

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    35. Glen R. Graham | August 8th, 2008 at 9:40 pm

      My bio is on http://www.tulsacriminaldefenses.com
      Sorry about the mis-type
      Glen R. Graham, Attorney at Law, Tulsa, Oklahoma

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    36. Best Public Speaking Articles [2008-08-09] | August 9th, 2008 at 1:10 am

      [...] Olivia Mitchell and then Guy Kawasaki review Robert Cialdini’s Yes: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive. This book [...]

      37. ----------

    37. Miami Web Servers » Blog Archive » How to Be Persuasive | August 10th, 2008 at 7:29 am

      [...] How to Be Persuasive: “In simple terms, there are three kinds of business books: [...]

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    38. bramster | August 10th, 2008 at 3:34 pm

      Guy,

      Thanks for linking to this in your Blog. This book will add language to not only selling but developing positive leadership.

      All the best

      http://www.uwork4.com/blog

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    39. Roman | August 29th, 2008 at 6:28 pm

      Guy,

      Awesome article, I have read the first book by Cialdini (Influence). I didn’t know he was publishing a new one. I am going to have to order it now to add to my library.
      Roman.

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    40. Jeff Ramos | September 16th, 2008 at 3:30 pm

      I’ve recently got the book after seeing it on your personal blog and it really has helped. I’m working with a few start up business owners (doing promotion for them) and so far my first bit of advice is for them to get this book.

      Thanks again.

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    41. Can the World Change? » Blog Archive » Working with People | December 1st, 2008 at 1:59 am

      [...] Guy Kawasaki also does a fantastic job of reviewing the latter here. [...]

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