The Thoughts And Ideas Of The Efficiency Coach

There are six principles of influence – as identified by Professor R. Cialdini, and it pays to know about these six principles when you are marketing your business. Most scams or advertisements will use at least one of the principles…

Think about rolos… which rolo has the most intrinsic value placed on it? The last or the first? Somehow, “would you like my first rolo?” just doesn’t have the same appeal as “would you like my last rolo?”. Scarcity influences people to take action. When marketing your business always put a time limit on offers, quotes, number of clients you work with. talk about how busy you are with orders and clients… For example, I have just started to build up a mailing list. I have offered an extra free e-book for the first 100 people that sign up. Without that much effort I have easily signed up 50+ people in a weekend… and many people have contacted me hoping that they are in the first 100 people.

Take any trip to a recognised medical professional. How readily do you accept their recommendation? I would suggest, normally fairly readily. Authority and expertise influences people.  To use this principle when marketing your business, emphasise how long you have been trading, professional qualifications, your expertise with a particular niche (no. 1 for coaching business owners to improve their efficiency)… display certificates of professional competence in your reception or shop

Have you ever wondered why charities when wanting a donation from you, often send you a free pen with the begging letter? If someone does something for you, or gives you something you are more likely to reciprocate. If you want someone’s business card then offer yours first… give away a freebie to potential clients… sweeten up a deal with something of low cost to yourself… offer to connect people at networking events… provide free resources on your website… offer something in return for someone signing up to your newsletter… In all honesty, this is the reason why generating goodwill is one of the best ways of growing your business.

Has this ever happened to you? You don’t particularly want to go out on a Saturday night, but when told that some of your good friends are going out… you suddenly feel you want to go out on Saturday. This is called social proof. This is why toy manufacturers artificially create the ‘must have toy for christmas’… and then provide limited stocks of this item… To use this in marketing your business… talk about how loved/trusted you are with your target market, provide easily visible client and customer testimonials/reviews on your marketing material… talk about how busy you are with orders and clients…

Do you know why I wouldn’t now wear any lapel badges or plastic bracelets? At one point in time I used to quite happily wear the Aids Ribbon, plastic bracelets, poppies charitable pin badges… I now don’t buy or wear these on principle. It’s not because I don’t support these causes – I still donate… By wearing a lapel badge, poppy or bracelet you are more likely to donate more often and frequently to the charity whose promotional item you are wearing – as our brains want us to be consistent in our actions. To use this in your business think about promotional goods that can be easily seen by your clients – mousemat, fridge magnet, notepad… or even better, provide an easy way for your clients to buy a small, low cost product or service from you. They will then be more likely to buy larger and more costly products and services from you at a later date.

Have you ever wondered why people buy from people? Well, actually people buy from people they think are like them or they find they like something about them. Therefore, when marketing your business or out at networking events, emphasise what you share in common with your target market, find something to complement about new people you meet at networking events… e.g. I love your tie… your office is really well situated…

Related posts:

1. Nine ways every business can improve its efficiency Nine ways every business, regardless of its size, can improve its business efficiency....
2. Twitter – an absorbing waste of time, or a powerful business marketing tool? Advocates of Twitter will say it’s essential for business. Other people will say it’s a time waster... So which is...
3. 18 ways an agenda can help improve your meeting’s efficiency Well managed meetings can save an organisation time and money. Unfortunately the reality is that in many businesses, meeting are...
4. Does it look too good to be true? There is no such thing as 'guaranteed success', but there are ways to increase the odds of success....
5. How efficiently & effectively are you marketing your practice? Marketing a professional services firm can often be viewed as a black art. This need not be the case. Successful...