Many business owners are unconscious proponents of the Pareto Principle—a.k.a. the 80/20 rule. For many companies, 80 percent of their business comes from 20 percent of their customers, just as 80 percent of their time, attention and effort are spent with 20 percent of their business contacts—be they clients, employees or suppliers.

 

Unfortunately, it can be further deduced that 80 percent of the progress they’ve made toward realizing their business goals has come by gaining compliance from others only 20 percent of the time. A dismal batting average, indeed, yet many sign and digital graphics businesses still manage somehow to grow.

 

What if you could hear the sweet sound of “yes” more often? A lot more often. What would it mean to your business if, instead of only 20 percent of the time, you got the response you hoped for 80 percent of the time?

 

Dr. Robert Cialdini, Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University, has spent his career studying the environment of compliance—the science of getting people to do what you ask of them and the positive climate successful leaders are able to create. A number of years ago, I was treated to a thought-provoking presentation he gave on the subject at a training conference. In his speech—as in his book Influence: Science and Practice—Cialdini cited six principles that will improve the likelihood of compliance. Let us explore how these six principles can be put into practice in our industry.

 

A pop quiz to measure your persuasion power

A fortunate few have the “natural” gift of capturing an audience, convincing the undecided or converting a skeptic into an ally. The rest of us must learn it on our own—mostly through trial and error. Think of the following situations and indicate the action you would most likely take:

 

• You are preparing quotes for a customer on two separate proposals: a large order of high-end wayfinding signs and a small order of roadside stake signs. Is it more advantageous to discuss the most expensive—and profitable—proposition first or last?

 

• A steady customer is waffling on a decision about whether to upsize the quality and quantity of an order of banners. Is it better to tell her what she stands to gain by deciding to do it or what she stands to lose if she doesn’t?

 

• You are forced to make a policy change on vacation time for your employees. You know part of the change will not be well received. Still, many facets of the new policy could work in favor of your most tenured and talented workers. Should you introduce the shortcomings of the policy early or late in your all-employee meeting?

 

• Recently, you received notice of a price increase from a valued supplier. You want him to delay enforcing the increase to your company for six months. To improve the chances he will cooperate with you, what is the single most productive thing you can do before you try to influence him?

 

Getting people to see it your way

By considering Cialdini’s six principles of persuasion—reciprocity, scarcity, authority, consistency, consensus and liking—you should be able to compare your answers to the questions above against how effective you are in gaining compliance today, or what changes in approach you may consider making in the future.

 

Reciprocity refers to the frequency with which people repay others in kind. Have you ever caught yourself smiling at a perfect stranger simply because he or she smiled first? In the marketplace, it’s called the old give-and-take. Whether it is a sign of trust, an act of esprit-de-corps or a genuine “teddy bear” demeanor, business owners should try to model the behavior they hope to see from others. When you willingly lend a hand to help others without being asked, you instantly improve your chances of getting help when the time comes that you need it.

 

Cialdini issues a warning here though. Don’t fumble reciprocity away. Be careful of what you say when the favor is delivered and the assisted party thanks you for the help. If you nonchalantly say, “No problem,” “It’s part of my job,” or, “Would have done the same for anybody,” you’ve let them off the hook. You dismissed any notion that they “owe you one.” Instead, if you reply with something to the effect of, “I know if the situation was reversed, you would do the same for me,” the hook has been set.

 

An addendum to the principle of reciprocity is when another person concedes to a lesser offer on your part, but the end result is desirable nonetheless, maybe even what you were seeking at first. Gaining a valuable reciprocal favor from a list of choices is highly dependent on the precise order in which the offers were made. Leading with a costly proposition makes a less expensive option look appealing in contrast. The immediate application of this principle in our industry would be, after finding out exactly what a customer is looking for in terms of quality, service and delivery, to offer a solution that is slightly more than what she’s budgeted for the order. If she buys it, great! If you are met with indecision or opposition, you have an excellent fallback position—a diminished, yet acceptable, degree of quality, service and delivery with a smaller price tag. By comparison, it looks like the customer is getting a bargain and you still walk away with a profitable sale.

 

If I can’t have it... I want it

Scarcity drives people to think that the idea of loss is more motivating than what they stand to gain. Look how the business of collectibles has grown in the past decade. Study after study proves that items and opportunities are seen to be more valuable as they become less available. This is a tremendously useful phenomenon that business owners can leverage to get customers, employees and purveyors to act, and act now.

 

Most sign and digital graphics businesses do not consider themselves to be retailers in the traditional storefront sense. Yet business owners can learn a valuable lesson from retailers on how to frame their offers using the power of “loss language.” When a proposed solution clearly solves another person’s problem and it is only available for a limited time, in limited supply or is one-of-a-kind, people tend to make buying decisions quickly. 

 

The general application of the scarcity principle is to highlight the unique benefits and exclusivity of the offer. But allow me to emphasize an important point about scarcity. No offer of advance insider information or a once-in-a-lifetime deal should be considered or made unless it is genuine and true. Tricking a business associate into compliance is ethically distasteful, will generally be detected, and invites an ugly backlash. Remember the rule of reciprocity.

 

Parlaying the principles

In Cialdini’s presentations, he incorporates the phrase, “In the family of ideas, there are no orphans,” suggesting that all the influence principles are related to each other. When the principles are applied in tandem, compliance becomes even easier.

 

The principle of Authority gets its strength from the common belief, “If an expert says it, it must be true.” A respected colleague is given equal billing with a recognized expert. An authority can be shown to be knowledgeable and trustworthy rather simply. If his or her words have “face validity” and they are delivered honestly and in a straightforward manner, others will have little hesitation to heed them.

 

Cialdini classifies the principle of Consistency as one that helps make a change in a follower’s behavior permanent. People tend to live up to things they’ve written down, uttered in public, volunteered to and signed. Take, for example, the difference in just telling a customer, “Please call if you have any changes in your order,” to following the same request with the question, “Will you?” and listening carefully for the, “Yes, I will,” that should follow. When businesses that typically suffer with cancelled orders or last-minute changes have disciplined themselves to add those two words, “Will you?” to this question, the frequency of lost revenue and 11th-hour scrambling is reduced dramatically.

 

The principle of Consensus is illustrated by the fact that many people look around to identify what is similar, and do what others are doing. In the sign business, this principle re-enforces the importance of have a brimming portfolio of testimonial letters from satisfied customers on hand. Studies show that as many as 75 percent of sales professionals do not have current testimonials. Want to differentiate your company from your competition? Ask your customers for testimonials and use them to convince prospects to buy from you.

 

I’m okay, but you’re the best

The final principle is Liking. As you’ve read here on numerous past occasions, people buy from people they like, trust and with whom it is convenient to do business. And the order in which those three elements appear is not haphazard—it is precise. It all begins with genuinely liking the person you seek compliance from.

 

People who like us do so because of similarities in beliefs, hobbies, lifestyle and/or desires. People who like us usually engage in some form of mutual admiration with an exchange of compliments and cooperative effort. The application for graphic designers and sign makers is to uncover real similarities in all the people you come into contact with, and offer genuine praise for what they do. Why do you think people who host Tupperware-type home gatherings sell so much stuff at premium prices? Guests are buying to please the hostess—in addition to extending the life of their leftovers.

 

Do you want to be successful in getting a reprieve from that supplier’s price increase? Take inventory of how much you know and like of that individual. Many salespeople representing vendors are empowered to determine when a price increase will go into effect. Chances are you’re doing business with that company largely because of its sales representative who services your account. Leverage that relationship to ask for an extension.

 

There have been many books and articles written on the power of interpersonal attraction. It is a basic human need. We all want to be liked. So take some time to ponder the ways you could consciously apply liking—along with the other five principles—and raise your influence batting average. Good luck!