Puncturing Persuasion

SETH GODIN TAKES ON CIALDINI and all scientific marketers in a thought-provoking post: “How do I persuade you?” He effectively questions whether there’s anything a marketer or sales executive can do to consistently influence others. And without directly calling out Robert Cialdini and his six Principles of Persuasion, Seth makes a case for not relying on any one set of tactics for all your customers, clients, or prospects.
        Okay.
        Now what?

The punchline is that we need to listen to those we hope to influence, and then adapt our approach accordingly. We can still use Cialdini’s six principles, but only as appropriate to a given situation (and never all six at once).
        I realize this is a lot easier in 1:1 or small group situations. Ask questions and follow the path their answers reveal. This does takes extra effort, and you have to be comfortable with sharing control, but it’s tremendously more effective than how most people communicate (which is just to talk all about “Me”)
        And the effort is even more complex when you’re trying to reach masses, which is why so many marketers fall back on tricks or “sure-fire” tactics. (I still shudder at the money my old company spent trying to decide which had a better response rate, blue ink or green ink.)
        But even this starts at the same place: ask what matters and listen to what they say. Don’t try to validate your biases or expectations, be open to what’s in their heads and in their hearts. Then respond appropriately.
        And if you think this won’t work in marketing to the masses, maybe you shouldn’t be marketing to the masses . . .