How a bold Door-to-door saleswoman tried to swindle me
Thank god I've read 'Influence' by Robert Cialdini before this encounter.
Katelyn rang my doorbell the other day. No, this isn't my crazy ex or anything. She was worse!
Katelyn stood at my door in her smurf blue jacket — because she wanted to sell something. She claimed otherwise though. Her first disarming words were: "Don't worry, I'm not here to sell you anything!”
Of course Katelyn, I believe you immediately! Why else would you be standing there with your company-sponsored coat!
And so she spewed out her Ted Talk about why I had to participate in a special promotion of the National Lottery. Because, it was free for the next 3 months if I participated then and there!
I was skeptical—to say the least.
She used certain principles to convince me to participate in the National Lottery. You may already be familiar with it, but it was Robert Cialdini's principles of persuasion. But, how did she apply these techniques, let’s find out.
The 6 tricks Katelyn used in her attempt to get me to sign up to the National Lottery:
🧾 Social proof
“Evidence that other people have made a similar choice for a product or service.”
Example: Many people (the whole neighborhood) had already preceded me by accepting her offer, this was the burden of proof.
😳 Scarcity
“Perhaps you know the feeling. The feeling that you have to buy something because otherwise you will be too late, because the offer could be gone—that is the scarcity principle at work!”
Example: Katelyn said it was a 'One-Time offer' I could participate for free for 3 months, only if I signed up then and there!
🤝 Commitment & Consistency
“When a person has made a certain decision, they often remain consistent with it, whether it is wise or not. People don't like to be inconsistent in the eyes of other people."
Example: Katelyn asked if I had done anything for charity. Because the National Lottery gives part of their proceeds to a good cause, and I already said that I have done something for a good cause. So, if I said 'no' now, it would not be consistent with my behavior and values. I really should’ve said that it wasn’t some info I was willing to volunteer!
🎁 Reciprocity
“Reciprocity boils down to what we often refer to as ‘a matter of give and take’.”
Example: When I signed up, Katelyn would give me a free card that would’ve made me feel like I had to give back something— a membership, for example.
👨⚕️ Authority
“How frequently do we think, 'Oh, he's the expert, so he must know'. That is Authority.”
Example: She didn't use this one haha. But a lot of the time we believe people simply because they're experts at something — and take these people's statements for granted.
🥺 Sympathy
“We often grant people something more if we like him/her”
Example: She asked for my name and addressed me personally. In this way she tried to bond with me. (did not work)
I don’t think it’s necessarily bad that she used these ‘tricks’ to get me to sign up. One of you guys could probably decipher one of my posts, and see that I probably used a lot of these principles myself. So, I’m not a saint claiming that you shouldn’t do this.
But, just don’t be like Katelyn.
Being aware of these methods people use to persuade one another is great to not fall victim to it. Awareness is key.
Talk soon!
-Quintin
If you didn’t find out already, I got these principles (not the story) from: Influence by Robert Cialdini. You can check Influence on Amazon, or you can find the enhanced summary on Shortform — 20% off by using my affiliate link! :)
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