Apply The 6 Principles of Persuasion (part2)

Principle 4 Commitment & Consistency

form People are more willing to be moved if they see it as consistent with a recent commitment. Have people write things down. People normally live up to what they write down.

Why not turn your article into an actionable document? Why not attach fill-out discount coupons on your invoices?

Principle 5| Consensus/ Social Proof

When people are uncertain, people look at what others, in their similar situation, have done. This is primarily the reason why, when you buy something online, you normally read the reviews first. You are unsure and so you check out what others like you, felt about the product. This lowers your perceived risk of making the wrong purchase. Amazon.com is very successful in using this principle.

amazon

Some Ideas

Leverage on your Testimonials – Adding testimonials on your website is an excellent way to boost your credibility and up your social proof. This may be in the form of text, audio or even video. Be creative! The closer/the more similar the situation of the person giving your testimonial to your reader, the better. For instance, if your primary target market are newbie eBook writers, post testimonials given by other newbie eBook writers.
You need to put a system in place to ensure a continuous flow of testimonials. On your website, add a simple form where people can post testimonials. On your Invoices, offer discounts as an incentive for clients to give you feedback. You can even use the testimonials given to you from the job boards (i.e. eLance, oDesk, LimeExchange, Freelancer).
- What if I don’t have clients yet? Offer your services to people you know, for free. Or scout the forums and observe if there’s anybody there who may give an indication that they need some help. Offer to help and politely offer your services for free in exchange for an honest feedback.
Add relevant social networks to your website. Practically every social network can now be easily integrated into your website. Take advantage of that. You can also easily add Tell-A-Friend widget on your site. Simply copy and paste the code you will be provided with and you’ll instantly get this. Go on, try and add this page to your social network/tweet this.
Beware of sending out negative social proofs. Some Virtual Assistants unknowingly send out negative signals on their bids. “It’s not the money, I just want some experience.” or “I really hope and pray you will give me a chance.” These statements give an indication to the client that others have not tried your services as yet. And since nobody likes to take unnecessary risk, chances are they wouldn’t want to be the first to take a risk on you. They would rather partner up with somebody who’s been tested and tried before. People like to associate themselves with winners.
Convey your service is popular. Instead of merely posting your Package rates, add “Clients’ Favorites!” or “Most Popular!”. This gives an indication to potential clients that others have tried your services and these are the ones they liked. It will encourage them to try as well.
Having a Service Level Agreement or an MBG (Money Back Guarantee) on your website also helps lower your client’s perceive risk.

Low-Risk vs. Low-Price
“ Your job is to be the low-risk provider, not necessarily the low-price vendor. Your job is to demonstrate clearly that your product or service represents the safest and most secure purchase decision rather than merely being the least expensive or highest quality.”| Brian Tracy Factors of Risk in Selling)

Learn from the Experts

This Special Freedom Prize Inside is an excellent example of using compelling social proof.
Look at the photos. What do they tell you? They tell you that these are real people. Real people who are just like you and me – moms & daughters. They are not merely testimonials of “Great Job! – J.B. Kansas”. Photos not only make testimonials more credible, but in this case, more emotionally appealing as well.
Observe the post it notes. “Quit the day job”, “Joy of freedom”, “Passion & priorities”. Can’t we all relate to this? Don’t we all want this? Don’t we have the same dreams? These resonates so well with us because we have the same dreams. Go back to your Web001 Planning Worksheet Web001|Website Planning Worksheet (PURPOSE).pdf What dreams do your Clients have? Use these when designing your testimonial page.
Notice that they didn’t highlight their typing speed/writing abilities/creative prowess/web design skills. They instead focused on the “benefits” of what they offer to their users. They are selling you “Hope” that you too can achieve financial freedom. Similarly, on your website, you should highlight the benefits of your services to potential clients and not what your skills are.

Stop & Think| Visit Special Freedom Prize Inside and learn. Then write down some of your own thoughts on how you can leverage on the principle of Consensus/Social Proof.

Principle 6 Principle of Liking

“We like people who like us. We say yes to people we like”. There are six principles of liking: physical attractiveness, familiarity, compliments, association, cooperation, and similarity. Which area is easiest for you to leverage on, online? – association? similarity?

Include your photo in your website. Smiling and looking like a winner. People like to associate themselves with successful people.
Here’s the simplest secret, genuinely Fall in Love with Your Client (and not with your services)! If you are genuinely concerned about your clients, about their needs, above your monetary needs, they will feel it. They will like you back. Design your website to be Client-centered.

Stop & Think|Ask yourself, in what ways are you similar with your clients? Are they moms or sexy singles like you? Are they writers too? Online entrepreneurs too? Are they on facebook/linkedin/your forums too? Use these to trigger similarity & association among your potential clients.

Congratulations! You’ve just taken a big step closer to your success! You’ve now completed your website plan. Fill in the contents and when done, jump in to create your actual website! Good luck and enjoy!

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Apply The 6 Principles of Persuasion (part2)

Principle 4 Commitment & Consistency

Principle 5| Consensus/ Social Proof

Principle 6 Principle of Liking

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