Learn How Companies Influence What You Buy
Documented by Robert Cialdini and John Cacioppo (1978) as a classic compliance tactic. The low-ball technique gets you to commit to a deal at an attractive price, then quietly raises the price — or removes a benefit — once you’re already committed. Most people accept the new, worse terms anyway. The first “yes” did all … Read more
A reciprocity-based technique studied by Cialdini and colleagues. The door-in-the-face technique is the mirror image of foot-in-the-door. It starts with a request so large it’s almost guaranteed to be refused, then follows up with a smaller request that suddenly feels reasonable by comparison. The “real” ask was the second one all along. How It Works … Read more
Tied to Cialdini’s commitment and consistency principle. The foot-in-the-door technique starts with a tiny, easy request and gradually escalates. Once you’ve said “yes” to something small, you’re far more likely to say “yes” to something bigger — even if you’d have refused the bigger ask if it had come first. How It Works A salesperson … Read more
Robert Cialdini’s seventh principle of persuasion, introduced in Pre-Suasion (2016). Unity goes further than the older “Liking” principle. Liking is about feeling friendly toward someone like you. Unity is about feeling someone is you — part of the same family, region, profession, generation, or movement. Shared identity is a stronger persuader than mere similarity. How … Read more
From Robert Cialdini’s 2016 book “Pre-Suasion”. Pre-suasion, named in Robert Cialdini’s 2016 book of the same name, is the art of priming the audience before the actual pitch. The idea: what people are thinking about in the moments leading up to a request shapes how they respond to it. Marketers don’t just persuade — they … Read more
Robert Cialdini’s fifth principle of persuasion. Liking is Cialdini’s fifth principle of persuasion: you’re far more likely to say yes to people you like. Marketers and salespeople invest enormous effort in being likable — through similarity, flattery, attractiveness, and small social mirroring tactics — because liking translates directly into compliance. How It Works People say … Read more
Robert Cialdini’s sixth principle of persuasion. “Only 2 left in stock!” “Sale ends in 14 minutes!” “5 other people are looking at this hotel right now!” Scarcity and urgency cues are designed to short-circuit your decision-making by making you afraid to lose out. Many of them are also fake. How It Works Limited supply or … Read more
Robert Cialdini’s fourth principle of persuasion. Authority is one of Robert Cialdini’s six principles of persuasion: humans defer to people who appear to be experts. Marketers exploit this by surrounding products with the symbols of expertise — lab coats, titles, uniforms, official-looking certifications — even when no real expertise is involved. How It Works The … Read more
The second of Cialdini’s six original principles of influence (1984), drawing on Festinger’s cognitive dissonance theory and decades of consistency research. Once a person commits to a position — verbally, in writing, in public, or through action — they feel a strong internal pressure to remain consistent with that commitment. The pressure is psychologically uncomfortable … Read more
Robert Cialdini’s first principle of persuasion. Reciprocity is the deeply human urge to return a favor. Give someone a small gift — a sample, a free guide, a personal greeting — and they feel a quiet pressure to give something back. In marketing, “back” usually means a purchase. How It Works A salesperson hands you … Read more