The book influence by Robert B. Cialdini, PH.D. has become
an international bestseller. This book on persuasion explains why people say
‘yes’ and how to apply this knowledge. He discusses six common principles which
he also calls mental short cuts as we rely on mental short cuts every time we
are faced with a decision. He explains how to use these principles, how to
become a skilled persuader and how to defend yourself from them.
In this post we will discuss the fourth principle
–Scarcity – the rule of the few
When something becomes scarce then the opportunity or item
becomes more valuable. Imagine you are having a face to face discussion with
someone and suddenly your phone rings. You now have the choice to not answer
the call and continue with the conversation or to interrupt the conversation
and answer the call. If the caller is someone who is hard to get and this is
your chance to speak to the caller then you will most likely interrupt the face
to face conversation and pick up the phone. While the ongoing conversation
might be interesting and engaging you might miss the call which could be your
one of the very few opportunities to speak with the caller. Therefore, the
chance of you picking up the call is greater than ignoring it. That is because
potential losses, especially of scarce opportunities, play a large role in
human motivation. This loss aversion suggests that the thought of losing
something motivates a reaction more likely than the thought of gaining
something of equal value.
Perceived scarcity of things decides over their assigned
worth with the “limited-number” tactic putting this principle into use.
We are all subjected to this with slogans like ‘only 5 left
at this price’ or ‘for a limited time only’. The aim of this tactic is of
course to increase the value of something that is being sold.
This tactic influences human action. Perceived scarcity
increases cognitive shortcuts. We judge the quality of something over its
availability. If something is hard to obtain it is perceived to be better than
something that is to be obtained more easily.
Secondly, when opportunities become less available, we feel
that we lose control over the situation. According to the reactance theory by Jack
Brehm, whenever our freedom of choice is threatened, our desire to obtain something
is bigger than before.
When you negotiate with someone make sure you always make something hard to obtain. Never give something away easily as the other
party won’t value it as much and will ask you for more. Always concede with reluctance even if it might be easy for you to give away.
Make the other party work hard for your concessions and they
will value it and believe that they have gotten the best deal possible even though you got the better deal.
#influence #negotiationskills #negotiation
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