Pre-Suasion- Moments That Lead To The Most Productive Sales Pitch.

How Dr. Cialdini’s Latest Work ‘Pre-Suasion’ Can Help Make a Website That Converts

We’ve all heard of the word ‘persuasion’, especially if any of us has been in marketing long enough. Most probably, you must have also heard of the book “Influence” by Robert Cialdini. An expert on the science of persuasion, Dr. Cialdini had championed 6 principles of persuasion in that book. Now, 30 years later, his latest work “Pre-Suasion” explains how to set up the perfect “privileged moment” for our audience to be ready to embrace our message.

What is a Privileged Moment?

A privileged moment is that moment before you deliver your message. It is the time available to you because you’ve got an audience poised to hear your message. In that moment, you place something that focuses the individual on the strength of your message, and thus your case becomes more privileged to have the recipient’s complete focus that is already motivated by you to act on the information you give to them.

A privileged moment comes to you when you acquire your audience’s attention, although for a short period of time, but this attention can be used to introduce your message to your audience. This message will have the added potential of converting them into buyers! According to one of his interviews, Dr. Cialdini defines Pre-Suasion as the practice of getting the recipients sympathetic to your message before they experience it. It is an established science, he says, that happens by changing the state of mind that people are in before they receive your message.

How Do You Incorporate This Information Into Your Website?

Your website design says a lot about you. In fact, it says a lot before you even start communicating. This is exactly where there is an opportunity to get your audience ‘sensitized’ to what you put forward as your message.

Pick-Point 1: Images

If your product is on the expensive side, show images that are more achievement or comfort oriented. Position those images in a way that draws your audience’s attention to your strengths such as comfort or quality, when they look at the product they intend to buy. Effective communication becomes effective merely by focusing on a clear and concise message.

Pick-Point 2: Theme

Colors set a lot of things straight for an individual mind. For example, if you want your target to make an extravagant purchase, use colors known to provoke extravagant decisions. If your product is on the expensive side, use colors that are rare. These signals prepare your audience to receive your message with open-mindedness and are more likely to make the purchase.

From Dr. Cialdini's study of cognitive working, neurons in our brain get attuned to any new information when they are charged with a particular concept or imagery and are able to process the message in an especially efficient way. If at any time we focus people on a particular concept, they get attuned to that concept for a short span of time. Their action falls in line with the concept they’ve been focused on. For example, if they’re shown an image oriented to bravery, their bravery instincts get stimulated and their tendency is to be attracted to any thought even remotely associated with bravery.

Pick-Point 3: Congruence

Congruence, from Dr. Cialdini’s Principle of Persuasion, says that when a person commits to something outwardly, they are much more likely to follow through. Your website can use this principle by making your customers fill out a form upfront on the landing page. For example, if your website sells sports-club merchandise, you could ask them to fill in a few blanks.

This way, you get them to make a commitment, and the chances they take the final action increase significantly. The merit of the product still matters, but if you supercharge their mindset, they become more receptive to the merits of your product. When an individual focuses on something, that something naturally appears to be of more importance to that person.

Pick-Point 4: Connection

One of the things that channels people’s attention is connection. People are always willing to follow others who are like them or have been in a place or position similar to theirs. While writing testimonials, instead of showing the biggest clients you’ve worked with, show ones that a normal audience can relate to. Seeing people like them benefiting or doing business with you gives them a strong reason to follow their lead.

Pick-Point 5: Mystery

Mystery can intrigue your audience. Give them an opportunity to ponder what you have to offer by giving a tiny hint and leaving them to read more. They absorb your message with more intention than ever before.