Persuasion Psychology:

How To Use Persuasion to Sell Online

By James Atkinson, LLB and Sarah Jamieson

Persuasion Psychology: Persuading prospects to buy revolves around the seller satisfying the emotional needs of prospects and buyers.

Understanding persuasion psychology and then satisfying those emotional needs is a major key to online business success.

Armed with the proper persuasion psychology, persuasion architecture, and an appropriate sales process, sellers can ethically persuade prospects to buy products and then to continue buying.

Persuasion has been scientifically studied for more than half a century and the body of available knowledge is very large indeed. Hundreds of studies have been conducted on persuasion - but most of them remain in dusty psychology journals.

What we generally know about persuasion is usually “scientific” – that is, the principles are derived from research, observation, and testing – not guesswork.

Your ability to ethically influence other people can be improved dramatically by learning scientifically proven persuasion strategies.

Luckily, persuasion is a learnable skill. Small, simple changes can make your marketing message much more persuasive.

The point at which you first encounter your online prospect and the point at which they actually make a purchase - is usually a very long way. It is what we call the “Hi to Buy” Gap.

It is within this gap that you must persuade your prospect.

I have exceptionally dog-eared copies of Robert Cialdini’s work. Over the years, I’ve utilized his principles on all my web sites.

If you have a propensity to follow gurus, then I suggest you start with Cialdini rather than any of those silly online marketing gurus who seem to proliferate all over the internet.

Cialdini has found that there are only six fundamental persuasion principles. These are universal principles that operate in all human societies. Almost all persuasion techniques that you encounter are based on these doctrines.

Cialdini’s six principles are powerful because they are derived from unchanging elements of human psychology. Each of the principles provides great advantages to individuals, societies, and groups of people.

The principles give humans the ability to form mutually beneficial relationships and to work together effectively in groups. These principles are the lynchpins of social cooperation and effective social groups. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to join together in complex societies to get things done.

These principles hold human communities together - modern societies simply wouldn’t work without them.

Because they are generally such a force for good, we have all developed a strong tendency to respond to these principles in an automatic, unconscious, and unthinking way. This is what gives them their power as mechanisms of influence.

The principles of influence act as mental shortcuts or automatic responses that we all use. Generally, they are positive and convey powerful advantages to individuals and societies.

We’ve all been conditioned since childhood to respect and obey these principles, and in fact anyone who does not, will find it almost impossible to function in society.

Robert Cialdini: The classic book on the science of persuasion is Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini, PhD; Collins Business, 1984. These pages are derived primarily from his work.

Persuasion Psychology > Persuasion as Mental Shortcuts >