As a solopreneur, how do you get people to do what you want them to do? How do you inspire them to opt-in to your list, become a raving fan, and buy your products and services? The key lies in understanding the psychological and emotional triggers that inspire action. Once you understand these, all of your marketing will be easier and more powerful.
There are a number of emotional and psychological triggers that inspire action. I’ll cover 8 of them here today. Many of the ideas in this article I learned from one of my mentors, Adam Urbanski.
The first trigger is clarity. Clarity means being able to clearly explain who you help, how you help them and the outcome you help them achieve. It has to do with really understanding your niche. It means understanding that you’re not selling them coaching or consulting, but a specific solution that brings certain results.
The second trigger is reciprocity. When someone gives you a gift, you feel naturally obligated to return the favor and do something for you in exchange. How does this impact your marketing? Let’s say you’ve created a valuable giveaway that you offer your target market. They appreciate what you’ve created for them and want to reciprocate by doing something for you. It can be leaving a comment on your blog, writing a testimonial, “liking” your Facebook page. The won’t know you want them to do this unless you ask, so don’t hesitate to ask.
Two other important triggers that can be used together for maximum effect are greed and scarcity. We all want to feel like we’re getting a great deal when we buy something. So offer your prospects a great deal. Take a product that is worth $500 and offer it for less or add valuable bonuses. Tap into the scarcity trigger by making the special deal only available for a certain amount of time or for a certain number of people.
Another trigger you can tap into is exclusivity. For instance, if you want to offer a free trial coaching session, rather than offer it to everyone who comes to your website, only offer it to select people who complete an application form. This not only inspires exclusivity, it also allows you to filter through the people who are not a good match for your services.
Another powerful emotional trigger is curiosity. You’ve seen subject lines in emails and headlines on sales pages that evoke curiosity. For instance, subject lines such as “Check this out” or “This is urgent” or “ What do you think?” are very compelling. We’re naturally inclined to want to be “in the know”.
The next powerful trigger is specificity. This means making things so detailed and so specific that it appears it must be true. You can use this in several ways. For instance, include a screen capture of results you’ve achieved (Google page rank, Sales report, etc.). You can also use it in titles. What is more powerful? “How to Increase Your Sales” or “The Top 5 Techniques for Increasing Your Sales”?
The last I’ll share is called social proof When you see that others are following someone, or recommend someone, that person gains social proof. For instance, if you go to a Facebook page that has 1000 likes versus 100 likes, you’re more inclined to jump on the bandwagon of the page with more likes. After all, 1000 people can’t be wrong. Testimonials also create social proof so be sure to ask your clients for testimonials that capture the results you helped them achieve.
These are just some of the triggers that we as human beings are instinctively motivated by. What other triggers have you noticed or used? Please share your comment below.
Great article Cindy – I love Chialdini’s laws – the law of Reciprocity is my favourite and am so glad that you’ve shared them.
Thank you Brenda. I appreciate you!
Hi Cindy,
Great content. Thank you!
My first reaction (besides seeing the obvious value in what you’ve shared) is a bit of resistance to the use of a few of these triggers; namely greed, scarcity and exclusivity. It’s an ethical dilemma for me. Basically, I totally understand how these work – and I’ve seen them over and over – but I have a hard time appealing to these “lesser” motivators in people myself. Basically, as utterly human as these triggers are, I don’t believe in scarcity (I operate from an abundance mindset), greed makes me a little sick, and exclusivity really turns me off.
The only way to justify using them in my marketing comes down to something like this. I have a valuable gift, service, solution and purpose in helping people make important changes in their lives. I know that part of human nature is to resist change or avoid taking the first real step toward personal transformation. There will be plenty who really need what I have to offer and yet will hesitate to actually buy from me or hire me. If it is my purpose to help these people, then I will be doing them a favor by giving them an extra “nudge”, even if it means creating false or otherwise unnecessary scarcity, appealing to greed and then delivering what they actually need, or even appealing to the desire to be among the elite, even though I treat everyone equally.
That’s all I can come up with right now. And, since I think you’re a sincere person with a genuine desire to help people, I wonder how you manage to integrate these (and any other principles that seem less enlightened at first glance) without compromising your integrity. Please don’t interpret this as a challenge! I genuinely want to understand how others have overcome this dilemma.
Great stuff, Cindy. Thanks for your generosity in sharing.
Jason
Jason, I absolutely love this discussion and the points you raised, In fact, an even more powerful article would have been “here are these 8 emotional triggers, let me show you which of these I use and how I use them”. That sounds more like an ebook though:)
As I mentioned in the blog post, I based this content on training by Adam Urbanski. Adam is an absolute genius marketer. When I first reviewed his training, I had a similar initial reaction. I don’t like the idea of greed or scarcity or exclusivity. I don’t think that the meaning is quite so literal though. Let me share how I incorporate each of those elements in my own marketing.
Greed – we all want to get a good deal. So when I create a sales page, I will show the value of the program. It’s not an overly inflated value just for the sake of using a high number. It’s real value. In reality, I know it would be very hard to sell the program at that price, so we charge a more reasonable price that people are more willing and able to pay. I also include valuable bonuses to help build additional value. And after people sign up, it’s all about delivering on the value and even adding extra bonuses to add even more value! Does that make the people who buy my programs greedy? Not at all. I just want to communicate the true value of what they’re getting and let them know what a great deal they’re getting!
Scarcity – I totally agree with having an abundance mentality in business. So for example, while someone else might be offering something similar to me, the “right” people will be attracted to me. There is room for everyone. However, I don’t think that’s what we’re referring to here. Here is how I use the emotional trigger of marketing. Say for instance, I’m launching a new program or offering a special price on a program. Whenever I do a special price for 3 days, for example, the majority of people buy on the 3rd day. As you say, sometimes people need that little extra “nudge” – I know I do:)
Exclusivity – for me this is more about the perceived value of something if it’s widely available for everyone PLUS the importance of only making something available to the right “fit”, especially if it involves the use of your time. So for instance, if I were to offer a free consultation/trial session, would I want to make that available to everyone who wants it? If I were to do that, then the perceived value is definitely lower than if I were to offer it to a certain group of people (e.g. those who fill out an application). This also helps ensure that I’m only gifting that consultation to those who are a potentially good fit for what I have to offer. This ensures you don’t waste your time or the other person’s time.
I hope that helps Jason. Thanks again for the valuable discussion!
warm wishes,
Cindy
Cindy – you’ve nailed the 8 emotional triggers that every solo professional should MEMORIZE! These are all copy-writing gems and (in my 30-years experience on Madison Ave) never fail to hype positive responses.
First thing after breakfast I always go right to your blogs because they are sharp and to-the-point! Great way to start my day!
That is very high praise indeed. Thank you Al! And you are the expert in this area for sure. Having started and run your own Madison Ave. ad agency for 30 years, you know this stuff better than me.
Cindy,
These 8 emotional triggers should be tattooed on our eyelids. Great stuff!
Thank you,
Rich Garay
Hi Richard,
You crack me up. I’m tattoo free to this point but I’ll have to consider your advice:) I’m glad you found it helpful and thank you for stopping by!
warm wishes,
Cindy
Great post Cindy,
I always enjoy your information, straight to the point and very valuable.
Thank you & my best,
Kathy Cabarcas
The Fearless Coach
Thank you Kathy! I appreciate you stopping by and sharing your feedback. I’m definitely to the point:) and am glad you find it helpful.
warm wishes,
Cindy