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Human Nature

If used correctly, these principles make you unstoppable. If used unethically, they make you a fraud.

1. Urgency

Time constraints make people act (think: limited-time discounts).

2. Scarcity

Quantity constraints drive action, too (think: only 5 items left in stock).

3. Status

People like being seen as better than others (think: sports cars, watches etc.).

4. Loss aversion

The pain of a loss exceeds the pleasure of an equivalent gain (think: don’t miss out on this 50% off sale).

5. Social proof

People like to copy others, especially if those others are credible in their eyes (think: celebrity endorsements).

6. Reciprocity

We feel uneasy when we don’t return favours (think: free samples).

7. Consistency

We’re inclined to follow through on things we’ve said and done in the past (think: this is why politicians accuse each other of lying).

8. Liking

We’re more easily convinced by people we like (think: building rapport on a sales call).

9. Anchoring

We judge prices based on other prices we’ve just seen/heard (think: lowball buy offers).

10. Emotion, Then Logic

We buy with emotion and justify with logic (think: the salesman lets you sit in the Ferrari, then tells you about the fuel economy).


NOTE: before putting these principles into practice, I recommend reading/re-reading this.