What you've stated is exactly why they can can be subverted. Pretty much every influence, sales, negotiation book will cover these mechanisms. None of this is new. If you want the short version, read the 6 principles that Cialdini reduced them to. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Cialdini#6_key_principle... > "Observing this, and portraying it as something new and abusable is just silly." Err... no, it is not silly. Techniques like these are routinely used to separate people from their money -- and in the digital age to get people to share ever more information about themselves.…
I spent the first chunk of my career doing sales (2nd half spent in software engineering). Theres a lot of good books out there but you're going to find a lot of the direct advice to be non-applicable (as I'm sure you can pick up from the comments). Most of the Literature out there is directed at professional sales people, who for the most part are non-technical, have the backing of a marketing org, and are also different than a founder. Anyway, heres a reading list. Most of the trainings I've been a part of were custom built to the org or market, and frankly I learned more from Rules of the…
I recently read a story in the book 'Influence – The Psychology of Persuasion' (by Robert B. Cialdini): > I GOT A PHONE CALL ONE DAY FROM A FRIEND WHO HAD RECENTLY opened an Indian jewelry store in Arizona. She was giddy with a curious piece of news. Something fascinating had just happened, and she thought that, as a psychologist, I might be able to explain it to her. The story involved a certain allotment of turquoise jewelry she had been having trouble selling. It was the peak of the tourist season, the store was unusually full of customers, the turquoise pieces were of good quality for…
So the reason I block ads, or at least started is a book I read called Pre-suasion by Robert Caldini. In it he points out that internet ads are dismissed and ignored by our conscious mind but because of that often will produce an effect on our unconscious mind. Think like the subliminal messaging type thing. People who were shown Kodiak ads on a webpage in an experiment couldn't recall seeing any Kodiak ads simply because we are so used to internet ads we ignore them; however later for the subjects favored purchasing a Kodiak camera over competitors products. The books final chapter…
Slightly off-topic but I use a couple of things as a consumer to defend myself (or "from myself") from "spur of the moment" purchases. I never buy anything over $100 the same day I see an item in a store or online; I wait at least one day. (Then I can so some Internet searches etc). Same thing when some service is offered to me over the phone or at my door. Telemarketers I pretty much hang up on them as soon as I hear the code word "on behalf of". For salespeople I explain that I cannot sign right now, because it's my policy and they don't find arguments against that. Another rule of thumb…
It was written in a different time so the language and examples are archaic and would look odd now, but the principles are the same. To paraphrase badly, there's examples along the lines of "So I laid my hat on the desk, asked his girl to fetch us some coffee and said '...so let's name the company after you'. He took the deal.". Following that to the letter would likely get you kicked out (ie. wearing a fedora to a business meeting makes you look like a loon, summoning the nearest woman to fetch you coffee would likely get you a dirty look or a lawsuit) but the underlying principle of…
Wow... this is a much MUCH bigger question than you think it is. My answer will be obviously extremely incomplete. Sales was my first profession. I was good at my work. After a decade, I decided I wanted a change of pace and moved into programming. I very much miss selling and will probably go back someday. I got my start as a concert promoter selling concert tickets for my friends bands. I eventually tried most of the major categories of sales: SMB, Enterprise, Retail, Door to door, Patent sales, etc but ended up preferring mostly retail and SMB because the sales cycles were quicker and it…
I've recently finished listening to "Influencer": http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?... From my review: "I expected this book to be less scientific and less valuable than it turned out to be. Not one of those stupid motivational books, but rather a good theory source with real-life cases as illustrations. Some of the chapters move you away from the major subject while trying to prove a point, and discuss things like, for example, delaying gratification studies or skills acquisition processes. These topics, however, are presented in a great scientific manner (well,…
>Have you read Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens? I have not, but a friend did recommend it to me earlier this year. >His central claim is that the -isms are all just like religion, in that one needs faith to believe they exist. I looked at my comment after reading yours, and realized almost everything I listed is an "ism". That wasn't intentional, but I guess it's also not surprising. Somewhat on a tangent: In the last so many years, in various conversations, if I'm asked what I think of , I tend to respond "I don't believe in it." Or more nuanced "It has some interesting points". The problems…
A few books that I've found useful: The Goal - Eli Goldratt - It is a novel about optimizing a factory, but it is immensely valuable in thinking through what are the actual constraints on your team's ability to deliver software and how do you fix it without making other things worse. The Phoenix Project is kind of a modern retelling, but I'd start with The Goal. The Principles of Product Development Flow - Reinersten - Great for thinking deeply about how you deliver value through your system and the tradeoffs you are making in what you choose to focus on next. Once again it isn't specific…