This month, our Influencers from Around the World guest post comes from Anthony McLean, a long-time contributor to Influence PEOPLE. Anthony is Australia’s one and only Cialdini Method Certified Trainer (CMCT®). He started the Social Consulting Group where he teaches people and organizations the principles of influence. Reach out to Anthony on LinkedIn and Twitter to learn more from him.
Brian Ahearn, CMCT® Chief Influence Officer influencePEOPLE Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.Consensus + Scarcity = FAILRecently I have noticed a very interesting phenomenon. Consensus is failing to have the impact it is intended to have. In our time, the cues to guide our behaviour are more prevalent and appreciated than ever before. For example, when I land on an online shopping page, the reviews, ratings, and testimonials provide me with vitally important information such as others like me have been here before; this vendor can be trusted; the products are as they are described; and so on. In the traditional sense it is these cues that help me overcome my uncertainty and help me make a decision. Therefore when I am not sure of what I should do, I look to the actions of others; especially in unknown and untested situations. And not just any others, I look to those most like me to guide my behaviour. Rest assured my friends, Consensus is truly a principle that, when used well, saves time, promotes sales, and builds communities. It’s a cracker (Australian for really good, awesome, etc.)!What then, I hear you say, does the title of this post mean? Let me tell you, but first let me pose a mystery. Why would a leading publically listed company make a wrongheaded decision and turn away from the actions of others?In the delivery of the Principles of Persuasion Workshops, my keynotes and in my consulting and coaching, I continually stress to my audience that not all testimonials are same. We know that by distilling the testimonial data, drilling into the case studies, and sharing what people most like you are doing now or have done in the past, will have a great impact on your “persuadee’s” behaviour.However, recently I have been working in a space in which the products on offer between companies are very similar. Many industries have been through a phase in which they have competed on price. However to cut prices they must cut margin and then services and ultimately their perceived value. Those industries then got to a point where price was no longer a determining factor. While they could have continued to compete on price, at some point there needed to be platform based on value, relationships, and/or loyalty. The change had to come because buying customers through discounts was bringing about the wrong type of relationship, where every dollar was held tightly. Dishonesty between provider and customer was rife because of the perception that every dollar mattered and after all it was just a transactional relationship; those who got or saved the most money won!It is at this point a nuance of Consensus kicks in; the suppliers are all in the same industry, they offer similar products, they compete for the same customers, staff and leaders, but they do not see themselves as the same as each other. How do I know? If you present to an organization evidence of what others in the industry are doing, rather than move toward your ideas, they immediately repel, back away and dismiss what others in their industry are doing. Showing them what many others in their industry are doing, creates a drive in initiative to be different and cut a new path, one less travelled, in an effort to attract disgruntled and disenfranchised customers looking to leave their current provider in search of something better. The competition is so great in this industry that the drive to be unique, to be something truly valuable, outweighs the power of Consensus.Now I am not saying Consensus will not work in this industry – quite the contrary. However, , Consensus can fail to influence behaviour because of Scarcity – if the competition is doing it we must do something different and be seen as unique. We must have a clear USP (Unique Selling Proposition) and can’t be the same because then the consumer will not be able to tell us apart. In this instance Scarcity was trumping Consensus.So what are you to do? Firstly don’t get caught up in labels and demographics. Just because Company A and Company B are in the same industry they may not see themselves as the same. Therefore ask the decision makers you are seeking to influence about their values, their vision and whom they think across the business world is most like them. Then start to research, dig into those companies that your persuadee sees themselves like and show them what those companies are doing in similar situations. Therefore why did a publically listed company turn away from the crowd and make a decision that seemed at odds with their industry? Because they did not see themselves as the same as others in their industry. They were different. They were unique. They were competitors. Therefore they would do things differently, cut new directions and be innovative – they wanted to be Apple. So we showed them what Apple did and low and behold they sat up and took notice. By the way they were not in the same league as Apple but it didn’t matter – in their eyes – they were, so that’s what we showed them to change their thinking. 
Anthony McLean, CMCT®