Last week I wrote to you about the brilliantly persuasive technique, The Contrast Principle.
If we want to (ethically) influence people, a useful question to ask is always:
‘Compared to what?’
The £35 black cod at your favourite restaurant might seem expensive.
But compared with the £80 Wagyu steak with gold leaf shavings? Well, frankly it’s a bargain! (I’ll take the scallops too.)
So how can you use this principle in your everyday work? It’s easy:
Want to convince your boss to hire an extra headcount? First compare the salary to the higher cost of outsourcing all the work to an agency. (Without a contrast, everything can seem expensive.)
Need to get a client to agree to your marketing programme? Prove how they can achieve ROI with just one extra sale.
Have to persuade the prickly colleague everyone’s scared of to help you out on a project? Show them it’ll take less than half the time of another bigger project and they’ll get twice the exposure. (Without a contrast, everything can seem difficult.)
Just remember, the contrast needs to be an honest and genuine one. No fibbing allowed!
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