Increase your sales with some extra ink

Subjects: Use of quotes to increase chance of success
Principle: If an authority is endorsing a product, we agree to purchase it faster
Potential Worth: Extra sales at no extra effort
Referenced Reading: “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” Robert B. Cialdini

I was literally in awe when I saw this exemplary example of use of Power of Authority.

As Dr. Cialdini explains in his excellent book “Influence”, there are few principles that the professionals of compliance use to short-circuit our rational thinking patterns and get us to “Yes” right away. One of these principles is the Power of Authority

For example, if I am evaluating which one to hire between two lawyers, for all other things being equal, if I see that one is Texas-Bar Certified I will definitely go with that one. This is not because I did a long and extensive analysis of the careers of the two individuals: simply I trust the Authority of the State of Texas, follow their advice and move on to my next decision for that day.

Same thing for toothpaste: if one has the approval of the ADA (American Dental Association) I am generally sold.

One more note of introduction for today’s example: David Ogilvy is one of the most influential and respected advertising personality of the twentieth century. Founder of the agency Ogilvy and Mather, he is responsible for the creation of many of today's best known brands, like Dove soap, and they are in charge of clients like IBM, Motorola Cell phones, Nestle etc

Let’s get back to our example today: check out the cover of the book before and after the sentence from Mr. Ogilvy has been inserted. Compare the persuasive power on the prospect that the extra ink is exerting.

I personally did my very unscientific surveys: I show the book to a marketing colleague first covering the sentence and ask “If you see this book in a book store, between 0 and 10, what is the probability of your purchasing it?” As Hopkins is (unfortunately) a relatively unknown author, I normally get a “Hmm, maybe 1 or 2”. Once I uncover the sentence, a staring look appears on the marketing colleague and he/she proceeds to change the answer to “Ok, now I will buy it right away”.

The sentence is "Nobody should be allowed to have anything to do with advertising until he has read this book seven times. It changed the course of my life" - David Ogilvy

Wow, one sentence… few extra dots and lines… so powerful…

Kramerilio in Texas