The Six Levers of Influence

There is a simple idea I like when it comes to marketing:

Do things others can’t do, and show people what others can’t show.

That is a powerful place to start.

The problem is that many businesses are terrible at recognizing what makes them valuable. They have years of experience, great customers, strong reviews, impressive results, and stories worth telling.

Then you visit their website and it says:

“Quality service you can trust.”

Great.

So does everyone else’s.

Your Business Has a Resume

Think of your business like a person applying for a job.

You would want to know what they have done. You would want to see their experience, accomplishments, skills, and reasons to trust them.

Your customers want the same thing from you.

One of the best ways to understand what matters comes from Robert Cialdini’s book Influence. He identified six principles that help explain why people say yes.

They are reciprocity, commitment and consistency, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity.

Once you understand them, you start noticing them everywhere.

More importantly, you start noticing how many of them already exist inside your business.

1. Reciprocity

People are more likely to give when they have already received something valuable.

For a business, this can be as simple as being helpful before asking for the sale.

Write a useful article. Answer a common question. Make a helpful video. Give someone a tool they can actually use.

You are starting the relationship by giving instead of asking.

2. Commitment and Consistency

A small yes can make the next yes easier.

Someone may not be ready to hire you today. But they might be willing to watch a video, read a case study, request more information, or schedule a short call.

Good marketing gives people natural steps forward instead of demanding the biggest commitment immediately.

Make the first step easy, then make the next step clear.

3. Social Proof

People look at what other people are doing before making decisions themselves.

That is why reviews and testimonials matter so much.

But social proof can go much further than a five-star rating. It can be a customer story, a case study, a before-and-after, the number of people you have helped, or a real result your work produced.

Your business does not have to make every claim about itself.

Sometimes your customers can make the case for you.

4. Liking

People tend to do business with people they like.

That does not mean you need to become an influencer or put your face on everything.

It means your business should feel like it has people behind it.

Let some personality come through. Talk like a person. Introduce your team. Tell people why you care about the work you do.

You are not trying to make everyone like you.

You are giving the right customers a chance to connect with you.

5. Authority

Authority answers a very important question:

Why should I trust you to do this?

Experience creates authority. So do certifications, awards, major projects, strong results, specialized knowledge, and years spent mastering something.

This is where many businesses become too humble.

If you have spent 20 years becoming great at something, that matters. If you have accomplished something difficult, that matters too.

Those facts are not bragging when they help a customer make a better decision.

They are evidence.

6. Scarcity

Scarcity tells people that an opportunity is limited.

Maybe you only have room for three more clients this month. Maybe an event has 100 seats. Maybe your schedule is booked several weeks in advance.

Real limits can give people a reason to act instead of waiting.

The important part is that the scarcity needs to be real.

“ONLY 3 SPOTS LEFT!!!” means nothing when there have been three spots left for the past six months.

Real scarcity creates urgency.

Fake scarcity creates distrust.

Count Your Wins

Once you understand these six principles, take another look at your business.

You may start seeing valuable things that you previously ignored.

That customer who wrote an incredible review is social proof.

Ten years of experience is authority.

The educational videos you make are reciprocity.

A waiting list is scarcity.

A founder people genuinely enjoy working with creates liking.

These things add up.

Your business has a resume whether you have written it down or not.

So start keeping track of it.

Keep the reviews. Record the results. Remember the big projects. Save the numbers. Collect the stories.

Do things others can’t do.

Then make sure people know you did them.

And whenever you are not sure what matters, come back to these six principles.

Reciprocity. Commitment. Social proof. Liking. Authority. Scarcity.

Keep them in mind when you build your website, write an ad, create content, or make an offer.

They will keep bringing you back to what actually matters when you are trying to influence an audience, grow a business, or persuade someone to take action.

Trends will change. Platforms will change. The way we market will change.

But people will still be people.

Understand what influences them, and you will rarely be led too far astray.