Welcome to the first edition of CAPTIVATE! Once a month, we will be bringing you one tip to improve your communication skills through the power of persuasion, negotiation and storytelling. We scour the research on psychology, behavioral economics and influence to bring you the most actionable way to increase your impact.
Our Promise - keep it CIA! Concise, Insightful and Actionable!
Today's tip, LOSS AVERSION!
LOSS AVERSION
Did you know that people are more motivated to avoid losses than to acquire gains? It's true! In other words, the pain of losing something is greater motivation than the pleasure of gaining something of equal value. This principle, known as Loss Aversion, is a key concept in behavioral economics.
This bias can be used to our advantage by framing our ideas in a way that emphasizes the potential loss if they don’t buy. How, you ask? By tapping into your customers' FOMO, that's how!
FOMO isn’t just a popular social media hashtag. If you can drive FOMO with your stakeholder, they will be much more likely to pull the trigger.
DETAILS & EXAMPLES
Highlight the downsides of not acting: When you're making your pitch, focus on the negative outcomes of not acting. For example, if you're selling an advertising solution, you could talk about the extra revenue they will lose. If you are pitching an internal efficiency project, highlight the time they are wasting each day with their current process.
Create a sense of urgency: People are more likely to make a decision when they feel they need to act quickly. Give them a deadline or share the number of sales they’re losing each day they hesitate.
Think about your next pitch, internal or external, and how you can reframe the benefit by highlighting the loss of not taking action. How can you drive urgency to elicit a response faster?
Have a great example? Share it and you could be featured in the next Captivate.
Want to Learn More? Check out these great resources:
Thank you for reading! We hope you found this month's issue helpful. If you enjoyed it, feel free to create some FOMO by telling your friends how much they're missing out on by not subscribing! Or better yet, share it with them.
We look forward to seeing you in April!