SPARCLS - The Properties of Influence

When I was in college, a friend and I taught a ten week course about presentation skills to underclassmen.  One of the lessons was about the properties of influence… SPARCLS is acronym we used.  Right now I’m going through a training called “Building Credibility and Influence.”  Naturally, these same six principles popped up again…

Social Proof - People are naturally inclined to follow the people around them.  If you want to test this, spend some time in another culture.  They way people act in social situations vary, depending on their upbringing.  If you don’t know what to do, odds are, you’re going to follow what everyone else does.

Authority - Experts automatically have credibility.  A 1993 study in Public Opinion Quarterly showed that a single expert-opinion news story in the NY Times was associated with a 2% shift in public opinion.   People think, “They’re an expert and they believe in (insert product here.)  They have to be right!” That’s why marketers use expert testimonials… Because experts offer a short-cut to decision making.

Reciprocity - Have you ever received address labels in the mail from a charity?  If so, it’s because of Disabled American Veterans Organization.  They had an awesome fund raising letter that got an 18% response rate… When they included free address labels, the response rate jumped to 35%!   If you do a favor for someone, they automatically feel the need to do something in return.

Consistency (and Commitment)- People want to be viewed as being consistent with the things they value.  One study in 1983 asked participants in an apartment complex to sign a petition supporting a recreation center for handicapped people.  Two weeks later they returned to ask for money.  A little over half of residents who weren’t surveyed gave money… On the other hand, 92% of those who signed the petition donated!
Commitments are even more powerful if they are made in public.  That is why it’s important to tell all your friends when you’re starting a diet, quitting smoking, or having some other lifestyle change.  When you tell people that you’ll do something, you want to follow through with what you say.  This can be a powerful motivator.

Liking - Ever read Jeffrey Gitomer?  One of his mantras is:  All things equal, people do business with people they know and like.  All things unequal, people STILL do business with people they know and like. It’s the whole idea behind Tupperware parties… if you like the host, you’re more likely to buy the product. People like people who seem similar to themselves.  That is why it’s so important to establish a common point of interest when first meeting someone.

Scarcity - Objects increase in value as they decrease in availability.  It’s simple economics, reallyxx.  Supply and demand.   When the Xbox 360 came out, I had a friend that waited over 18 hours to get one.  He got it and sold it the next day for double what he paid for it.  If there were enough systems for everyone, that never would have happened.

Those are the six properties of influence.  If you’re looking to use them to manipulate someone… you probably could, but I’d advise against it.  Nobody wants Karma on their bad side.

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