Chapter 9 - (psychology) Morgan’s Heuristics Flashcards
These are heuristics & biases that don’t officially (academically) exist, but I’ve observed them and used them to sign nearly 1,000 clients. They’re from my Observations (I didn’t invent or discover all of these myself). (35 cards)
Permission-based mis-influence
Humans like perceived control in situations relevant to client acquisition. They’re far more likely to agree to something or make a decision if the person making the request asks for their permission to ask in the first place. It’s asking to ask. “Well, since you asked so nicely”.
Example: my favourite cold messaging opener revolves around asking them for their permission for me to pitch. This gives a false sense of control & makes them feel respected.
Frame-based misreaction
Emotional states are contagious. In a conversation between prospect and salesperson, whoever is most persistent in their frame will win. A frame is an emotion state or viewpoint.
Example: when on a sales call, if someone is talking with doubt, I WILL NEVER enter their frame and join them there. Instead I’ll set my own frame of extreme confidence and stay in it until they join me. Either you buy their doubt or they buy your confidence.
Psychological attrition tendency (persistence)
The threshold for action is decreased when persistence is applied. Children understand this: to get what they want they just won’t stop asking. Shame we’re conditioned to hold back on persistence as we grow into adults. It’s a weapon.
Example: I don’t care how many rebuttals it takes, if I’m on a sales call and someone is a fit, I’ll sit on the phone for 3 hours and stay persistent if I must. I also follow up on people a ridiculous amount of times and just don’t go away. Never say ‘this is my last followup’.
Graduality tendency
Some decisions and actions require gradualness, meaning they start as unfathomable ideas that would never be acted on, and gradually become concepts that can be entertained, then become concrete and manifest into reality.
Example: it once took me 11 months to sign a single client. On our first call, he said there’s no way in hell he’d ever buy. As an experiment, I sent him a testimonial / result every month via email, personally. 11 months later he said ‘alright you got me’ (can be paired with attrition tendency).
Simple digestibility (simple gets better results)
Humans are more likely to act on things that are easily understood. Simple words, simple images, simple stimuli, work better than over-complicated, messy ones. Just say what needs to be said and leave it at that.
Example: when writing copy, try using words that are so simple & could be understood by a young child.
Relatability bias
If a human can relate to someone, they’re more vulnerable to influence from that person.
Example: “I understand you want to know the price before buying, but if you had a prospect who was perfect for you, would you want to give them the price without any form of value to attach to it?”
Understanding bias
Humans that feel understood are immediately more likely to trust the person who understands them. “If she knows me this well, she must be able to help”. Feeling understood is often synonymous with feeling trust.
Example: during the objection part of a sales call, or if dealing with a thorny reply on cold email, I’ll make an effort to truly put myself in their shoes and mirror their exact thoughts and emotional state back to them.
Originality bias
In client acquisition, humans are more likely to respond to initial stimuli if they are original. Note: originality for the sake of originality won’t work, it still needs to be effective elsewhere.
Example: our original loom system works so well because it’s original and hasn’t been copied by 10,000 people.
Creativity bias
Humans are more likely to respond to initial stimuli if they are creative. Note: creativity for the sake of creativity won’t work, it still needs to be effective elsewhere.
Example: when following up with people, we use memes that are creative, funny and are unique to us.
Live up to an expectation bias
Humans crave to live up to expectations set for them by other humans.
Example: “I can tell you’re the kind of person to act if you know it’s right and makes sense”
FOMO bias
Humans hate missing out on things, especially if other people around them are getting it.
Example: “the last thing I’d want is for someone else to scoop this up who might be a worse fit than you”
Disarming honesty bias
Nothing creates trust better than radical transparency & honesty. You can tell the truth then use the word ‘but’ to segway into a statement of believability.
Example: “I can’t get you 150 appointments a month unfortunately. But, if all you need is 20-30, that’s something I truly can manage.”
Novelty bias
New things entice and excite people. Positioning your offer as new can trigger action.
Example: position your service as ‘something you’ll have never seen or tried before, guaranteed’.
Conviction bias (in sales)
Things stated with confidence are more believable regardless of their validity.
Example: “this will completely change your life” is powerful when said with conviction.
Casual bias
Professionals who are casual about their skills are often regarded as authoritative.
Example: “Yeah I mean, man, you need 20 appointments a month. That’s literally nothing, we book 20 per day.”
Tried n’ tested bias (oldschool tradition)
Often humans find trust and comfort in oldschool methods or ‘tried and tested’ strategies. If something is stated as proven, battle tested or ‘rooted in undisputed and ancient method’ it’s more likely to be trusted.
Example: Imperium relies on strategies and methods of thinking that are hundreds of years old and have stood the test of time. They worked then, and they work even better now.
Selfishness tendency
Humans are selfish. If you want to persuade them, appeal to their interest, and not to reason. Most people only do things out of their own self interest.
Example: if you do this you can keep it all to yourself and not share it with anyone else.
Pattern break bias
Humans have inbuilt pattern recognition systems. They group certain stimuli into batches or categories and use these categories to make instant unconscious decisions of rejection.
Example: how many times have you received a cold email only to delete it without even thinking? It’s because the body copy looks similar to stuff you’ve unconsciously categorised as worthless or pointless.
Mystery bias
Something shrouded in mystery creates interest and action to find out more.
Example: if a prospect asks how it works, you can say ‘good question, it’s actually a bit of a secret but I’d be happy to share it with you on a demo”
Politeness bias
Humans react well to people who treat them with respect and are nice to them. Please, thank you, you’re the best, etc, goes a long way.
Example: “thank you so much for your reply, it means a lot to me”
Effort perception bias
Humans are more vulnerable to persuasion by someone who has put a lot of effort into their approach, or helping them.
Example: this is why a simple Loom works so well. Even if you put no effort into it, it’s the perception of effort that counts.
Dramaqueen bias
Hyperbole is a great method to encourage action. It never hurts to exaggerate a persons problems and the effect those problems have. It never hurts to help them exaggerate their dream and your confidence.
Example: if we don’t fix this problem, it’s the bloody end of the world as far as I’m concerned. Or, I am extremely, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious-ly confident we can solve this problem (that one isn’t tested by the way).
Disqualified identity bias
It often helps to disqualify people from your offer and explain who the service isn’t for. By doing so you make the person more likely to think ‘this is for me’, especially if you understand them well.
Example: this isn’t for people who are looking for an easy, get rich quick sort of scheme. We want people who are committed for the long term and understand success takes time.
Removed self-concerns bias
People often have concerns about their abilities or their identity / skillset, concerns that might hold them back from making decisions to move forward. Removing these concerns encourages decisions.
Example: on our funnel it says ‘you don’t need to be an internet whizz, or a computer geek’
