..of persuasion.

Fascinating article in the UK “Daily Telegraph” titled…

“Do You Have A Scam-Proof Personality?”

…that reports on some research into common financial scams and the characteristics of people most likely to be a victim of a scam.

Now, needless to say, I am not suggesting that you should engage in any kind of activity that is deceptive, misleading or unethical.

My interest in this type of research is the insights provided into people’s behaviour…

…and the legitimate ways to use these insights to frame sales messages more effectively.

Something I found incredible is that people who have previously been a victim of a scam are consistently more likely to repsond to a scam again!

Probably the key insight into who falls for a scam…

“But those who fell victim to frauds tended to be unduly open to persuasion by others and less able to control emotions, such as excitement and greed.”

Ah, our old friend greed, one of the absolutely primary buying emotions and, I suggest, something that should be included in pretty much every sales appeal.

Other scam tactics include the use of deadlines, abusing trust of authority and personal appeals.

The professor who lead the research team commented…

“Modern economic life is complicated and we have to use all sorts of short cuts and rules of thumb to navigate our way through it.”

Understanding how people make decisions, means you can present your sales message in a way that has the best chance of getting through to them.