How Much Money Are You Leaving On The Table? – Part II

Last time we looked at the effect of Joshua Bell, a virtuoso violinist, playing a subway street performer.

Out of context, a performance that would normally have paid him $60,000 netted him $40.

Why only $40?

The interesting thing is his skills didn’t change and his performance didn’t change. The only thing that changed was the venue and people’s expectations.

Or is that true?

I think there’s a lot more to it than just those things…and many of these things can be applied to your business.

The Six Laws of Persuasion

In the last article we examined Cialdini’s six laws of persuasion:

• Reciprocity
• Commitment/Consistency
• Liking
• Scarcity
• Authority
• Social Proof
  

And we scratched the surface of how those factors played out in this situation.

Now let’s dig a little deeper.

RECIPROCITY

Reciprocity is interesting because it tends to take a bit more time to convert goodwill into dollars. When it does (especially when combined with the other laws), it can have a huge effect.

What are some ways we could supercharge the reciprocity in this situation and work to get Joshua’s pay increased dramatically?

How about…

1. Have a cardboard sign that says, “I apologize for the bad acoustics.”
2. Play with an up and coming violin student from the Washington D.C. public school system. Then introduce him, “As a violinist who’s played for many of the world’s greatest symphony orchestras, Washington D.C. schools has many talented musicians…this is one. Give him a big Washington D. C. welcome!”
3. Begin with a duet with another street performer in that performer’s musical genre and then transition into a related classical song for extra effect.
4. Have his performance recorded and sell the video on public television and the audio CD on National Public Radio with the proceeds donated to Washington D. C. public school music programs and/or other worthy causes.
   

Next time…Commitment/Consistency will be in our crosshairs.


Until then.