In Part 1 of this article we discussed three principles underlying the art of persuasion - (a) give and take in the Law of Reciprocation, (b) price difference in the Law of Contrast, and (c) the mentality of the herd in Law of Social Proof. But there are other laws governing the art of persuasion.

Law Of Commitment And Consistency This law states that people are basically trained to be consistent with themselves. In a sales setting, the law states that if you can get a person to take a baby step in your direction, then it's easier for him to take big steps in your direction. By progressing from the baby steps to the big steps, you are able to tell the other person that he is being consistent with himself.

If you can convince someone to buy a term life insurance policy from you, then it is much easier for you to convince him to buy a hybrid life insurance and savings program from you.

Law of Scarcity This law focuses on the tendency of humans to want, and pay a lot, for things that are rare, hard to get or both. Seasonal items, collector's items - these are all premium items that many people are willing to spend so much money on.

It's no wonder not that many people are not that willing to pay a lot for insurance - there's just too many selling them. If you are an insurance agent, there are only very few ways that you can create a sense of scarcity in insurance products especially health insurance products, which is why you're better off signing up with insurance websites that offer free health insurance leads. The leads are often warm leads and have been identified to need the product and can afford it. In some cases, the lead may already be an old client, you only need to sell a new product.

Law of Authority

This law basically states that people that people would be inclined to follow the recommendation of someone who is perceived as an authority figure. Take the case of toothbrushes - most likely we will buy a brand that has been recommended by a dentist or a group of dentists.

In this case, insurance experts who recommend a "BUY" are an agent's best friends. But of course, insurance agents can always create an air of authority around themselves, so it becomes easier to persuade and influence prospects. Some people are able to do this quite easily while others need to make a lot of effort in this direction. In any case, it is always worth spending time to set oneself up as an authority -it simply cuts the time to influence another person by half.

Now the laws of persuasion are by no means cast in stone - they are simply the observations made by psychologist Robert Cialdini. Whether they hold true in real life actually depends on your own experiences in selling. The important thing to do is to find out how you can apply these laws in your own field of experience.