Customer Reviews

The 7 Triggers to Yes: The New Science Behind Influencing People's Decisions

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I wish I could rate this book five stars because it does indeed have very valuable insights on the topic of persuasion; however, the fact that the first 16 pages (all of chapter 1) were written to convince me that the rest of the book was super valuable because it was based on modern research created a foundation on which the author did not build. In other words, "Where's the research?" In the end, there was very little presented about actual research.

The continual comments saying that "until recently" we thought that persuasion happend based on rational decisions is simply not true. Robert Conklin, How to Get People to Do Things, wrote, "People do things for emotional reasons. Resistance is emotional. It's difficult to dilute it by logic. But you can replace it with positive emotions, benefits" (1979) In other words, hope.

I think it's important to keep in mind that the way we "learn" how things work is through observation. The author places great emphasis on how we can see areas of the brain light up and, since we know what those areas do, we know that function is being utilized. The reality is that we know that area is active, but we do not know that the information it provides is actually used in a the final decision. In other words, I may reference three research papers before I decide on a certain action; however, I may not use the information in the second paper as a factor in my decision. Just because part of the brain is active does not mean that I ultimately make my decision based on that part of the brain.

Now, let me be clear: I'm not saying the author is wrong when he says that decisions are made and persuasion happens based on emotions. I agree; however, we've know this for years. Anyone involved in sales knows that she gets better results when she appeals to emotions as well as logic instead of just logic alone. We have "observed" this for over a century. I have sales books written in the late 1800s and early 1900s that encourage you to appeal to the emotions or passions of the buyer and not just the intelligence.

With that said, the concepts in the book are unquestionably useful. I had actually hoped to learn more of the "whys" that make them useful. This, sadly, was not the result; however, the book stands well alongside such classics as Cialdini's. Here are the seven triggers presented in the book:

1) Friendship Trigger
2) Authority Trigger
3) Consistency Trigger
4) Reciprocity Trigger
5) Contrast Trigger
6) Reason Why Trigger
7) Hope Trigger

(NOTE: These seven triggers are listed on the dust jacket.) Let's compare these to Robert Cialdini's "weapons" of influence (as opposed to triggers):

1) Reciprocity (like this book's #4)
2) Commitment and Consistency (like this book's #3)
3) Social Proof (like this book's #6)
4) Liking (like this book's #1)
5) Authority (like this book's #2)
6) Scarcity (like this book's #6)
A) Contrast Principle (like this book's #5)

I listed the contrast principle as "A" because it is not listed as one of Cialdini's 6 methods of incluence. The point is that 75-80 percent of this book is found in Cialdini's work with very little additional information. I'm not suggesting this author stole the material - only that it's not new.

I should point out that Russell Granger has added a new influence weapon (persuasion trigger) called hope that was not directly covered in Cialdini's earlier, Influence - How and Why People Agree to Things. This concept is the positive version of using fear. For example, many books on influence speak of fear being a powerful motivator. What they mean is that, in order for people to have hope, they must first fear not having it. Instilling fear of a real or false scenario and then showing them that you have a way to avoid that scenario takes them from fear to hope. I like the positive message of 7 Triggers much better myself.

Due to the fact that this book, I feel, teaches the principles of Cialdini better than Cialdini's book, I still give it four stars. Had there been detailed research related to each of the 7 triggers as promised, I would have given it five. The early chapters do, at least, present some modern research - though this research is never clearly linked to the 7 triggers.

If you have not read a book on influence, I would definitely read this book. If you've not read Cialdini's book, I'd read this one first. Also, be sure to read Managing at the Speed of Change by Daryl Conner. Trust me, the "hope" trigger will be much clearer to you after you read the chapter in Mr. Conner's book titled the process of change. In fact, ALL persuasion is changing the mind and motivation of the other person. If not, then they would not need persuading, would they?

-Tom Carpenter

Russ Granger developed a training program for insurance people called PRISMs. Because of his insurance background, and the fact that he offers a one day course on influence, I decided to read his book. If Dr. Robert Cialdini's work (Influence: Science and Practice) is Starbucks then this book is Folgers because it's a very, very light treatment of a complex subject.

The author talks about "new science" but he basically states over and over that brain scanning tells us the amygdala lights up but then doesn't really tell us much. Anyone in sales knew before brain scanning that people make decisions emotionally then try to justify with logic and reason. He barely sites social science or studies to show how much more effective you can become when applying persuasion principles correctly. Personally I found other works far more persuasive when they showed me X number of people responded a certain way then 2X or 3X responded a different way when the understanding of influence was strategically used.

He also mixes up consistency and social proof and there's a big difference. Read Cialdini's book and you'll clearly see that. And, with consistency he never taps into the power...stop making statements and start asking questions. That simple process triggers consistency because people want to remain true to their word.

The coverage of the actual 7 triggers is not even 100 pages. If you've read other works (Cialdini, Mortensen, Hogan or Levine) you know that's way too light for such an interesting concept.

This book is ideal for "persuasion peractitioners." If you're in the business of sales, marketing, teaching/education - then this is a wonderful book for you.

Since I'm a marketing strategist that specializes in customer loyalty and differentiation, I couldn't resist this book. I have to admit the title had me at hello. The back jacket had me salivating at the shelf and the inside fold gave me the specifics I was looking for. I was sold.

If you've already read Cialdini - you'll find this has a lot of the same information, but what I like about this book is the practical applications and suggestions for sales and marketing types. If you're looking for lots of deep brain science, this might not be a good choice for you; but if you're looking for practical applications of persuasion principles, you'll find this useful.

Much of the first part of the book goes into the exciting science behind emotional triggers and how our brain reacts to emotion compared to logi But then it get's even better. Russ Granger devotes a chapter to each of the seven triggers (which are really well covered in another review here) and then he also offers a web site [...] where you can get downloadable worksheets that you can use to actually apply the triggers to your professional life.

This is what I really enjoy. Granger comes at the book from his own personal experience and use of the principles. It's written in an engaging and friendly tone and is really easy to get through quickly. It took me a couple hours to plow through it - but I've been using it as a reference tool constantly as I prepare for meetings, sales calls and even to write marketing materials.

Buy it. Read it, and most importantly use it.

I found the 7 Triggers to Yes both fascinating and thought provoking. The author provides excellent documentation about cutting edge research into the human brain's process for making decisions and actions. With a clear understanding of how the brain processes emotional input, I am now better able to provide the right information to activate the other person's decision triggers. The trigger chapters are invaluable. As a business owner, I need to persuade all day, every day. The trigger chapters contain lists of many elements to consider for each trigger, and these are great memory joggers to prep for any presentation. I have read several books on persuasion - this is the first one that provides a step by step system to make the persuasion process work. The book is loaded with practical new ideas to become more successful. I also found it a fun read!

The first 7 chapters--roughly 80 pages--of this book consist entirely of pointless anecdotes illustrating the importance of persuasion in society which the author believes are necessary in order to persuade you into reading the rest of it. This immediately calls into question his degree of command over the subject he wants us to believe he is an authority on, and at the end of the day, it didn't really work too well on me. While the formulaic approach of "tell them what you're gonna tell them then tell them what you just told them" is generally the way to go in pop-science, it's just carried to an absurd extreme in this case, and I found myself wishing he'd just get to the point on a regular basis. Of course, if he did just get to the point, his book wouldn't be big enough to charge this much money for.

Aside from his babbling approach to writing, the author also speaks from a decidedly Western point of view, and much of what he proposes will simply not fly in other cultures. Try these stupid little schemes on a Native American reservation or a Chinese kitchen and you'll be handed your hat more quickly than you can ask about anybody's kids. Some of the principles are universally sound, but they're also common sense for most people who are not cognitively impaired in some way.

This entire book can be summarized in one sentence: There's a brain structure called the amygdala and we just tricked it into buying this tripe by going with the cornflower blue. Ha ha! If you want to see a textbook example of abject failure to persuade, take a look at this guy's horribly designed website full of blurry stock photos.

In ministry, one must practice the highest form of leadership. There are no stock options to hand out, no firings to intimidate with, and no positional authority. The minister must have the art of persuasion as a skill. As a lot of ministers seem to read a book about preaching every year, I try to read several people skills books a year. This book is an excellent treatment of the classic tactics for influence. The book deals with the art of persuasion. There are certain laws that seem to heighten the percentage of agreement among people. They are friendship, authority, consistency, reciprocity, contrast, reason, and hope. These elements help us as ministers to present our cases for improvement, for development, and spiritual growth in a fashion that will gain a greater following. The book is a great review of these principles. If you have not read a good people skills book recently, I recommend this one for ministers.

In businesses, successful people are those who effectively get the job done and are able to influence others to agree or comply not through force or negotiations, but by using the skill of persuasion. However, many people don't know how to effectively persuade others towards agreement or compliance. They think that influencing people with logic will work. New scientific evidence shows that the brain is not a computer and that emotions play a big role when it comes to the decision-making process. There's a whole new understanding to the science of persuasion and the brain, and Russell Granger's book, "7 Triggers to Yes" is the first book to detail the scientific evidence that demonstrates a new understanding about the role that the brain and emotions play on conscious evaluations. In the book, Granger describes seven emotional triggers that you should identify to help others quickly reach a shared conclusion and how to activate these triggers and persuade without force or negotiations.

"7 Triggers to Yes" is a great book - it contains information that you can use in your job and also in your everyday life. Applying the principles of the book will allow you to forge positive relationships, become a better leader, and create organizational change. All of which will lead to a more powerful, influential and successful life.

If you've ever studied any kind of selling, advertising, copywriting, marketing, influence or persuasion, the first thing that you would've learned is "people buy with emotions, and then justify it with reason." Books related to copywriting, advertising, marketing, and influence are populated with descriptions of all kinds of emotional triggers.

In the first third of the book the author goes on and on - endlessly repeating the same thing - how now due to brain scans, we can finally watch the brain as it processes stimuli. We can see specific parts of the brain "light up" as their functional elements are put into play. Then he gives an example of amazing new discovery "when we see others clapping or cheering at an event, the brain triggers us to clap or cheer." I don't know about you, but if you've been watching any sitcoms, you already know that they contain laugh tracks, obviously because people in show business and selling have been aware of this fact for decades, even without brain scans.

The author is desperately trying to persuade readers that when it comes to thinking vs. emotions - thinking will take you nowhere fast, and he has populated the book with statements like "Author James Thurber states 'Sixty minutes of thinking of any kind is bound to lead to confusion and unhappiness!", and states how for thousands of years we have been told that "emotions inhibit good decisions; but, as noted, new scientific discoveries now tells us "No Way!" - and he failed to specify just what kind of emotions are involved in making "good decisions".

Even without any scientific discoveries, if you just look at your own life and decisions you made, I seriously doubt that you'll conclude you made your best decisions in a state of great emotional distress. If you are in a critical situation, you may make a much better decision if you stop your urge to just do something and instead to assess the situation, before taking action. In Critical Response Training, the protocol for fist responders is that they must quell their instinct to jump in and do what they can. Instead they are trained to stop, assess the situation and group needs together, and to prioritize among the critical needs.

He then says how the research has uncovered the "super seven" triggers that we universally employ to help us make quick, easy, non-thinking decisions. He doesn't specify what research, but since he seems to have swiped most of the triggers from Cialdini's book on Influence, and added few which while not in Cialdini's book have been well-known to anyone involved in sales.

1) The author has changed Cialdini's Liking to Friendship Trigger which in essence revolves around the idea popularized in Neuro-Linguistic Programming circles as "people like people who are like themselves", so establish rapport by finding a common ground. Some parts in this chapter the author seems to have drawn from Dale Carnegie's classic How to Win Friends and Influence People.

2) Authority trigger - same as Cialdini, but it does have some different stories. People tend to obey authority figures. Establish your credibility and expertise.

3) Consistency - Cialdini in his book pointed out that people have a need for consistency and will tend to act in a way that is consistent with their previous action. This author suggests that we are guided to be consistent with two categories of expectation - our own, and those of our admired peers.

4) Reciprocity - again same as Cialdini's - people tend to return the favor, so generosity pays off.

5) Contrast Trigger - this one is not mentioned by Cialdini - however it is not new ideas. In sales, marketing and advertising it has been simply called "unique selling proposition" - in other words how are you different than your competition.

6) Reason Why Trigger - here he has included Cialdini's Scarcity - perceived scarcity will generate demand, and the "reason why" compares to Cialdini's research involving the word "because" - that is that people will tend to comply with your request if you give them a reason.

7) Hope Trigger - while not mentioned in Cialdini's book, is again regularly applied in sales, marketing, and advertising - after all the whole point that people are buying anything is because they hope whatever they get will make them feel better in some way. What the author has listed here is again what anyone in sales, marketing, or advertising has learned as Maslow's hierarchy of human needs.

While I have personally enjoyed reading Cialdini's book way more than this one, and have found the research stories in Cialdini's books highly interesting and they've stuck in my memory a decade or two after reading it, and I consider Cialdini's book to be superb and way superior to this one, this book contains more ideas that relate to how you can apply these triggers to business situations, and you may find those ideas useful.

I must add that I felt disappointed because based on author's assertions I expected to find "breakthrough discoveries in the field of persuasion", this book contains nothing new in the area of persuasion, only in the area that brain scans may track how your brain processes information.

This book gives you a template that you are "able to apply"
Shortly after reading the book I applied the 7 triggers to a seminar that I presented and then during interviews with prospects from the seminar.
I can not give an exact measurment on the results but I can tell you that the increse in results was significant and applying the 7 triggers was the only thing I did that was different.

I wish everyone in a sales and consulting role would excel in 7 triggers. This is how I want to be treated when I'm buying your widget or your service. In my own role as a certified financial planner, these principles have always been important to me. Now Russ' presentation helps me reflect on how I can integrate this even better in my practice. Russ, I hope you sell 1Million copies.