Continuing on in our journey of discovering why people say ‘yes’ or agree to do things, we come to a very potent factor. The factor of authority.
In the case of ‘consensus’ we have a person making his decision based off what is commonly agreed upon, what people in his group do, or don’t do. With authority, we have a person making a decision based off the statement of one person, as opposed to a whole group.
Why authority?
People are very trusting. They will give people the benefit of the doubt, and assume people are not trying to deceive or take advantage of them. Therefore, whenever one is hearing an opinion or statement from an authority the knee-jerk reaction is to believe them, and not question. One of the main reasons why is the authority has knowledge and or credibility which one does not, therefore we trust him.
Of course there will be people who are so self-assured that they will contest anything a person of authority says, but the majority of people give heavy credence to the opinion of an authority.
How to show authority
There are many ways to indicate that one is an authority. The simplest would be certifications/diplomas from accredited agencies; showing that you are a certified specialist.
Even the simple technique of wearing a uniform will ‘trigger’ this in the consumer; and to a lesser extent just dressing professionally.
Writing a book and having it published automatically makes one an authority, and it is not as big a task as you think. Self-publishing has become incredibly simple, thanks to Amazon, and is within the reach of any individual and small-business owner.
Another way one can show that they are an authority is to have a friend or colleague introduce them as an expert. This is something that receptionists can employ for their salesmen. The receptionist can tell the caller that they will be connected with Bob, who has X amount of experience in [insert industry/service here].
Using authority on the web
Anyone can say anything they want on their website, and the visitor has no way of know whether or not it is true. However, this doesn’t mean you should not still try to establish your authority on your website, because you can.
The obvious and first way to establish yourself/your brand as an authority is to get a professional e-book made; and have it advertised prominently on your site.
The next, and only slightly more time consuming way would to have your own book written and published (for very low costs using Create Space, and only ordering copies to be printed whenever you get orders in).
Self-publishing on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/seller-account/mm-summary-page.html/ref=footer_publishing?ie=UTF8&ld=AZFooterSelfPublish&topic=200260520
Another very obvious step would be to display on your website any awards your company has received, for quality of service, or anything. Additionally, you should display any certifications and licenses.
If you don’t have any awards fear not! You can start today towards accruing them. Here are just two that you can look into:
Angie’s List Super Service Award criteria
https://www.angieslist.com/articles/angies-list-super-service-award-criteria.htm
Yelp Bizzie Awards
https://www.yelpblog.com/2016/08/yelp-announces-first-annual-bizzie-awards
There are others.
It is time well invested, as a company that has great reviews and a great record of service has considerable authority, and preference, in the eyes of the consumer.
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