How to Coach Yourself and Others Beware of Manipulation | Page 278

Identification
Ads or gifts displaying a particular lifestyle make you associate a product or brand with that lifestyle.
Identifying with that lifestyle, you open up to the possibility of wanting the product.
Perhaps look whether a product suits you, not the lifestyle.
Appealing to your insecurities
There are aspects of our lives that we feel insecure about. We may deep down believe we are not
worthwhile, not attractive enough, etc.
Often, products will not really deal with such insecurities, but only offer a temporary or otherwise
insufficient fix.
Win!
Buy something and "win" a gift!
What would the odds be to actually "win" such a gift? One in ten? One in a hundred? One in thousand?
Or even less? Usually, the odds are pretty low - you are likely not going to "win."
So, why bother about "winning?"
Bait and Switch
If you came to a store because of an advertisement that stated a handsomely low price, and the product
isn't there, you can suspect being manipulated with the "Bait and Switch" method. When you are then
guided towards a similar, but more expensive product, you can be sure of that. The "bait" is the first,
attractively priced product, and then you are "switched" to the product that they wanted to sell to you in
the first place.
In many countries, the Bait and Switch method is illegal.
Hiding important information
Sometimes there is important information about a product, that you as a consumer need to know. When
a product is bad for your health, or addictive, like tobacco, you do need to know. Deliberately hiding
Sources:
Ewald Berkers - http://www.unenticed.com/english.php?section=personal+persuasion
Getting Beyond Getting Taken is a blog about deception and manipulation, and how to protect against
it.
Michael Lovas - Staff writer - http://www.benefitspro.com/2011/02/01/manipulation-in-sales
BenefitsPro.com helps benefits brokers, HR managers, and retirement advisors get the information they
need to keep their finger on the pulse of the ever-changing benefits community.
http://www.aboutpeople.com/ F