258New Marketing Reality 9admonished to continue regardless of the protests and if the zappee refused to
answer, the zapper was to consider that a wrong answer and zap him anyway. By
this time, the screams were blood-curdling. Still the doctor, white smock and all,
told him to continue.
As it turns out, the zappee wasn’t actually hooked up to the machine - it just
looked that way to the zapper. The purpose of the study was to see how far
someone would continue to inflict pain on another because an authority figure
had told them to do so. The results were shocking (no pun intended). Because it
was a doctor who was giving the orders, the student acquiesced, even though he
knew it might hurt or possibly kill the other person; he did what he was told.
This whole exercise proved the power of authority in the persuasion game. As a
salesperson or marketer of any kind, you want to influence others. Well, Milgram
would tell you to make sure to create an aura of authority so you can move the
sale in your direction. Even if you are new, even if you are not the best in your
company, we suggest you include an authority orientation in your marketing
because in our day, it moves your objectives forward.
The power of this can be enormous for example if you can consummate the
sale in 2 visits instead of 4 or 5. If they see you as a knowledgeable person of
authority, they will accept your proposals much more readily decreasing the time
from introduction to purchase.