The idea of influence scares some people.
It conjures up images of cults, charlatans, and sleazy salespeople.
But what we need to remember is we are influencing and being influenced all the time.
As I write the hype around the Harry and Meghan documentary on Netflix may have compelled you to watch it. Or it may have had the opposite effect.
If you have kids you’re always trying to do or not do certain things. You’ll use any trick you can think of to influence them to do what you want.
Side note. They will do the same to you and pay attention to how they go about. Kids are masters of influence.
So, is influence ethical?
My answer is yes if it genuinely benefits the person being influenced.
No if it doesn’t.
The tactics are the same either way. It’s about your intent.
In fact, if you can truly help people you owe it to them to become more influential.
I see this all the time in the marketing industry. Big promises, hard sell, failure to deliver results.
It annoys the hell out of me. But here’s what I decided to do about it.
Focus on developing my skills of influence so I can help more people. And help more people make wise buying decisions for marketing services.
You can do the same in your industry.
Having a long term ‘ethical influence’ strategy is one of the smartest moves you can make for your business.
The time to start is right now.
If you have questions about how to do it in your industry, please ask me. I’m keen to help any ethical business expand their influence.