Oversubscribed: How to Get People Lining Up to Do Business with You

by Daniel Priestley

The brain forms connections based on three key ingredients: Time – If you spend a lot of time with people, they start to bond with you. In particular, research into bonding behaviour suggests that spending more than seven hours with someone moves you beyond the “acquaintance” category and towards being a “friend.” Interactions – Having frequent exchanges of communication builds connection. Anyone who had an international pen pal will tell you that you can build a bond based on nothing other than writing letters to one another. In a research paper called “Zero Moments of Truth,” a Google thought leader discovered that when people had about 11 interactions with a brand, they were considerably more likely to buy from that brand. Locations – Seeing people in different places is another way stronger bonds are built. People who see each other only at work are not as bonded as people who also see each other in social settings or at sporting events. The magic number is four locations according to research into trust building.