Cialdini considers Liking to be one of his weapons of influence, at first I was puzzled but upon further thinking I understood how who we like and hang around us influence us the most. I have fallen victim to this persuasion technique when I was a young child. In elementary school, I would hang out with one of my friends who I considered to be cool. He was athletic, smart, and just overall a cool guy. With my young mind not knowing how to react, I started to do things the same way. It got to the point where I started to like the color pink solely because a couple of my friends did. I would go out of my way and buy pink shirts and color various crafts with pink and black markers because I thought it made me ‘cooler’. Little did I know I fell for one of the easiest ways to persuade someone. This form of persuasion was also prevalent in my high school, but not for being cool because everyone was doing it. This was Cutco Kitchen knives. They operated in a way that helped out the students by paying the students minimum wage, but also sucked them in by having their friends recommend you for certain positions. These pressures from friends are great for business but can also ruin friendships.

A woman who attended multiple Tupperware parties said it best when she stated, she had “enough containers… and could buy them cheaper at the store… But when a friend calls up, I feel like I have to go. And when I get there, I feel like I have to buy something” (168). By using our friends to suck us into a sale we automatically feel an obligation to help out our friend. In addition, Joe Girard found a way to sell five cars a day just by having people like him. Solely by “finding a salesman they like, plus the price; put them both together, and you get a deal” (170). This is just one other reason how liking the person can translate into persuasion. Lastly, it amazed me how Physical attractiveness, similarity, and compliments can persuade an individual into liking you. People tend to associate physical attraction with “Talent, kindness, honesty, and intelligence… and these assumptions that good looking equals good” (171).

In essence, by understanding who someone likes and who they are friends with can improve your chance of persuading them. For some, just mentioning a friend’s name can be enough to catch their interest and persuade them to buy what you are selling. For almost every situation, whether it is peer pressure, persuasion, or helping our a friend is as always hard to say no to those closest to you. In the example of Tupperware parties, people would attend because they like that friend and want to support them. This is also evident in pyramid schemes. If one of your friends falls into this trap, it is hard for them to get out and break even, and can also ruin a lot of friendships. How some of these work is they rely on your network of friends to sell goods. But what tends to happen if the friends you use to rely on break apart because whenever you get together with them they are preaching about this wonderful product they have. I can understand how this can be useful, but do the ends really justify the means? Mr. Girard had a unique system when selling cars. He believed and proved that people are more willing to work with people they like. Of course, this makes sense but how can you go about making an individual like you? Cialdini showed how society assigns traits of an individual who is physically attractive. People who are physically attractive can make better sales and can get out of situations unattractive people would not be able to. Along the same line, similarities between the seller and the buyer can promote good business. Furthermore, a person, no matter their intentions, always believe they are the best at everything. If you look at teachers, yes they are molding the minds of our young, but there is one sure way to pass all of your classes. A teacher is always the smartest in the room and if you regurgitate what they say they will believe you are a genius. This form of similarity creates a tie between the two individuals because we like people who are similar to us. Lastly, Humans are suckers for flattery and will make decisions based on this. Liking can promote business for a little but it is inevitable that their network of friends will slowly decline based on how often you fall upon them to buy your products.