Do Finfluencers (financial influencers) really influence you? How do they do it? Here are the few things they do – so be careful.
Authority: We tend to trust when an expert says, Trust Me, I am an Expert. We will happily buy toothpaste recommended by a person wearing a white apron believing he/she is a dentist, but is actually just an actor. Similarly in the financial services space, ‘experts’ who appear on television or those who write articles are just glorified salesmen. However, when they say “I am a Vice-President in Xyz insurance company” we
believe he/she is here to help us.
Wife or other relative of your boss: If you are a constable in the police force can you refuse to buy from the Commissioner’s wife or son? Such powerful people.
Commitment and nodding: Imagine being asked a set of questions which lead to ‘so should you buy an Endowment plan’ – if you have said yes to 4 questions before that, the next answer is a Yes. Many YouTubers ask you “Are you bored with this job”, “Do you wish to be on your own” Did you know …”You can do all this by becoming an Agent selling….”. Be careful, if you are nodding with an ‘expert’, he is about to pitch a toxic, expensive product. This could be for you to buy or to become an agent to become a re-seller.
Social Proof: I have seen people selling to defence personnel. They go to a Cantonment area and sell to the highest serving officer. Then they use his name to sell to others. Ditto for influencers – they interview a big and famous person and then keep dropping names.
Getting fake testimonials and increasing their subscriber base – a simple SEO trick done by many Social Media finfluencers.
Many times we don’t understand the difference between a paid advertisement and an indirectly paid advertisement masquerading as a ‘discussion’. The influencer is actually peddling his influence.
Reciprocity: When I do something good for you, you wish to do something good for me. So when you walk into a shop (aka Bank) they give you something to eat. Or even worse, they ask you to come to a 5-star hotel (with family) and pitch an AIF or a PMS.
Being nice – one of the easiest ways to trap a senior citizen. If he/she has children who don’t spend enough time with them, just be good. Soon they can pitch a toxic, expensive ‘wealth’ product aka ULIP for their grandkids.
Creating a scarcity mindset – saying “this policy will close on 31st December” or saying “from 1st April, the law is changing…”This pushes people to close early. These are common characteristics of salesmen (called Relationship Manager these days), and financial Influencers. Make sure that you know what thisperson is doing to you and your finances.