by Sam Culper
This post builds off a previous one about the Source Recruitment Cycle. RASCLS is another mnemonic device that applies to how we ‘handle’ our sources once we’ve recruited them.
Once we’ve recruited our first source – the guy who’s agreed to give us information in return for whatever combination of MICE/RC factors we’ve identified – we have to ensure that a) he stays safe; b) we stay safe while we’re meeting with him; c) we develop him to make him a more efficient collector for us; and d) that we maintain rapport and control with him.
One of the best ways we can maintain rapport and control with our source – because an unpredictable or unresponsive source, or the proverbial loose cannon, becomes a liability for us as source handlers – is to remember and apply RASCLS, or Reciprocation, Authority, Scarcity, Commitment and Consistency, Liking, and Social Proof. This list of factors was developed by Dr. Robert Cialdini, psychologist and author of the book Influence: the Psychology of Persuasion.
Reciprocation.
