Notes on Selling - Four

by Greg Woodley

This is the fourth in a series of articles regarding the sales process. The ideas for this article come from "Influence - The psychology of Persuasion" - Robert Caldini.

Today I would like to look at the "Law of Commitment and Consistency" and then finish up with some comments on sales basics

It is easier to resist in the beginning than at the end - Leonardo da Vinci

A study done by a pair of Canadian psychologists uncovered something fascinating about people at the racetrack: Just after placing a bet, they are much more confident of their horse's chances of winning than they are immediately before laying down that bet. Of course, nothing about the horse's chances actually shifts but in the minds of those bettors, its prospects improve significantly once that ticket is purchased.

Like the other weapons of influence this one lies deep within us. It is, quite simply, our nearly obsessive desire to be (and to appear) consistent with what we have already done. Once we have made a choice or taken a stand, we will encounter personal and interpersonal pressures to behave consistently with that commitment. Those pressures will cause us to respond in ways that justify our earlier decision.

In a study, done on New York City beach a research accomplice would put a beach blanket down five feet from the blanket of a randomly chosen individual - the experimental subject. After a couple of minutes on the blanket listening to a radio, the accomplice would stand up and leave the blanket to stroll down the beach.

A few minutes later, a second researcher, pretending to be a thief, would approach, grab the radio, and try to hurry away with it. As you might guess, under normal conditions, subjects were very reluctant to put themselves in harm's way by challenging the thief - only four people did so in the twenty times that the theft was staged.

But when the same procedure was tried another twenty times, with a slight twist, the results were drastically different. In these incidents, before taking his stroll, the accomplice would simply ask the subject to please "watch my things," which each of them agreed to do. Now, propelled by the rule for consistency, nineteen of the twenty subjects became virtual vigilantes, running after and stopping the thief, …and often restraining the thief physically or snatching the radio back.

Certain large toy manufacturers use just such an approach to reduce a problem caused by seasonal buying patterns. Of course, the boom time for toy sales occurs before and during the Christmas holiday season. Their problem is that toy sales then go into a terrible slump for the next couple of months.

The problem is not in motivating kids to want more toys after Christmas. The problem is in motivating post holiday spent-out parents to reach down for the price of yet another plaything. The big toy companies start prior to Christmas with attractive TV ads for certain special toys. The kids, naturally, want what they see and extract Christmas promises for these items from their parents. Now here's where the genius of the companies' plan comes in: They undersupply the stores with the toys they've gotten the parents to promise. Most parents find those things sold out and are forced to substitute other toys of equal value. The toy manufacturers, of course, make a point of supplying the stores with plenty of these substitutes.

Then, after Christmas, the companies start running the ads again for the other, special toys. That juices up the kids to want those toys more than ever. They go running to their parents whining, You promised, you promised, and the adults go trudging off to the store to live up dutifully to their words.

Getting you to make a commitment activates this consistency. ….called a sample of residents as part of a survey he was taking and asked them to predict what they would say if asked to spend three hours collecting money for the American Cancer Society. Of course, not wanting to seem uncharitable to the survey taker or to themselves, many of these people said that they would volunteer. The consequence of this sly commitment procedure was a 700 % increase in volunteers when, a few days later, a representative of the American Cancer Society did call and ask for neighborhood canvassers.

During the Korean War, many captured American soldiers found themselves in prisoner-of-war (POW) camps run by the Chinese Communists. It became clear early in the conflict that the Chinese treated captives quite differently than did their allies, the North Koreans, who favoured savagery and harsh punishment to gain compliance.

".... the Chinese were very effective in getting Americans to inform on one another, in striking contrast to the behaviour of American POWs in World War 2."

In fact, nearly all American prisoners in the Chinese camps are said to have collaborated with the enemy in one form or another. An examination of the Chinese prison-camp program shows that its personnel relied heavily on commitment and consistency to gain the desired compliance from prisoners. Of course, the first problem facing the Chinese was how to get any collaboration at all from the Americans. The Chinese answer was elementary:

Start small and build.

For instance, prisoners were frequently asked to make statements so mildly anti-American or pro-Communist as to seem inconsequential ("The United States is not perfect." "In a Communist country, unemployment is not a problem."). But once these minor requests were complied with, the men found themselves pushed to submit to related yet more substantive requests. A man who had just agreed with his Chinese interrogator that the United States is not perfect might then be asked to indicate some of the ways in which he thought this was the case.

Once he had so explained himself, he might be asked to make a list of these "problems with America" and to sign his name to it. Later he might be asked to read his list in a discussion group with other prisoners.

"After all, it's what you really believe, isn't it?"

Still later he might be asked to write an essay expanding on his list and discussing these problems in greater detail. The Chinese might then use his name and his essay in an anti American radio broadcast beamed not only to the entire camp, but to other POW camps in North Korea, as well as to American forces in South Korea. Suddenly he would find himself a "collaborator," having given aid to the enemy.

Aware that he had written the essay without any strong threats or coercion, many times a man would change his image of himself to be consistent with the deed and with the new "collaborator" label, often resulting in even more extensive acts of collaboration.

For the salesperson, the strategy is to obtain a large purchase by starting with a small one. Almost any small sale will do, because the purpose of that small transaction is not profit. It is commitment. Further purchases, even much larger ones, are expected to flow… it's called the foot-in-the-door technique, after all it turns a prospect into a customer ?

We ask our customers to give us blanket orders or, if that is not possible, a signed letter advising of their requirements for our products. Do you now understand how this brings the law of consistency to bear upon them, if they do not stick to the deal ?To apply this with all possible force you would need to be in front of them, with the document, pointing to their signature.

Once again I must give credit to the brilliant book " Influence " by Robert Cialdini
for most of the above examples. These comments below are more my thoughts gleaned from years of experience and supported by quotes from various prominent salespeople.

Sales Basics

The three attributes of a top salesman
Product Knowledge
Selling Skills
Selling Attitude

Product knowledge accounts for only ~15% of sales success!!
Attitude more than anything else determines your likely sales results.

"Your attitude, not your aptitude, determines your altitude in life " Zig Ziglar

"A salesman is a PPS = Professional Problem Solver" - Tom Hopkins

So get good at finding problems and revel in solving them

So, what is the right attitude?

I can tell you now, if you go into a sales meeting looking at how much money you are going to make you are not likely to succeed.

You must first be convinced in the value of what you have to offer.

If what you have to offer is of value to the customer then your motive is to serve the customer and your success is almost assured and the dollars will follow.

Do you know the origins of the word "Sales" ?It comes from the Norwegian word " Selje" which translates literally "TO SERVE"

"You can have whatever you want in your life if you just help enough other people get what they want." - Zig Ziglar

So, if you have a product of value, customers will just buy automatically right?

Not necessarily. Some people are born procrastinators. Some people hate change "Don't rock the boat".

Can you remember a time when you saw something you really wanted, a suit or a dress or a car or a new stereo? You were about to buy it and then you started saying to yourself ,"Oh, it's a lot of money, and the kids are about to get braces, and the pergola needs a new roof etc".

That's what customers go through. And, if you are going to SERVE them you have to get them past it. You must get them past it!

How do you get people past this buyer's resistance? You transform their resistance into an objection and then answer the objection.

How hard do you work at getting them past this resistance ?

Well imagine by some quirk that God has revealed to you all the winning horses for the weekend's race meeting at Flemington and unfortunately you are in Bali and it's Friday night. You phone home to your brother or wife and ask them to put everything you own on those horses and let it ride. How hard would you try to convince them to follow your instructions?

If you believe in the product you are selling don't you owe your customers the same commitment?
Jay Abraham is the most successful marketing guru in the world.People pay him thousands of dollars an hour for his services.

He believes any effective sales organisation does not have customers! They have clients!!

The Webster s Dictionary defines a Customer as "One who purchases a commodity or service".

Client as "One who is under the protection of another".

The difference in the meaning is massive. And there's a massive difference in the way a person who does business with you could or should be treated.

What exactly does under your protection mean? In this case it means that you don't sell people a product or service just so you can make the largest one-time profit possible. You must understand and appreciate exactly what your clients need when they do business with you - even if they are unable to articulate that exact result themselves. Once you know what final outcome they need, you lead them to that outcome - you become a trusted adviser who protects them. And they have reason to remain your client for a lifetime.

For instance, a man who goes to a hardware store to buy a power drill doesn't really need a drill - he needs holes. He has a financial, emotional, logical or intellectual need for holes. He might think he wants a drill. But it s your responsibility to determine the real truth and his real need.

Your responsibility and opportunity is not to just sell him a drill.

You must figure out how to satisfy his financial, emotional, logical or intellectual need for holes and make sure the drill he buys from you will solve his problem and give him the exact holes he needs. Or maybe he thinks he wants holes, but when you find out that he needs to insert rods in these holes, you realise that fasteners would work better than holes. So you sell the client some fasteners. You have truly solved his problem.

You have also become a trusted adviser and a friend. And you should think of your clients as dear, valued friends, the lifeblood of a long lasting, rewarding and profitable relationship for both you and them.

By the way Disney has no "customers", Disney has "Guests" !In fact, any employee who doesn't refer to Disney's visitors as "Guests" usually doesn't work there very long. And Guest is ALWAYS written with a capital G.

Greg Woodley is an NLP Master Practitioner who has spent over 20 years in Sales. Greg is also a successful life coach and corporate leadership trainer. He can be contacted via phone on +61-4627-6582 or
gregwoodley@aol.com