No matter who you are or what you do… you’re a salesman. You could be pitching your next product to a big investor, your boss, or prospect on a new idea. Whether it’s a product, idea, or service… if you are trying to persuade someone to adopt something for its inherent value, it’s sales.
Which is why all successful people are good salesmen although all salesmen are not successful people.
If you are not good at sales it’s likely that you are poor, looked over, and have trouble getting people to see things from your point of view.
If that’s you, don’t be discouraged you’re not the only one and you can do something about it.
That’s why The Copy Cartel is here.
So, how do you become more successful in sales?
One way is to use consistency.
Consistency is the principle that states once a commitment is made, there is a tendency to act consistently with that commitment.
But how does that equate to more sales?
Well, if you already accepted my initial request you’ll be more likely to comply with my future request.
So in business, if I get you to buy something small you’ll be more likely to purchase something in my subsequent request even if my request is larger.
How Consistency in Sales Works
Psychologists all call this the foot-in-the-door technique.
I just call it Consistency!
People prefer not to contradict themselves in both actions and beliefs. This means that as long as the request is consistent with or similar in nature to the original small request, the technique will work (Petrova et al., 2007).
Crazy, right!?
I know…
Suddenly all those FREE books that you only paid the $6.95 shipping and handling cost don’t sound so innocent anymore.
It’s OK, you’re right. They reel you in with an easier offer just to upsell you ten ways till Sunday.
If you fell for this trick don’t feel bad. It’s human nature.
I know this particular flaw in the human cognition and I still find myself being reeled in.
I’m a fitness enthusiast and I’m always looking for the next supplement to help me improve my game without using unnatural and unhealthy means.
A few months ago, I found myself watching a video sales letter about some fitness supplement.
The guy was good, fit, and the copy was persuasive… so for a pretty modest price, I decided to buy it.
Moments after I put my credit card information in I was bombarded with a barrage of upsells.
F%*k! I was in trouble. These guys knew exactly what I wanted and tapped into my insecurities, objections and desires.
My wallet was helpless.
It’s like I coached them since pee-wee league and now they were Major League Marketers.
Before I completed my original purchase, I added another product and even opted into auto-refill for it.
My order was 2x the original cost and now they were even hustling extra lifetime value out of me with the refills.
Long story short, they turned my pockets inside out and left me smiling about the whole ordeal.
I was sold…
I knew I probably didn’t need all that, but it was hard to say no to the other products after I already said yes to the first one.
And the funny thing is… they didn’t sell me on anything I didn’t want.
They just used the consistency principle to maximize their sales revenue.
M%therf&*ckers…
But don’t hate the player, hate the game and they played the game well.
Well played SCULPTnation, well played!
Keep an Eye Out For Consistency in Sales
Although they are not the only ones doing this. It’s a technique that is used pretty often.
Why?
Because it works!
In the information industry you see these types of offers all the time.
They get you to buy into their front end introductory newsletters for a very low price.
Often at a loss initially, and they make it up with their customer lifetime value when they sell you bigger back-end products.
They are so confident that they are ok with the acquisition cost upfront being an initial loss.
And they’re not crazy!
Trust me, I worked for a billion dollar direct response conglomerate, Agora… I’ve seen it first hand.
I’ve even had my hand in it.
All the while they build their trust with you to make you more comfortable in making that larger purchase.
But don’t blame them, you can blame Freedman and Fraser… the two psychologists in 1966 who discovered and documented this phenomenon.
However, don’t forget to also thank them when you pad your coffers with gold and don’t forget to tip your friendly copywriters at The Copy Cartel also.
Always a pleasure, till next time M8!
Cheers
~J
P.S. – Have a unique experience with the consistency principle? Tell us about it below.
P.P.S – Want to learn more psychological triggers that will help you sell more? Check out our affiliate partner AWAI’s and their copywriting course.
P.P.P.S – I’m a fan of the rule of three so I decided to use it here.
