Sometimes the best way to get someone to buy something is to give that person something because the human brain is wired to return a favor once one has been accepted. For example, if someone gives you a gift—it doesn’t have to be an especially impressive or valuable one—you feel a moral sense of obligation that you’ve been conditioned to feel since birth. “Listen, Chase. If Reid gives you a cookie, you should share a piece of your orange with him; it’s the right thing to do.”
This learned behavior is a primary societal teaching because socialization teaches us that the best results come from mutual cooperation. If I help you, you’ll help me. If we help each other, both of us can more readily reach our goals and live more successfully.
In some cultures, this sense of reciprocity is reflected in everyday language. For example, the Japanese word for thank you, sumimasen, literally translates to “this will not end” or “it is not finished.” Interestingly, the same word is used to say “I’m sorry” and expresses a sense of endless apology. When Bulgarians say thank you—“
” (blago-dariya)—they’re actually saying, “Good, I’ll give.”
Would you feel an obligation for return giving if someone gave you a nice gift? Most people would. It’s instilled in all of us, but are you using this principle in your sales efforts? You should, and it’s one of the easiest to implement. This principle is triply powerful because it does three things that can affect your bank account. First, it instantly breaks through the clutter. At any moment in the day, your prospect is like a fish that bit down on 100 hooks. She’s being pulled in 100 directions by 100 different voices screaming for her attention, including your competition, advertising in every form imaginable, phones, TV, radio, the Internet, coworkers, friends, family, and an endless barrage of information and requests for her time. But put something free in her hand—a gift—and you’ll quickly get her attention. If it’s something you can mail, your package will get opened long before her annoying stack of bills and junk mail. If you hand it to her in person with no accompanying sales pitch (remember, it’s a gift), you’ll boost her spirits, maybe even make her day.
Remember: the idea isn’t to hand out freebies to people for the purpose of positively energizing your karma. No. The idea is to set the reciprocity principle into action. (Hey, this is a book on sales, right?) You need to take that first step.
Are you a Realtor? Give impressive-looking reports containing insider tips for getting the maximum sales price or for negotiating the best deal in any market.
A health club, gym, or spa? Give certificates for one free month. Offer less time at your own risk. The idea with membership sales is to get prospects into the routine of using your facility, enjoying the benefits, and getting accustomed to having all the equipment, fitness classes, and amenities at their fingertips. An offer of one free week will bring the average prospect in once or twice, which is enough to pique the prospect’s interest but typically not enough to get the prospect hooked and craving more.
A restaurant or pizzeria? Give a certificate for a free meal or pizza. Forget silly offers such as free fries with any entrée and beverage order. That’s fine if you want to look like a cheapskate and make a negative impression, if any. The idea is to give something of value that will kick-start the reciprocity cycle, not to show the prospect that you can pinch pennies and offer laughable incentives.
An auto-service center? Give certificates for a free oil change or air-conditioner charging.
A bakery? Give a dozen free chocolate chip cookies, but not in an ordinary, boring-looking generic white box. Hey, this is sales, and it’s an integral part of your campaign. Doesn’t it warrant something special? Of course. If I owned the place, I’d have eye-catching custom boxes printed with my logo prominently displayed. I’d wrap each one and finish it with a bow. A nice little gift card completes the presentation. Behold! You’ve just turned a plain box of sugary starch disks into a valuable- and thoughtful-looking gift that’s sure to make a hit with even the crabbiest recipient. Reciprocation, come to Papa!
A landscaper? Give them one month of free mowing, weeding, trimming, and blowing.
“Whoa, Drew. I can’t do that! They’ll grab my offer and never continue.”
Really? You’re saying that if your service is better than that of their current landscaper, you’ve fully satisfied them with your work and communications, and your monthly price is acceptable to them, they still won’t hire you. Perhaps you’ll come across an oddball outlier, but you’ve positioned yourself to scoop up lots of brand-new clients because you’ve used one of the world’s most effective sales techniques: sampling. You’ve made it ridiculously easy for them to fall into doing business with you. You’ve removed the number one barrier: the fear of getting ripped off. Now the risk is all yours, and most consumers will give you a shot if you present yourself in a professional manner. If you drive up in a pickup truck that looks like it’s been through three tours of duty in Iraq and you and your guys are dressed like slobs with no visually discernible association with any landscaping company, let alone yours, e.g. sloppy, generic T-shirts and dirty jeans, then even your offer of something free probably won’t traverse the deep chasm of zero credibility that you’ve dug.
Second, it instantly gets them thinking about you in a way unmatched by even the slickest traditional advertising, promotion, publicity, or sales campaign. It’s the perfect way to open the door to new business relationships. They might not like anything else you do, but few people are going to complain about getting a gift of value when it’s presented truly as a gift, with all the trappings.
Third, it instantly sets the reciprocation ball in motion, opening the prospect up to being compelled to listen favorably to your pitch and ultimately return to you some form of compensation or value.
The principle is reciprocation. The action is giving (or gifting if you prefer). The bottom line is that it’s a proven way to tap into the minds of prospects and customers and prepare a smooth road for your next sale. It’s also something that can be incorporated into your business as a standard practice. It’s pure cause and effect. Each gift is another cause working for you like a little salesperson doing your bidding.
My advice? As the ad agency executive Dan Weiden, the man who coined the Nike slogan after being ghoulishly motivated by the final words of a convicted killer giving the okay for the firing squad to turn him into Swiss cheese said, “Just do it.”