How would you feel if someone called you a hypocrite? You’d be annoyed, right? Who wouldn’t? Interestingly, it doesn’t matter what they accused you of being a hypocrite about; you’d still be annoyed!

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, you’d have a right to be: “hyp·o·crite: noun ’hi--krit a person who claims or pretends to have certain beliefs about what is right but who behaves in a way that disagrees with those beliefs.” It comes from the Greek word hypokrits, which means a stage actor, someone who pretends to be what he is not. Bottom line? You’re a phony.

When applied to sales, the principle of consistency involves creating a situation in which your prospect must take a stand or declare a position and then introducing a purchase decision that requires the prospect to remain consistent with his or her already declared position to avoid acting hypocritically. Here’s an example.

Knock, knock, knock. It’s eight-year-old Shawn, the sweet little blond boy who lives a few doors down. After peering through the peephole and seeing nothing (he’s short), you open the door and Shawn pushes a clipboard in your face. In his tiny, gravelly voice, he says, “Hi! My name’s Shawn. I’m little. Would you please sign my petition to help stop bullying at my school?” Of course you would. Who wants kids to be bullied? Also, he tugged at your heartstrings by telling you that he’s little (clever fellow). So a quick signature and you’ll be on your way.

Wrong. As soon as you hand him the clipboard, he says, “Wow! Thank you so much. This means a lot to me and my other little friends at school. You can donate $3 to help us make ‘Don’t Bully Me’ T-shirts, can’t you? Just $3. Thank you so much!”

Egads! Your goose has just been feathered, seasoned, and cooked to perfection. Little Shawn first made you declare your position on bullying, and you did. Then he tested the conviction of your declared position by asking for a small donation that would be in complete harmony with your position. Essentially, Shawn forced you to not act like a hypocrite. If you had refused to sign the petition, it would have been easy to refuse his request for money, but Shawn played it perfectly and walked away from your house with three crisp bills in his grape-candy-flavored right hand.

This principle is suitable mostly for sales that don’t require deep, central route processing thought. You’re not likely to hypocrite someone into buying a new house, car, or other major purchase. However, the technique could be used to make incremental gains within the process of a large sale.

Let’s look at two scripts and see how it’s done.

DOG GROOMER: “Rocky Mountain spotted fever is at an all-time high in our state. Before we take Fluffy back for her grooming, please sign this form saying that you promise to do all you can to keep her safe from exposure to these deadly insects. [Customer signs.] Thanks for signing! We recommend a new flea and tick collar after your grooming—they’re just $3.99. Can we put one on Fluffy when we’re done making her look beautiful?” [Result: Collar sold; dog owner didn’t act like a hypocrite.]

PRINTER: “Thanks for your printing order. Would you please sign our petition to urge Congress to institute more protections for our national parks and forests? Seems that some big paper companies are illegally logging and destroying forests to make paper. [Customer signs.] Thanks so much! By the way, could we print your order on recycled paper to help the environment? Recycling just one ton of newspaper saves 17 trees, creates 75 percent less air pollution and 35 percent less water pollution, and uses 43 percent less energy. You can’t even tell the difference, and the quality is just as good. It’s just $9 more. That would be okay, wouldn’t it?” [Result: Recycled paper sold; customer didn’t act like a hypocrite.]

Did you notice how the printer ended his pitch with a question? It would have been a drastic mistake to eliminate that question from the script. The idea is to create a decision point that takes practically no effort to move past. If he’d ended with the sentence that preceded that question, “It’s just $9 more,” it would have left his customer unled, wandering in the sales wilderness, and in a stronger position to choose from an endless range of possible responses.

Instead, the goal is to set the stage, get a commitment on position, and then (always) ask a question that requires minimal thought. It’s a process of funneling consumers from point A to point sale, making every step as effortless as possible. You want them to literally fall into the buying decision, not have to climb hills and maneuver around obstacles, whether physical or psychological. In fact, aside from committing to selling only products and services of value and quality, the next best mindset you can adopt is one that says, “I’m going to make it ridiculously easy to do business with me.” Can you reduce the paperwork? Offer more ways to buy? How about fewer restrictions? Smaller commitments? Less risk? Fewer steps to order? All things being equal, people will spend their money with the business that makes it easiest to buy.

The only vice that cannot be forgiven is hypocrisy.
The repentance of a hypocrite is itself hypocrisy.

William Hazlitt