In the Outsold sales system, for Planting SEED, these are the basic concepts you need to know before we can expand.
1. The Endowment Effect, Kahneman, Knetsch and Thaler, 1990.
We often call this ‘taking ownership’, once we feel we own something, even briefly, we value it more than we would if we’d never had it, and giving it up starts to feel like a loss rather than simply declining an offer. Fear of loss is at least 3 times more powerfull psychologically than hope of gain.
Example: A car dealership letting a customer take a test drive over a full weekend rather than an hour, so by Monday it already feels like their car, not a car they’re considering.
2. The IKEA Effect, Norton, Mochon and Ariely, 2012, the actual named origin of the term.
In plain language, people value things more when they’ve put effort into building or assembling them, even when the finished result is arguably worse than something bought ready made.
Example: A landscaping company that has the homeowner walk the yard with them and map out the plant layout themselves, rather than just handing over a finished design, and finds those clients look after the garden better and refer more people afterward.
3. Choice Architecture, Thaler and Sunstein, Nudge, 2008.
Understand that people prefer choosing between options over being told what to do, so offering two paths that both lead to your preferred outcome feels like freedom rather than persuasion.
Example: A gym asking “would you like to start on the six month plan or the twelve month plan” rather than asking whether they want to join at all.
4. Commitment and Consistency, Cialdini, 1984, building on Freedman and Fraser’s original foot in the door experiment, 1966.
Inertia is a powerful force, equally once something is in motion it tends to stay in motion, so, once someone takes a small step toward something, they feel pressure to stay consistent with that step, and become far more likely to agree to a bigger step later.
Example: A physio clinic getting a new patient to book a single follow up appointment before they leave, rather than asking them to commit to a six week program on day one.
5. Effort Justification, Aronson and Mills, 1959, from their classic study on the severity of initiation.
This means that people place more value on something the more effort it cost them to get it, because valuing it less would mean admitting the effort was wasted.
Example: A boutique gym requiring new members to complete a proper assessment session before their first class, rather than letting them just walk in and start, finds those members show up more consistently afterward.
6. The Benjamin Franklin Effect, the anecdote is Franklin’s own, from his autobiography, but it was tested and named by Jecker and Landy, 1969.
Recognize that people come to like someone more after doing them a small favour, because their brain looks for a reason they did it and lands on “I must like them.”
Example: A tradie asking a new client for a small favour, a glass of water, recommending a good park to leave the ute, or borrowing a hose, rather than only ever being the one doing the favours.
7. Reciprocity, Cialdini, 1984.
We’ve all got a mental ledger. People feel an obligation to give something back once they’ve been given something first, even something small and entirely unconnected to whatever’s asked of them next.
Example: A café that leaves a small biscuit with the bill unprompted, no offer attached, and finds both tipping and return visits increase.
What this means in Planting SEED
Every one of these seven principles works because people trust their own conclusions, their own effort, and their own choices, far more than anything handed to them. So if first we plant the seed, then use that to increase thought, expand’ ownership is about making the person realise that in fact they do have this problem. A prospect who has explored their own problem, then helped shape or choose part of the solution, has effectively built the case for themselves twice before you’ve even pitched your product.
That’s how Expand Ownership fits inside Planting SEED. Spark Curiosity gets someone leaning in. Explore gets them to name their own problem. Expand Ownership is where they start building the solution alongside you, which is what makes the final step, deciding, feel like the smallest step in the whole process rather than the biggest one.
The Full Planting SEED series (Victory without battle)
Planting why the best salespeople never argue anyone into anything. Here
Spark Curiosity looks at how you get someone leaning in before you’ve said anything persuasive at all. Here
Explore covers the exact questions that get a buyer to discover their own need. Here
Expand Ownership looks at why people value solutions they helped build over solutions handed to them. Here
Decide covers how you get someone to commit without ever applying pressure. Here
More thinking like this at www.outsold.com.au/blogs.
