The Foot-in-the-Door Method is a tactic that many salespeople used in the past. Curious, three psychologists decided to experiment it by doing door-to-door fundraising.
I remember back in the late 90s, there were always door-to-door salespeople coming to my house.
They would advertise knives, books, or even services.
There was this one time… I was maybe 11 or 12 years old… this lady came knocking on my door asking if I wanted to buy children’s encyclopedias.
Now, if you don’t know what these are, they’re basically sets of textbooks with a bunch of information in them.
It’s like Wikipedia, but in textbook form and written by (actual) professors and professionals.
Since I was just a kid, I said yes.
She asked if she can talk to my parents and I said sure and went to grab them. My parents came over and, instead of kicking her out, asked her to sit down.
Right at this moment, she probably felt that she was going to for sure make a sale.
And she rightfully should have, because according to the foot-in-the-door theory, this is an indication that the customer is willing to buy.
This psychological theory says that people are more willing to agree to a larger request if they first agree to a smaller one. Continue reading “What is the Foot-in-the-Door Method and How Is It Used in Sales?”