There is a very effective marketing technique that consists of obtaining small commitments from the potential customer before proceeding to close the sale. Small commitments are small ideas, agreements, or targeted questions that are intended to increase the customer’s willingness to commit to our final offer by accepting those previous small commitments, which tends to dispel objections.
In reality, these small commitments can be very simple, such as asking the customer small truisms that we already know in advance that he will respond in a way that we can handle. For example, asking him if he is looking for a car with a manual or automatic transmission, or asking him if he would definitely go for green instead of red. In short, it involves asking the customer to make a series of low-risk actions or decisions, after which, with their implicit consent, we can present the specific main offer.
There are actually many techniques to achieve this. We can ask the customer to confirm a certain feature, to answer a question in the affirmative, to accept a free sample of the product, to get involved in the choice of a certain finish or quality, or to participate in a product demonstration or a seminar on the subject.
The fact is that by obtaining small commitments, we can establish an initial link with the customer, and a series of starting points or small meeting points that will reduce the perception of risk associated with the purchase, increase trust, and therefore increase the probability that the customer will accept our subsequent offers.
Small agreements or commitments generate a sense of reciprocity in the customer, and we can thus strengthen our relationship with him, which will increase his willingness to commit to our offer.
This is a technique that, consciously or unconsciously, the best salespeople put into practice, and we can assure you that it works.