Reflections on Commitment and Consistency
I have read quite a bit since I last wrote, but unfortunately, I haven’t documented my insights. I am going to try to go back to some of my notes.
The information about Commitment and Consistency from Influence was very powerful. If all someone has to do is get you to agree to a trivial request up front, it can easily influence your own self-concept and make you more willing to perform additional, even unrelated, requests later on.
Practical Application: Discovery Calls
One of the most interesting pieces was reading about how a guy went into an interview and, at the very beginning, asked the interviewers what about his background attracted them to his candidacy. This led them to list off positive attributes about him and thereby created a commitment to remain consistent about what they thought about him, making it more likely for him to be hired.
This might be something to use for Discovery Calls with potential new clients—asking them up front what they like about your business.
Understanding Reference Points
Even though I already wrote about it, Damien and I had a deep discussion last night about reference points. The conversation was about a friend being upset about how much Lowe’s was selling grass seed. Damien’s initial reaction was not to understand why she bothered to complain about it, but when framed that she already had a reference point in her head about how much it should cost based on her purchase last year, it made sense. Had she not had a reference point already, she likely would have been fine with the price of the seed.
We also talked about how people perceive fairness with pricing—if they purchased something for $500 and later saw that the same item was selling for $200, they would be upset.
Ponder This
- How do you use commitment and consistency principles in your personal or professional life?
- Have you encountered situations where reference points affected your perception of fairness?
Share your experiences and thoughts in the comments below!
Books
- Thinking Fast and Slow
- Influence
- The Tipping Point
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