Sometime before Christmas, a Ferrari toy ad aired on TV. We see a boy pleading with his father – let’s call him Robert – to buy the toy. Robert promises that he will buy it. Unfortunately, the Ferrari toy’s out of stock in all the stores when Christmas finally came around.
Fast forward to January. Robert had sworn not to enter the wretched toy store after purchasing all too many gifts for his son. Yet there he was, in the same blasted place, shelling out for said Ferrari toy.
Here’s the story’s main question: do you really think Robert has been unfortunate in his efforts to get the damned toy?
The answer might surprise you.
Fun fact: this is a real story that happened to Robert Cialdini, the leading psychologist in the area of influence. His lesser achievements include having the Society for Personality and Social Psychology name their grand prize after him.
Lucky toy companies? Haha…hahaha…
Toy business follows seasonal patterns. Once Christmas rolls around, toy companies collect their yearly harvest. When Christmas passes, the sales plunge.
If you were the CEO of a toy company, how would you fix this situation?
With a bit of industry insight, you would deduce that parents, not the children, cause the sales to plunge. Children always cry for new toys, but parents can’t always afford them. So you sit there thinking, how do we convince the parents to buy our product?
The solution is devilish. Run a slick ad of an amazing toy, like Ferrari, before Christmas. Children plead parents to buy it. Parents promise to buy it.
Then you undersupply.
After Christmas, you increase the toy supply. Now you’ve put parents in a tough spot. Should they keep their promise, or tarnish their good name with deceit? We’ve all seen Liar Liar: deceit ain’t good for the kids.
For those who consider themselves too smart to fall for this trick, here’s a fun fact:
Remember Robert from our Christmas story? Fully name Robert Cialdini? Famous psychologist in the area of influence? Some major prize named after him?
Yep, that very same Robert fell for the trick hook, line, and sinker.
The forces of commitment and consistency
Faraday once said that society values consistency above all – even more than being right. If you talk the talk but don’t walk the walk, people perceive you as two-faced, indecisive, and untrustworthy.
Cunning businesses understand it well, and they use it against you.
If you agreed to test drive a car and then refused to buy it, you would create the impression that you’ve wasted someone’s time.
If you agreed to buy the car, handed over your credit card and filled out the paper, but then suddenly refused to buy the car? You would create the impression that you can’t afford it.
That’s the power of commitment and consistency. First you commit, then you must be consistent.
If not, prepare to be crushed between hammer and anvil.
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