How Small Steps Sell

It’s the end of the day at work, and someone says to you: 

‘Fancy a quick drink?’

This is a classic persuasion technique. 

It suggests very little commitment on your part. 

They’re not asking for much and it won’t eat into your time. 

You feel strongly tempted to say ‘yes’ because it’s hard to think of any major objections. 

But if that person had said ‘Would you like to come for a big night out in town?’ it would be a different story. 

Your brain would flood with objections. 

You’d think – ‘Uh-oh, that’s going to cost me a lot of money, I’ll feel terrible in the morning and I’m trying to be healthy at the moment. 

Besides, it’s only a Wednesday...’ 

So you politely decline. 

However, when you go for that ‘quick drink’ with your friend, you’ve made a small commitment. 

After they buy the first round, you feel compelled to buy the second round. 

You start to enjoy yourself. 

The resistance to having a few more drinks melts away. 

Now the idea of going for a curry or a pizza seems the obvious next step. 

You’re out in town anyway, and you need to eat after all... 

So you end up having a big, expensive night out anyway. 

And that, dear reader, is The Power of Micro-Commitments!

When it comes to email marketing, they are a powerful way of warming up your email list, and nudging them towards making ever bigger commitments… and ultimately buying. 

The secret is to create small stepping stones toward the big sale. 

Think about it this way…

It’s very rare that someone new to your email list will instantly click ‘buy now’ and hand over their credit card details. 

There are many reasons for this... 

• They don’t yet trust you or know what you stand for
• They’re really busy right now and don’t have time to go through a sales process
• They’re not really intending to spend money right now
• They’re not sure they want or need your product or service. 
• They’re just having a quick browse
• They think they should probably shop around for the best deal
• They think they should check out some reviews on feedback and find out what other people think first. 

That’s why hitting them over the head with a big scary offer as soon as they join your email service, won’t maximise your sales. 

In fact, it’s more likely to send them directly to the unsubscribe link.

As the wisdom goes: 

‘You wouldn’t ask someone to marry you before

you’ve shared a cup of coffee with them.’ 

It’s the same with email marketing. 

If you want to maximise your conversions, don’t intimidate a new prospect by asking them to make a huge financial or time commitment right away. 

Instead, romance your prospect a little by asking them to carry out smaller, simpler, less frightening actions. 

These could include... 

• Answering a survey 
• Watching an interesting video (either yours or a 3rd party) 
• Liking your business's Facebook page or following you on Twitter 
• Clicking on a link in an email to read a blog post 
• Urging them to follow through with a simple tip or piece of advice contained in your email

Each of these actions are micro-commitments. 

They require very little time and effort on your prospect’s part. 

They don’t demand any financial outlay, deep thought or analysis... 

There are also very few physical barriers because they can be done on a mobile device ‘on the go’, while bored at work, or while lying in bed. 

Yet each one of these micro-commitments makes your customer that little bit more familiar with you and your business. 

(There’s also the added bonus that your sender reputation will improve and mean more of your emails will get delivered to people on your list!)

Each one gives them a better understanding of what you have to offer. 

Each one builds trust and increases the number of ‘points of contact’ between you and your customer. 

And each one leads your customer closer to making that big purchase. 

Ultimately, micro-commitments are the crucial stepping stones to the big sale. 

Get them right and you will dramatically boost your bottom line. 

And there’s strong evidence behind this strategy, too. 

1. Humans Tend to Stick With Their Initial Decisions 

In his classic book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Dr Robert Cialdini reveals that people tend to stick to their decisions with great consistency. 

‘Once we have made a choice or taken a stand, we will

encounter personal and interpersonal pressures

to behave consistently with that commitment.’ 

In other words, once we commit to something early on, we don’t like to switch or go back on our decision. 

We feel we have to reinforce that decision with more action. 

For instance, if we complete a quick quiz about fly fishing on an angling website, we’re more likely to carry out a bigger action next, like opting into their email service, downloading their eBook, or browsing their shop for angling equipment. 

2. Humans Feel the Urge to Reciprocate 

Cialdini also talks about the principle of ‘reciprocity’: when we are given something of value for free, we feel compelled to give back something in return. 

For example, if someone gives you a free sample of chocolate in the supermarket, you feel a nagging sense that you should really make a purchase, almost as if you owe them and that it would be rude not to. 

Or if a charity fundraiser hands a free balloon to your kid, you will feel more compelled to give them a couple of minutes of your time. 

The same goes for email. 

When someone completes a survey, watches a video or does something that produces even a modest benefit, they will feel more compelled to reward you by opening your next email and further engagements. 

3. Humans Fear Big Changes 

In his book, One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way, Robert Maurer Ph.D shows the human brain is hot-wired to ‘fight-or-flight’ when confronted by a big challenge. 

If you ask too much of a potential customer upfront, they could run. 

However, the Japanese productivity technique of kaizen breaks down big challenges into tiny, achievable steps. 

It melts away people’s fear of big commitments by getting them to take actions that are enticingly quick and easy. 

If you think of the sales process as a journey that takes the customer from ‘stranger’ to ‘customer’, then it makes sense. 

You don’t want the customer to visualise the entire journey ahead – it will seem tiring, difficult and too big a commitment. 

Instead, you just want to gently entice them to take those mall steps. 

For example, clicking a button to ‘take this two-minute quiz and find out what kind of angler you are’ doesn’t ask much in terms of time commitment – it’s free, sounds like fun and will give them something rewarding for very little effort. 

Whereas ‘Sign up for our ￡200 fly fishing programme’ feels like a big deal and something that requires serious thinking about. 

And yet that two-minute quiz could... 

• Lead to them getting an email with the results of the quiz. 
• Lead them to open a follow-up email that contains a link to watch a free ‘how to’ video. 
• The video then suggests they click on a link that leads to an offer of a free trial for your fly fishing course. 
• The trial then leads them to take up the ￡200 course. 

The big conversion happens in a few simple steps, each one with increasing levels of commitment. 

By the time you ask them to hand over ￡200 they’ve already taken a quiz, signed up for your emails, watched a video and taken a free trial. 

In some cases, it could be dozens, if not hundreds of small actions to get the conversion. 

I have people on some of my email lists who took years to buy. 

Others just weeks after joining.  

The important point is this: each action they take is a stepping stone towards the eventual sale. The more opportunities you can give them to engage with your email, the more they are likely to take action.

Each one further convinces the prospect that: 

• You are trustworthy and credible – you deliver on your promises and you’re not likely to scam or trick them. 
• You are genuinely interested in helping them – you create useful content that enriches their lives in some way, and you’re not just out for the cash. 
• You share their values, passions and world outlook – people like to buy from businesses that are like them and share their views and passions. 

Take Action Now

What could you add to your emails that encourage your reader to make their first of many micro-commitments? Spend a few minutes making a list of small simple actions you could include in your next content email. 

And as you introduce these micro actions into your broadcasts, take a look at your Click Through Rate (CTR) - this will indicate what percentage of your list are engaging with your emails. 

FREE: If you want more proven insights and practical tips on making more from your email list, check out The Email Insider