Question

A telephone solicitor asks you for a donation of $1 for a charitable enterprise. When you

agree to give $1, he asks you to become a volunteer to raise money for the charity. It sounds as
though the solicitor is familiar with the sales strategy known as

a. the door-in-the-face technique.
b. the foot-in-the-door technique.
c. scarcity.
d. modeling.

Answer 1

The solicitor's request is an example of the foot-in-the-door technique, a strategy where a small initial request is followed by a larger request, building on the psychological need for consistency.

Step-by-step explanation:

The telephone solicitor's strategy described in your question is known as the foot-in-the-door technique. This persuasion technique involves encouraging a person to agree to a small request first, such as donating $1, and then later requesting a larger favor, such as becoming a volunteer to raise more money. This method builds on the principle of consistency: Once we've complied with a smaller ask, we're more likely to comply with a larger one because we want to maintain our self-image as helpful or consistent. In this case, the solicitor asks for a small donation before asking for a bigger commitment through volunteering.

Researchers have found that people who agree to a small initial request, like putting a campaign button on, are more likely to comply with a larger request later on, such as placing a campaign sign in their yard. The effectiveness of this technique is supported by numerous studies, demonstrating the power of incremental steps in changing people's attitude, ideas, and behaviors.