The Law of Contrast–How to Create Extra Value
In the long run, men hit only what they aim at. Therefore . . .
they had better aim at something high.
—HENRY DAVID THOREAU
Have you ever taken your car to your mechanic and he tells you that you might need new brakes, a new transmission, a new fan belt, and that the timing sounds off? You go away thinking, ‘‘Oh man, I’m sunk. I might as well just buy a new car.’’ Then when you come back, he tells you, ‘‘You just need new brakes.’’ You feel as free as a lark, only having to pay $300 for what could have been a $3,000 repair job. Imagine if he had told you he thought he could fix it for $50 and the bill ended up being $500. That is the Law of Contrast in action.
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Comparison Effect: Taking Their Temperature
The last form of contrast is the more general Comparison Effect. This is closely related to the door-in-the-face technique except that instead of presenting an outrageous request upfront, the persuader presents his prospects with an undesirable form of what they are looking for. Then, when the good (or even mediocre) item is presented, the prospect grabs hold of the offer a lot faster. The Comparison Effect focuses on how the prospect is able to compare two options simultaneously and come to the conclusion that the second option really is desirable.
Door-in-the-Face
‘‘Door-in-the-face” is one of the most common techniques for implementing the Law of Contrast. Basically, an initially large and almost unreasonable request is made, likely to be declined-hence the ‘‘door-in-the-face” as the prospect rejects the proposal. Then a second smaller and more reasonable request is made. People accept the second request more readily than if they’d just been asked outright because the relativity between the two requests makes the second one seems so much better. The technique is effective because social standards state each concession must be exchanged with another concession. When you allow a rejection, it is considered a concession. The person you are persuading will then feel obligated to agree with your smaller request.
Shifting Focus
Sometimes it is a good idea to simply give your prospects a different frame of reference, or to merely shift their focus slightly. This is kind of the ‘‘glass is half full” idea. University of Iowa researchers Levin and Gaeth conducted a study where they gave samples of ground-beef burgers to two groups of tasters. The burgers were exactly the same, but one slight difference in advertising strategy was employed: One group was told the burgers were 75 percent lean, and the other group was told the burgers were 25 percent fat. The group that was told the burgers were 75 percent lean rated them significantly leaner, of higher quality, and better tasting than the 25 percent fat group who rated the burgers as fatty, greasy, and of low quality.[3]
Reducing It to the Ridiculous: Create Perspective
This technique involves paring down your request to something that seems manageable to your prospect. Let’s say you are trying to convince someone to purchase a life insurance policy. The client wants a $250,000 policy and you feel that is not high enough for his needs. To adequately take care of his family, you suggest a $500,000 policy. He feels that the monthly payment for a $500,000 policy is too high. So you break it down for him, telling him that for an extra 50 cents a day, or the cost of a can of soda, he can insure himself and adequately take care of his family if something were to happen to him. With this contrast, your client can see that the extra 50 cents is worth it to have the extra $250,000 in coverage. You have reframed your request into simple terms to help your prospect see it fitting into his way of life.
Sweetening the Pot: Triple the Value
‘‘Sweetening the Pot” is a technique often used by salespeople to make the deal seem ‘‘sweeter” than it really is, that is, making the prospect believe they are getting an exceptionally good deal. What can you add on as an incentive? What can you give as a bonus? What do you have that will add value to your product or service? It could be an added feature, a larger discount, free delivery, gift-wrapping, batteries, an extended warranty, or free consulting. Whatever it is, use it to create and contrast a higher value.
How to Use the Law of Contrast
By reviewing the examples that were just outlined, you can guess the steps you need to take when employing this law. But let’s try to simplify the process a little bit by looking at a few different elements of the Law of Contrast.
Starting High
As the name ‘‘Starting High’’ suggests, make sure your initial request is really big—not so big that it is totally unrealistic, but big enough that you know you will get a ‘‘no.’’ Then, follow this initial request with smaller offers that will bring about the result you really desired all along.
For example, fundraising organizations often send letters asking for donations in amounts that are usually pretty high for most people’s pocket books. Soon after the letter is sent out, the organization places a follow-up telephone call. The person making the call asks whether the letter was received and then makes a request for a smaller donation.
