Foot through the door approach

I think I coined a phrase in yesterday’s post.

If you look up “foot through the door approach” you’ll learn about the foot IN the door approach to persuasion, a Psych 101 classic, where you ask for a little bit (get your foot in the door) in order to get something more (invited into the house). We see it all the time in the worlds of selling, retail, even in soliciting donations.

I used foot THROUGH the door to describe the aggressive direct mail tactic that an insurance agent used on me, by putting a picture of my actual house on the envelope and on the letter addressed to my actual house. That approach was too invasive and turned me off.

Are there ever times when that kind of assertiveness works?

As a customer, do you ever wish the seller or the marketer would just stop stalling, stop messing around, and just get to the point? What do you REALLY want from me?

As a marketer or sales rep, is it hard to muster the patience to build toward the close? Sure, Blake would tell you “Always Be Closing” (warning: profanity)  but it’s a process, sometimes a lengthy and non-linear one.

In any transaction, any negotiation, and even in relationships, it’s good to know where you want things to go, and where you want to end up.

In what situations is your opening offer also your final offer? When is it better to just knock down the door?

What do you think?

See you tomorrow!