Every single human being on the planet today wants to believe that they have done something of value for themselves when they've made a purchase, and that they've used their ability to choose well and make a good decision. And as a result of this they want to know they're not going to feel bad about the choices they've made.



Our natures lead us to wonder about decisions of all kinds and we generally know if we've made good decisions when we feel congruence that we have the right thing.

Let me share with you some research in the field of social, societal kind of ways of looking at persuasion.

This research was performed in the areas of sociology and persuasion and it discovered that when people go to the race track to bet, just prior to the betting, when the person was asked by a researcher, 'So you're making a bet? What are the odds you'll win?'

As a general rule the odds they gave were very low. 'Well, I don't know. I mean, maybe I have a fifty percent chance, a thirty percent chance. I guess it's pretty low.'

The researcher then asked them just after they'd bought the ticket, 'You've just placed a bet, what are the odds that your horse is going to win?'

The researchers found that as a general rule, people would respond, 'Oh, huge. . . My odds are maybe eighty, ninety percent. Possibly more.'

The only thing that changed was that they bought the ticket. What made these people believe so strongly after they bought the ticket?

Answer: they're committed emotionally and they need to believe they've made the right choice.

In this day and age, commitment isn't what it used to be. People can "commit" one day but still have three to seven days to change their mind.

What does this mean? A deal isn't a deal until the people are happy and they're using the product and they're really sold on it. That's when you've got a good deal all the way around.

The following principles come to bear on the way people make their decisions and whether or not they stay happy with them.

1)Hearing they could have bought it cheaper elsewhere. 2)Learning that there's a fault or a problem with the product or with what it advises. 3)A family member or friend telling them that this is pure nonsense. 4)Another thing that could happen is, the person themselves begins to doubt that what they did was either a good use of money or a valuable enough service for them to spend it on. 5)A family member, a spouse may try to convince them that they need that money for other things.

Having this knowledge gives us a very unfair advantage.