Issue #123

Nudge: Make Buying Easier Than Delay

Nudge theory sits inside behavioural economics. It studies how people actually decide, not how they claim they decide.

The sales angle comes from Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, both economists. Thaler won the Nobel Prize for this body of work.

This is not pop psychology, it is applied decision science.

A “nudge” does not convince. It removes friction and changes the environment so the sensible choice requires less effort than alternatives.

Here is a six-step framework you can apply to your own deals:

1. Frame Decisions Before The Meeting

People rarely walk into meetings neutral. They arrive with a mental frame already in place.

If you do not set it, they will default to internal narratives, politics, or risk avoidance.

Look at UK workplace pensions. When pensions were framed as something employees had to opt into, participation sat around 60 percent. When the same pension was framed with automatic enrolment, where you had to opt out of it - participation rose above 90 percent.

Same product, different frame and hugely different result.

Sales application: Send a short pre-read that defines the decision, not the discussion.

Example: “This meeting is to decide whether you want to shorten delivery lead times this year or accept the current delays for another cycle.”

Clear choices presented with confidence and charm

2. Design Defaults

Defaults matter because effort matters. People always seek to conserve their cognitive energy, that means we like to think as little as possible.

Consider software settings, most users never change default privacy or notification settings. Product teams know this and design defaults carefully because they shape behaviour at scale.

Sales application: Present a clear recommended option as the standard path.

Example: In your proposal, one option is marked recommended, fully scoped, priced, and scheduled.

Alternatives exist, but choosing them requires justification, not the other way round.

3. Make Loss Visible And Specific

People respond more strongly to avoiding loss than achieving gain. This is one of the most robust findings in behavioural economics.

Households reduce consumption more when told they use more energy than similar neighbours than when promised savings alone. The idea of losing status in our immediate group is a big incentive to improve.

Sales application: Quantify the cost of staying the same.

Example: “Keeping the current process costs you twelve days of delay per quarter and pushes revenue recognition into the next financial year.”

Making losses clear is not the same as calling someone a loser...

4. Use Social Proof

When uncertain, people look sideways. They copy peers, not heroes.

Researchers looked at hotel towel reuse (you can get a grant for anything, it seems). Guests reuse towels more when told previous guests in the same room did so, not when told it helps the environment.

Sales application: Use proof from similar companies, roles, or situations.

Example: “Three operations teams in your sector approved this after one procurement review once the risk controls were clear.”

5. Secure Small Commitments First

People want to stay consistent with what they have already agreed to.

When we make small public commitments, we are far more likely to follow through later, even if the cost increases.

Sales application: Lock alignment step by step.

Example: First agreement on the problem. Second on what success looks like. Third on the cost of doing nothing. Price comes after those are settled.

6. Reduce Cognitive Load

Confusion creates delay and delay kills deals.

Studies into choice overload show that too many options reduce purchase rates, even when interest is high.

Sales application: Subtract relentlessly, simplicity wins.

Example: Fewer slides, one recommendation, one next step. End the meeting with a calendar invite already drafted.

How to use this framework this week

Map your sales approach from first contact to close. Be detailed for initial steps and less so for the later ones. Don’t get bogged down on this, just identify where deals are likely to slow, stall, or drift.

Apply one nudge per stage but do not stack techniques. Remove effort instead of adding persuasion.

Watch your own behaviour closely.

Every time you ask an open question, you push thinking back onto the buyer and increase friction. So give them an example of how a similar customer solved their issue to guide their thinking.

Every time you present information without a recommendation, momentum drops. We work best with simple binary choices, so create a path made of these.

The rule is simple: if the buyer has to think hard, redesign the step.