When Consistency Becomes a Bad Thing
When Consistency Becomes a Bad Thing
Mastering the Consistency Principle
A few months ago, I got a call from an insurance saleswoman. From the get-go, she trapped me. She asked me how I was, and I answered “good”. She then asked me questions related to my wellbeing, and whether I cared about it. Again, I answered “yes”. This went on for around 5 minutes, where she got me to say “yes” to her questions many times. The saleswoman made me create this consistency of caring about my wellbeing. By the time she made her request (If I’d like to buy the insurance) I could only say yes (Even when I did not want the insurance.) I was so stunned about what happened, that it took me 2 weeks to get the courage to call back and cancel it.
I now realize that woman was a persuasion master. She used one of the most effective principles against me, the consistency principle.
Not long ago, I wrote to you about consistency. I went over how I finally cracked the code on consistency and how you could do it too. But now, I want to tell you how Consistency becomes a powerful influence and persuasion tool. As I did last week, I’ll teach you what it is, how to use it, and how to defend yourself from it.
What is the Consistency Principle?
The principle states the following:
We feel compelled to be consistent with what we’ve said or done in the past.
In my previous example, I stated many times that I cared about my wellbeing. This made it hard for me to not get the insurance, because it would be contradictory.
If you were a great student in high school and people know it, you'll feel pressure to be a great student in college too.
If you partied a lot in high school, you'll feel like you have to keep doing it in college, even if you don’t want to.
I find this principle to be even more powerful than the Reciprocity principle. This one plays with our identity and self-perception even more. But, due to this same reason, we can use it to create massive personal growth.
How to use it
The Consistency principle can be a great tool to help you stick to your commitments and build new habits.
Let’s say you want to learn how to play the guitar. You’ve tried it before but could never get the habit to stick. But now, by following this 2-step process, you’ll have a much better shot.
1. Use the magic of writing
We live up to what we have written down, whether it’s goals or a contract. So, if you want to develop a habit of playing the guitar, write it down in your to-do list every day. Write it and put it as a post-it in your mirror. Write it everywhere, so that you don’t have a choice but to get strumming.
2. Make them public
As with writing, there is something magic about making our commitments public. The magic is that we don’t want people to perceive us as quitters, which is enough motivation for us to be consistent.
For this, social media can be helpful. Let's continue with our guitar example. You could start a TikTok account and post a video of your progress every day. You can then combine it with Step #1 and write in your bio and in every post, what your goal is. As people start to follow you and your process along, it will be hard for you to quit. You don’t want to let that random from across the globe think that you’re a quitter.
How to defend yourself
People can and will use the Consistency principle against you. Let’s say you get trapped into an uncomfortable sales call, like I was. In that and any scenario, you have 2 ways to defend yourself:
1. Tell the seller/manipulator you know you’re being trapped
Tell them you know what’s going on and that you won’t fall for it. If you do this, you'll make them uncomfortable and force them to give up.
2. Listen to your guts
If you’re on a sales call, signing up for a program, or making a donation, and something feels off, don’t move on.
That’s all for this week’s newsletter. Next week, I’ll be going over the Social Proof principle, a marketer’s most effective tool. Subscribe so you don’t miss it.
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