A study done by a pair of Canadian psychologists demonstrates how the law works. What the psychologists discovered is that people at a racetrack, after placing a bet, are more confident of their chance of winning than they were immediately before placing the bet. Keep in mind that nothing about the horse's chances of winning changed. It's the same horse, on the same track, in the same field of horses; but in the mind of the bettor, the horse's chances of winning improve once they purchased a ticket. Although this may be a bit puzzling at first, the reason has to do with the law of consistency.

Like the other laws of persuasion, this one lays deep within a person. It is a person's desire to be (and appear to be) consistent with what has been done. Once people take a position, they will behave consistent with their commitments.

For example, take the bettors in the racetrack experiment. Thirty seconds before placing the bet, they were tentative and uncertain, thirty seconds after placing the bet they became optimistic. The act of making the decision is the critical factor. Once a decision was made, the need for consistency caused these people to bring what they were feeling into line with what they had done. They simply convinced themselves that they had made the right choice and, as a result, felt more confident about the decision. Pattern of Yes

As a home salesperson you can use the law of consistency to get prospects to make minor decisions that lead to the big decision -- a home sale. The best and easiest way to lead people to any decision is to use the 'Pattern of Yes'.

People are creatures of habit, people like what is familiar. The human brain seeks pattern and having established a pattern, likes it to continue in order to be consistent. When someone has said "Yes" three times, they are likely to say "Yes" a fourth time.

When you get a prospect to agree, you are establishing a pattern of consistency. People don't say "Yes" to things they don't want. It would be inconsistent to say "Yes" to a home, community and location and then say "No" when you ask for the order. So, a key to sales success is finding many ways to get prospects to say "Yes". And once prospects say "Yes" it is likely they will to stick with the decision in order to be consistent. Use Tie-Down Questions to Lead People to Minor Decisions

The more a prospect says "Yes," the harder it will be to say "No." Get prospects to agree that a home, community, location, and financing satisfy what is important to them. Ask affirmative questions or tie-downs throughout your sales presentation and especially during the demonstration of home. A tie-down question is any question that asks for an agreement. Use tie-down phrases such as these: don't you agree; wouldn't it; isn't it; right; doesn't it; aren't they; don't you; aren't they; can't you; isn't that right; don't you think; aren't you; okay?

This is an easy way to lead prospects into minor decisions, isn't it? You can gently influence prospects to nod their head in agreement, can't you? The result is a series of "Yes" responses that will lead to a sale, don't you agree?

Summarizing Decisions

The key to the effectiveness of the law of consistency lies in your ability to get people to make a decision. Start today to use the 'Pattern of Yes' consistently. Then ask for the order by summarizing the decisions your prospect made. How can prospects say "No" when they have consistently said "Yes"? After all, that would be inconsistent.

Published: September 1, 2008

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