Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

Cialdini describes a divorce lawyer who mediates difficult separation arrangements. She learned, rather than saying, “If you do this, we’ll have a deal,” to say, “We have a deal. All you have to do is agree to this.” She implied that her clients already had a deal—something they would not want to give up. This is “loss aversion”: People are more interested in not giving up what they have than obtaining something else that seems elusive.

In “Scarcity: Less Is Best and Loss Is Worst,” Cialdini talks about the scarcity principle: Things seem more important when they are less available. Scarcity makes things seem valuable. The possibility of losing things makes them seem even more valuable. He writes, “Even our brains seem to have evolved to protect us against loss in that it is more difficult to short circuit good decision-making strategies when considering a potential loss than it is when considering a potential gain” (248).

Compliance professionals use this principle to promote certain items. The most obvious use of this tool is to say there are “Limited Numbers” of items. A second element used to advance sales through the scarcity principle happens when a salesperson requests that the customer commit to a purchase if the item is available.