Newtonian Logic

I landed at an airport just now and after taxi-ing to the terminal, there was a delay as the plane had parked beyond where the mechanical walkway could reach. I then experienced much jolting around as a tug tried to shimmy the plane in position.

It reminded me of an experiment I did when around eleven at school. We took a newtonometer, put the hook on a stool leg, and pulled. Our conclusion was that it takes way more energy to start the pulling process than it does to keep the momentum of the pull going.

Our tug battled with such forces on the tarmac.

Quite by chance, at the same time I was reading a short chapter of a book entitled  “how can a foot in the door lead to great strides”. Would you believe it. Offering a prospect first the chance to make a small purchase, one significantly smaller than a large one you may really wish to sell, hugely increases your likelihood of later big-ticket success.

The stats were compelling. Such an approach improved the effectiveness of one request from a lowly 17% acceptance, to a whopping 76% hit-rate. And another boasted a 22% to 53% rise.

The authors termed it a “commitment- and consistency-based strategy”.