Good Morning! Good Morning! It’s National Internet Self-Care Day… a holiday reminding us the internet can do more than stress us out with Slack pings and “per my last email” threads. Supposedly, it’s about using the internet to recharge, refresh, and actually take care of yourself with things like doomscrolling LinkedIn to remind yourself you’re not the only one missing quota. Whatever works. Now let’s get into today’s Follow Up. (:
The ‘no budget’ talk 🗣
A backwards psychology trick that works every time 🧠
Closing the biggest deal in a company's history 😬
Sales jobs & a meme 😂
Sales Tip of The Day 💡
When ‘no budget’ stops the deal for now, don’t let it be the end of the conversation.
❌ “Okay, I’ll follow up next year when budgets reset.”
✅ “Got it. Out of curiosity, when your team does invest in tools like this, what does that process look like?”
This reframes budget as a process (instead of a single factor), and uncovers how they really allocate money.
And budget problems can usually be solved when the value is there.
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The Favor Hack That Makes Prospects Like You More
Most people think that doing favors for people will make them like you more.
They're wrong.
Benjamin Franklin discovered something counterintuitive 250 years ago… asking for favors actually makes people like you more than giving them.
"He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another, than he whom you yourself have obliged,"
Translation: people who help you end up liking you more than people you help.
This backwards psychology trick is like a secret weapon in sales. I mean… imagine being able to get someone to do something for you, and they like you more because of it.
So today, I’m breaking down how to use this trick ethically in your sales process.
Why This Works
When someone does you a favor, their brain has to make sense of why they helped you.
The easiest explanation is that they must like you. Otherwise, why would they have bothered?
Psychologists call this cognitive dissonance: When our actions don't match our feelings, we change our feelings to match our actions.
If a prospect who was neutral about you agrees to give you 10 minutes of their time, their brain concludes, "I must think this person is worth helping."
In a 1969 study, researchers gave a group of 74 volunteers a cash prize, and then secretly divided them into 3 groups.
Group 1 was approached by the lead researcher, who asked them to do him a favor and return the money because he needed it back.
Group 2 was approached by an office assistant and asked to return the money because it was a drain on the psychology department’s budget.
Group 3 was left alone to keep the prize money.
After the study, each group was asked to rank the ‘likability’ of the lead researcher. Group 1 viewed the researcher as the most likable compared to the other 2, because they did a ‘favor’ for him.
The act of doing a favor for him made them like him more, not the other way around.
How to Use This in Sales
The key is asking for small, easy favors that make prospects feel smart and important.
Instead of offering to send them information, ask for them to ‘do you a favor’ and give their opinion: "With you’re experience, if I could ask for a small favor, I'm curious about your take on this new trend. What do you think is driving it?"
Instead of pitching your solution immediately, ask them to ‘do you a favor’ and give you advice: "You clearly know this space well. Could I ask a small favor? If you were in my shoes, how would you approach this challenge?"
Instead of doing all the talking, ask them to ‘do you a favor’ and share their expertise: "Could you do me a small favor, and help me understand how your team currently handles this process?"
These requests flatter prospects while getting them invested in your success. Rather than just listening to your pitch, they're contributing to it.
A Sales Rep That’s Already Using This ’
Jeff Haden wrote about a time he was stuck at a car dealership and noticed a car salesman using this exact method. And he did it 3 times in less than 15 minutes.
Jeff watched a sales rep walk up to a customer, say ‘hi’, and then, to his surprise, he noticed a small amount of liquid under one of the cars. The sales rep would then ask the customer to hold his notebook so he could clean up the spill.
The customer ‘did him a favor’ while he cleaned up the spill.
So, after watching the sales rep run this play on 3 different customers, and then pour more water under the same car, Jeff finally asked him: “Does that actually work?”.
And to that, the sales rep replied: “Every time.”
The 4 Rules for Ethically Asking for Favors
First, start small and early. Ask for something easy that takes minimal effort. The goal is getting them to say yes. You’re not trying to test their limits.
Second, make it about their expertise. People love sharing what they know. Ask for insights, opinions, or advice rather than material favors.
Third, show genuine gratitude. When someone helps you, thank them specifically and let them know how their input helped. This reinforces their decision to help you.
Fourth, don't overdo it. One or two small favors build rapport. Constant requests make you seem manipulative, and no longer feels like a favor.
What small favor do you ask for most?
