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The Behavioral Economics Playbook for B2B Sales
Emotions drive buying decisions and logic justifies them.
Good Morning. Big news: the U.S. and China struck a deal yesterday that means TikTok isn’t going anywhere in the States. For sales reps, this means your favorite distraction between cold calls is safe… you’ll still be able to “check TikTok for a minute” and resurface 45 minutes later wondering where the day went. And in true tech soap-opera fashion, rumor is Larry Ellison might lead the group buying out TikTok U.S, because if anyone knows how to close a big deal, it’s Oracle. Now let’s get into today’s Follow Up. (:
Using micro-commitments 🤝
Behavioral economics playbook 📖
How do sales reps keep their job without hitting quota 👀
Sales jobs & a meme 😂
Sales Tip of The Day 💡
When a deal starts to feel lukewarm, test their commitment with a micro-ask.
❌ “Just let me know what you think after reviewing.”
✅ “If I send you a short summary right after this, would you be able to share it with {stakeholder} before Friday?”
This converts vague interest into a concrete next step and lets you know if they’re actually committed or just stringing you along
Big deals usually start with small commitments.
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Behavioral Economics is The Secret Edge to B2B Sales
Buyers don't buy like logical robots.
They buy like emotional humans… and then explain it like robots.
Emotions drive their decision. And then they use logic to justify the decision they just made.
If you sell to humans (you do), you can engineer moments that make “yes” feel easy and “no” feel risky, without sleezy tricks or gimmicks.
Today, we put together the playbook for using behavioral economics tricks that will give you an unfair edge in sales. Let’s get into it. 👇️
1. Anchors and Decoys.
The first price your prospect hears becomes the measuring stick for everything else.
Always lead with your most expensive package.
If your enterprise solution runs $45,000 annually, drop that number first, then shut up. When they push back, respond with "I get it. If we strip out features you don't need immediately, we could bring this down to $19,000."
Now $19,000 sounds like a bargain. Same ending price, different mental framework.
And then you can deploy decoy options to make your preferred package look brilliant. Structure 3 tiers, where one is obviously a terrible value.
Maybe your "basic" tier costs $15,000 but delivers less than half the functionality of your $18,000 middle tier.
That $15K basic option makes the $18K middle option look like a no brainer.
2. Loss Aversion & Risk Reversal
People are hardwired to hate losing more than they enjoy winning.
Frame inaction as a loss of money right now. Slap real numbers on that leak. Weekly damage feels way more urgent than annual projections.
Instead of "You could save $100,000 per year," try "Every week you wait, this costs roughly $2,100 in SLA penalties and rework."
Near-term losses feel more real than theoretical gains.
Then remove the fear with risk reversal. Offer a pilot program with clear success metrics. "Let's lock a 30-day pilot. You can bail anytime if we miss the onboarding targets."
This makes trying your solution feel safe, while doing nothing feels costly.
Buyers follow people like them.
Generic logos don't work. Specific stories from similar companies do.
Instead of showing a wall of customer logos, lead with relevant proof: "Two finance-led ops teams like yours cut month-end close by 18%."
Then ask for small commitments that are easy to keep. Access to their sample data, a pilot start date, or a stakeholder intro. And get it in writing.
Written commitments increase the chances of follow-through.
4. Choice Architecture, Defaults & Endowment
Too many options kill deals.
Architect: Give three plans maximum, and highlight one as "Recommended" that matches the goals they’ve told you about.
Default: Pre-fill the contract with the recommended term, seats, and start date. "I pre-filled your order for 25 seats, annual term, Oct 1 start. Want me to send the doc for signing as is or adjust seats?"
Endowment: Let them try before they buy. Set up a sandbox or trial with their actual data. After using your solution for two weeks, walking away feels like losing something they already own.
Kill hidden friction wherever possible. Provide pre-written security answers, procurement-ready order forms, and one-page implementation plans with dates. Just make it easy for them to say yes.
The Compound Effect
These techniques work best when combined.
Start with high anchors to set expectations. Frame inaction as ongoing losses. Share specific social proof from similar customers. Make buying the frictionless default choice.
Which psychology trick do you think works best? |
