Why You Should be Wary of the Golden Rule


Cognitive Bias 7 out of 25: Kantian Fairness Tendency

We’ve all heard the golden rule right? Treat others as you would like to be treated. It is a pretty common rule that is adopted by most people. Personally, I am all for it and I was raised that way. But watch out! There are a few loopholes in our brains where this thinking and rule can be used against you. It relates to the treat others as they treat you instances.

The law of reciprocity is fascinating to me. You know the one where it is scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours? It is literally programmed in our brains that when someone does something nice for us we are compelled to return the favor. This is where you need to be very keen of your surroundings. Reason being, if someone does you the tiniest of favors you will be compelled to return that favor and more times than not it’s in a bigger way… like forking over your money for whatever they are selling.

For example, have you ever wondered why the salesperson would be so kind as to give you snacks or water bottles? More times than not it’s because of the law or reciprocity. If you take their food and water you will be more compelled to buy from them because they did you that small favor. Seem a little one sided to you too? That’s because it is and that is where the law of reciprocity can detonate in your brain like a time bomb.

Finally, the last portion of this rule relates to people feeling like everyone needs to be treated fairly. As much as this makes sense and we aim to treat everyone the same… it doesn’t work out that often. People are inclined to have favorites and to learn towards treating these favorites better than others. I am 100% for this behavior ONLY if you are treating higher performing employees better (more on why you should seek a performance based career here). You should never base this off if you like someone personally more than someone else.

But Cody, How Can I Combat This?!

We’ll if you would have shut up and listened, I would have explained how! :) It is very simple how you can overcome this. One, you can either be 100% closed off to any kind gestures like that. It may seem kind of rude but it’s not. You may be thinking but what if I’m super thirsty?! That is perfect for my next suggestion. Two, you can take the kind gestures and be aware of this tendency and not feel compelled to give back. I recommend my first one but sometimes you want that muffin to occupy the kids or something. The reason I would shy away from my second one is because it is programmed in our brains to want to reciprocate if someone does us a kindness. You will still feel the need to want to pay back the kind gesture. So bring your own water and snacks when you go to interact with salespeople!

How this Tendency can Stagnate your Business

If you are treating poor performing employees better than higher performing employees you are going to destroy your business. This tendency creates animosity and fosters negative working environment. How would you feel if you were producing more and working harder than someone but they were treated more favorably than you? I’m sure it has happened to you before but you feel awful when this happens. You feel unappreciated. This is how all your employees will feel if you are susceptible to this.

That is why I love sales. You performance speaks for itself. If you have a great leader/manager they will value you more if you are performing more. Why? Because you are a bigger part of their business, their success, and their paycheck. If your leader doesn’t do this you should probably look into switching jobs.

“Sales cures all” - Mark Cuban

One of my favorite quotes by one of the richest most successful men in the world. Sales cures all. If you are selling and producing it will make up for your failures and mistakes. Little known fact of that is one of the reasons that led to Mark Cuban’s success. He worked for a guy that didn’t value his output because he didn’t follow the rules. He literally got in trouble for closing a huge sale because he was late to opening up the store he was running at the time. How crazy is that!? You should always follow the money and close the sale! After all closing that sale determines everyone’s paycheck that works for the company. It is life or death for your business.

Violation and negative uses of this tendency can also bring forth the disliking/hating tendency (more on that here). That is where you will hear certain things about someone or something and make predetermined judgments that will cause you to hate or dislike that person or thing without any real experience.

3 Ways to Use this to Your Advantage in Business

You can use this to your advantage in sales and to help drive you performance. These couple of strategies will help you become more successful.
  1. Give your clients food, water, toys, etc. Seriously, you need to hustle and do small favors and kindnesses for all your clients. Kill them with kindness! You may get put in a mental body bag but it will work to your advantage psychologically.
  2. Give your clients friendly suggestions and look out for their best interest. If your clients are not taking your tangible items work on the intangible ones. You have to look out for your client’s best interest. They can tell if you care about them or if you are trying to get at their pocket book. That being said, if someone is looking at something that will fall apart quickly suggest a higher quality item that will hold up longer. And vice versa too. If someone is looking at something that is way too much for their needs then suggest a downgrade… that will build trust and then you can suggest items to amplify their purchase. You’ll find more success.
  3. Give your clients good deals. You can do favors for you clients by working them offers they cannot refuse. Don’t confuse this with slashing margins! I’m talking about stacking deals. Giving them free product or services to work them better deals. The Guiness Book record holder for car sales stated one of his two main strategies was to work his clients great deals. People want to know they are getting a great value for their money. No one likes feeling like they are screwed. I know I hate it. It’ll keep me up at night even. That is where buyers remorse happens and you’ll lose deals and more importantly your customer’s trust. No trust means no deal.
This golden rule is great but people can easily use it to their advantage. Be aware of your surroundings to ensure that you are prepared for the tiniest of negotiation and psychological tactics. Practice these various tactics and you will be more successful in your sales role. You will start to put up some massive numbers and watch that bank account sore!

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www.codycameron.com

Be great,

Cody Cameron

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