
Did you catch the Small Business Accelerator classes taught by entrepreneur and educator Joey Thomas? Hundreds of solopreneurs took advantage of these game-changing webinars. (And you can still watch all 10 videos, free, right here.)
Joey’s background is in psychology. So, no surprise, many of his powerful business insights are grounded in social science.
Among the strategies he discussed? The idea of “yes laddering”: Getting small yesses to build to a bigger yes (like a sale) later.
Rooted in Psychology: Yes Laddering
As Joey discusses in his class, Nurturing and Converting Leads, yes laddering builds on the work of psychologists Jonathan Freedman and Scott Fraser. They found that getting someone to say “yes” to something small early on can make them more inclined to agree to something big later.
One small yes leads to another yes … then to another, slightly bigger yes … until people ultimately look favorably on a much bigger ask. You can imagine someone climbing up the rungs of a ladder with you, step by step. That’s where the name, “yes laddering,” comes from.
Micro- to Macro- Commitments
Think of these early, easy-to-agree-to yesses as “micro-commitments.” These micro-commitments tend to build up momentum, making it more likely that someone will commit to something bigger later.
Amazingly, it doesn’t seem to matter if the early yesses are particularly relevant to the bigger ask! Instead, it’s the atmosphere of agreement – getting someone’s head nodding – that seems to matter most.
Persuading With Yes Laddering
No matter what small business arena you’re in, you will be called on to persuade people. Often, you are seeking to convert leads into clients. Or you could be aiming to sell your approach (and quote) for a project. Or, you could even be trying to convince a colleague to accept a lower price as a vendor, to help your profit margin.
Whatever it is – you need to “sell” your point of view. You want the person you’re communicating with to agree with you.
Yes laddering can help.
An Example Sales Conversation
Again, the idea is to get your counterpart to say “yes,” early on, to something easy. Maybe a few things in a row – a string of yesses, in other words.
These can be simple, practically get-to-know-you questions. You’re just trying to get the ball rolling – building that “atmosphere of agreement” mentioned earlier.
Only after you have momentum built behind “yes” do you make the bigger ask.
Here’s an example conversation, between a math tutor and a parent:
TUTOR: Thanks for chatting with me today. From the questionnaire you filled out, I see your son Hayden is in 10th grade, right?
PARENT: Yes, that’s right.
TUTOR: And he goes to Fremont High?
PARENT: Yep.
TUTOR: Ah, so he’s a Fightin’ Tiger?
PARENT: Yeah. [chuckles]
TUTOR: You must be so proud of him …
PARENT: Yes. Absolutely.
TUTOR: Let me ask you: Have you impressed upon him that college is right around the corner?
PARENT: Oh yeah. It’ll be here before we know it!
TUTOR: I couldn’t agree with you more … it all starts with the PSATs. Hayden plans on prepping for the test, right?
PARENT: Well, yeah – he should, come to think of it.
TUTOR: Oh, absolutely. Prepping just a little can make a big difference in his score, and half the test is math. Do you think Hayden could be stronger in math?
PARENT: Yeah, it’s been a struggle for him.
TUTOR: From what you wrote … it sounds like he especially struggles with trigonometry?
PARENT: Absolutely. It’s like a foreign language for him. And we can’t help him – it’s been forever since we studied trig!
TUTOR: Well, I know high school trig really well by now. I’ve been teaching math on the side for 12 years now. Do you think Hayden would benefit from talking to someone like me, who could explain it in English?
PARENT: Yeah … yeah, I think so.
TUTOR: Great. The next step is a meeting in person, at the Starbucks a block away from the high school. I have Online Scheduling, so you can choose a convenient time the week of October 5. I need Hayden and at least one parent at the first meeting – he can show up by himself after that. Can I email a link to the email address you shared with me?
PARENT: Yes, sounds good.
OK – that’s a made-up dialogue. And most of you reading this aren’t math tutors. I get that.
But the exchange above does illustrate how yes laddering starts with small yesses, then builds to the bigger ask. Note how the parent in this scenario was already used to saying yes before the tutor asked for a bigger commitment – an in-person consultation.
A Science-Based Sales Technique
Yes laddering is a simple concept, but a powerful one, backed by research.
You can design your own “yes ladder” by starting with your end goal (the big ask), and then backing out smaller, easier yesses from there.
Make the questions your own, of course. You’re not reciting prompts robotically, waiting to get a “yes” so you can say your next line. It’s a conversation. Keep it light, and remember to listen.
Just by having this science-based strategy in the back of your mind, you may be able to guide more and more conversations to your desired outcome!