Sales psychology for marketing, 12 of 14

Reciprocity

Also called Give first

Give something genuinely useful first, and people become more open to your offer.

Get the click or enquiry
Bring them back

The idea

When someone does something for us, we feel a pull to return the favour. In marketing, that means content, lead magnets and advice that help people for free, before you ask for anything.

Why it works

In a 1971 experiment by Dennis Regan, people who were given a free soft drink went on to buy more raffle tickets from the person who gave it. In a 2002 restaurant study, servers who gave diners sweets with the bill received higher tips (Strohmetz and colleagues). Robert Cialdini brought reciprocity to marketers in his 1984 book Influence.

Research: Regan 1971, Strohmetz and colleagues 2002

Where to use it

Lead magnets

Give away something people would pay for: a checklist, a price guide, a template. Deliver it straight away, and make sure it helps even if they never buy.

Grab the exact checklist we use before every job. It's free, and it's yours to keep.

Carousels and posts

Teach the real answer, not a teaser that sends people to a sales page. A post that solves the problem fully gives people a reason to save it and follow you.

How to write a clear quote, start to finish. Everything is in these slides.

Email newsletters

Make most emails pure help, and only some an offer. When you do ask, it lands with people who have already had value from you.

No offer this week. Just the three questions I ask before quoting any job.

Sales calls

Give real advice on the call, even the parts they could do without you, and send the notes afterwards. People remember who helped before any money changed hands.

Even if we never work together, fix this one thing first.

Short-form video

Answer the questions customers ask you every week, one per video, in full. It's free help at scale, and it shows you know your stuff.

You asked what a new roof really costs. Here's the honest answer, and what changes it.

Steal these

Fill in the brackets and use them in your next post, ad or email.

Free: the [checklist or template] I use for [task]. Yours to keep.
No offer this week. Just [useful thing].
You asked [common question]. Here's the full answer.
Even if you never hire us, do [useful action] first.
How to [solve problem] yourself, step by step.

Before and after

Before

Download our free guide! Enter your email to get started.

After

The pricing guide we send every new client, free. Read it here, or have it emailed if you prefer.

The first feels like a trade: your email for our marketing. The second leads with the value and lets people take it without strings, which makes the gift feel real and the favour worth returning.

Where it backfires

A gift with strings attached. A free guide that's really a brochure, or free advice that turns into a hard sell, reads as bait. And never guilt people into buying because you helped them.

Pairs well with

The mere exposure effectUseful posts on a steady rhythm: each one is a small gift, and each one makes your name more familiar.

Common questions

Aren't I just giving away what people should pay for?

You're giving away the how, not the doing. Some readers will do it themselves, and that's fine. The ones who want it done for them already know who explained it best.

Should a lead magnet ask for an email?

It can. A freebie that asks for nothing builds goodwill, and one that asks for an email gives you a way to follow up. Say what you'll send, test both, and never hide the gift behind a sales call.

Want this working in your marketing?

Eighteen minutes with Jakob. He looks at your ads, pages and Google profile first, then tells you straight what to fix.

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