A related idea, when at some point in the future someone runs a rationality seminar that costs money (a reasonable service to offer) the marketing pitch ends with:
“Now, if this were a regular sales pitch, we’d end by saying ’normally we charge $500 for this workshop, but this month we’re actually having a discount, so you can get it for $400”
Beat.
“What I just did was called anchoring. Saying a number causes your brain to use that number as a reference point, whether you want it to or not. $400 sounds like a good deal compared to $500. You’re probably going to have difficulty putting a value on the workshop now that ISN’T based off of those numbers. This technique is used by marketing all time, from coupons to car salesmen. Us? We just straight up charge $300.”
Beat.
If someone chimes up with “Hey, you just used anchoring AGAIN!” they get a $50 discount.
I like this approach.
A related idea, when at some point in the future someone runs a rationality seminar that costs money (a reasonable service to offer) the marketing pitch ends with:
“Now, if this were a regular sales pitch, we’d end by saying ’normally we charge $500 for this workshop, but this month we’re actually having a discount, so you can get it for $400”
Beat.
“What I just did was called anchoring. Saying a number causes your brain to use that number as a reference point, whether you want it to or not. $400 sounds like a good deal compared to $500. You’re probably going to have difficulty putting a value on the workshop now that ISN’T based off of those numbers. This technique is used by marketing all time, from coupons to car salesmen. Us? We just straight up charge $300.”
Beat.
If someone chimes up with “Hey, you just used anchoring AGAIN!” they get a $50 discount.
Nice.