If you’re on the call list of potential donors for any charity or non-profit, you have likely been subjected to a sequential request strategy without knowing it.
Sequential Requests are highly effective. And that has made them very popular in fundraising and sales arenas.
Making requests in a planned order doesn’t sound like much of a strategy, but several exemplars of this approach have shown to be highly effective in a variety of contexts.
The bottom line is they work.
In a Sequential Request strategy, each step is designed to increase the chance that the next request will be accepted.
The two most common examples of this approach are labeled “Door in the Face” and “Foot in the Door” for obvious reasons. Both have been widely studied in academic circles and are used frequently in many sales, education, and fundraising arenas.
Here’s how each works. An agent starts with one request, gets a response, and then uses that response to shape the next request.
In the Door in the Face strategy, the agent makes a large request that is likely to be rejected. For example, a fundraiser at your alma mater asks you to contribute $100,000 to the capital campaign.
Your response is likely to be that you would like to help, but that level of contribution is beyond what you’re comfortable or capable of donating.
The fundraiser expects that and now follows with the next request: “Can we count on you to donate $1,000 to the campaign?”
Starting with a big request, followed by a much smaller, more reasonable one, significantly increases compliance, especially when compared to making the second request only.
The Foot in the Door strategy reverses this sequence.
The agent starts with a small and easy request, and once the person agrees, follows up with a much larger request. The idea is that once someone says yes, they are more likely to say yes again.
In the fundraising example, the person asks the target to donate $10 to the capital campaign. Once they agree, they ask if they would be willing to donate $100 because it is such a good cause.
Sequential Request strategies work because people have a need to reciprocate when others make a concession or remain consistent with a commitment they have already made.
Although Sequential Requests give a reliable boost in compliance in arenas like blood drives, volunteering, and community assistance programs, they are often viewed as manipulative when those on the receiving end learn they are intentional.
Leaders must remain on guard when others use them in high-level negotiations and decision-making.
Anytime others attempt to limit real choice, hide consequences, or exert pressure to make commitments, Sequential Requests are often in play.
While not all Sequential Request strategies are pernicious or even intentional, good leaders don’t fall for tactics that manipulate their desire to reciprocate and maintain their existing commitments unless it is the right or best thing to do.
Good leaders reciprocate, but they don’t confuse gratitude with obligation.
A Daily Dispatch from the Front Lines of Leadership.
