Imagine you’re a big-shot Hollywood producer.
You’ve got a film being made in the jungles of Myanmar, starring one of your biggest assets — action star Tugg Speedman. Then suddenly, you get a call:
Tugg has been kidnapped. His kidnappers, the heroin-producing Flaming Dragon gang — are demanding $50,000,000 in ransom.
So how do you respond?
Now you might recognize this plot from the movie Tropic Thunder. The big-shot Hollywood producer is called Les Grossman, and he’s played by Tom Cruise — in one of his best roles.
I bring this scene up to get you to imagine how you would personally handle an outrageous offer that starts off with a gargantuan sum like $50 million.
While you think about that, here’s what you should NOT do — at least according to Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman:
You shouldn’t respond with an equally outrageous low offer.
The reason for this is the concept of anchoring.
That first ridiculous number ($50 million in the Tropic Thunder case) has already influenced your psychology on a subconscious level.
Even if you counter with a ridiculously low offer — “We will give you $1,000 and not a penny more!” — chances are you will wind up paying way more than you would otherwise. That’s because the pull of the anchor is so strong, whether you’re consciously aware of it or not.
So what you can you do to rid yourself of the effect of the outrageous anchor?
Well, Kahneman thinks you should make a scene — scream and shout to make it clear to both yourself and the other person that any negotiation with this starting point is unacceptable.
And that’s exactly what master negotiator Les Grossman does in Tropic Thunder. After listening to the demands of Flaming Dragon, he takes a breath and calmly responds:
“Okay Flaming Dragon, fuckface. First, take a big step back… and literally fuck your own face! I don’t know what kind of pan-Pacific bullshit power play you’re trying to pull here, but Asia, Jack, is my territory. So whatever you’re thinking, you’d better think again! Otherwise I’m gonna have to head down there and I will rain down an ungodly fucking firestorm upon you! You’re gonna have to call the fucking United Nations and get a fucking binding resolution to keep me from fucking destroying you. I am talking scorched-earth, motherfucker! I will massacre you! I will fuck you up!”
And that’s how to inoculate yourself against ridiculous anchors.
Of course, not everybody knows this.
And if you’re selling in many markets, it makes sense to use anchors in your own marketing to justify your prices or to increase sales.
But enough obscenities for today.
In case you need help with sales emails, you might like my upcoming book. It contains bits of wisdom I’ve gained by writing for some very successful health clients. If you’d like to find out more or sign up for a free copy when it comes out, here’s where to go: