The Champfrogs Checklist: Order

By reducing the options, and being transparent about benefits and drawbacks, you make it easier for people to choose.

What I have noticed on many websites that sell software, is that they usually show customers three options. The package on the left says “Standard” and offers only features for one user in Tonga who is catatonic and uses a piece of tree bark as a tablet computer. In the middle is a package called “Pro”, which offers a decent amount of features for the average user. And on the right we find a package called “Universal”, which offers the whole world, with wings, in a golden frame, and a cherry on top. The one in the middle, the Pro package, is usually highlighted, and has a banner saying, “favorite choice”. It also happens to be the package that is the most profitable for the website selling the software.

This is exactly what users need. People want simplicity, clarity, and not too many options to choose from. Research has confirmed that people may flock to someone who sells a thousand variants of a product. But the seller who offers only a few variants actually sells more.

Clarity

Another thing that researchers uncovered is that you can sell more products when you list all the positives, while adding one or two mild negatives. When you are honest about the existence of a small blemish you actually increase the chance that people are swayed by its other fine qualities.

As creative networkers we help people choose by restricting their options, and by being transparent about all aspects of the choices, thereby creating a bit of order and certainty. That’s why we ask ourselves:

Are We Clear Enough?

(Image: a balancing game created by Jürgen Dittmar)

Also read:

• Champfrogs Checklist: Relatedness
• The 40 Best Influence & Persuasion Books

This is part 8 of a 10-part series about the Champfrogs Checklist, a simple tool for change agents to match their ideas for change with people’s intrinsic motivation and desires. The full checklist consists of Curiosity, Honor, Acceptance, Mastery, Power, Freedom, Relatedness, Order, Goal, and Status. The Champfrogs Checklist article is available for download via the Management Workout mailing list.