Anchoring

- Strategy number two, anchoring. "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" was a treasured part of the television landscape for 30 years. One of Carson's interviews has achieved almost mythical status within the sales and marketing community. It was with the Girl Scout who set the record for selling the most Girl Scout cookies. It went something like this. Johnny Carson begins the interview by inquiring, "What is the secret of your success?" To the amazement of everyone, she replied, "I would ask people if they would give "a $30,000 donation to the Girl Scouts." Carson chuckled, "What did people say when you asked that?" "No!" retorted the young girl, "but then I would ask them, "would you at least buy a box of Girl Scout cookies?" This humorous illustration reveals how once people compared the larger request for a $30,000 donation to the purchase of a box of cookies, few could resist. The reason this was so persuasive…