That's Not All!

The 'That's not All' technique (Burger, 1986) takes advantage of our need to reciprocate by increasing our willingness to comply with a request, such as buying a product, by sweetening the deal. This technique is the predominant one found in infomercials, where one price for a product is offered, and then free stuff is thrown in (though it was intended to be thrown in all along). The value is increased but the price stays the same, what a deal!

Several weeks ago a friend and I were selling "Undefeated Since 1950" shirts for $12 each. We weren't having any luck, many had already bought some and most didn't have money on them, so Chris started fooling around. He made a sales pitch that no one could refuse.

"Hurry! Act now! Buy one of these awesome Undefeated Since 1950 shirts for only $70! But wait, that's not all, if you buy now I'll throw in two extra shirts at no extra charge, and I'LL CUT THE PRICE IN HALF!!!! That's only $37.50, and saves you over $150!"

It was all in jest, of course. But he demonstrated this technique perfectly. No one in their right minds would have bought a shirt at the original price, but afterwards, it was only $1.50 more than buying the three shirts at the price we were really offering them. So the concept is sound, raise the price initially, then give in right away to the price you thought was already compelling. The perception of you conceding would be powerful enough to increase sales than merely selling them at the end price.

So, though our sales didn't increase, if we had a name brand behind us, like Ralph Lauren, I think people would've fallen for thinking a cheaply made shirt with slightly overpriced end tag was a bargain if the original price was outrageously high like the sort that I demonstrated above.



Burger, J. M. (1986). Increasing compliance by improving the deal: The that's-not-all technique. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 277-283.