In a busy shopping mall, a researcher posing as a panhandler approaches passersby, asking them for bus fare. Most say no. A few say yes. But when the researcher adds a short phrase after his request, a remarkable thing happens: Twice as many people give him money.

If you think your sales job is tough, imagine how hard it must be to ask complete strangers to give money and get nothing in return—except, perhaps, the warm feeling that comes from helping someone who’s down and out. So if there’s a simple phrase that can double the chances of getting a yes under such circumstances, isn’t it something you might like to learn and use when you’re talking to your prospects and customers?

If you’d like to learn this magic phrase, I invite you to keep reading. But it’s up to you. You are free to say no.

Three simple words

So what are the magic words that doubled the chances of getting a yes?

I’ve already given them to you: “You are free...” The specific phrase the researcher added to his request for bus fare was: “But you are free to accept or refuse.”

Lest you think this experiment was a fluke, the “but you are free” technique has been verified in dozens of other experiments. In one study, for example, it increased donations to a tsunami relief fund. In another, potential donors were told that they were free to donate however much or little as they liked, and ended up giving more. When people on a busy street were told they were free to complete a survey or not, they were more likely to stop and fill it out. And when nursing home residents were given the freedom to choose whether to participate in activities with other residents, they were more likely to say yes.

These experiments found that the exact wording of the requests didn’t matter. For example, the phrase “Obviously, you are not obliged” was just as effective as “but you are free.” What matters is recognizing the other person’s freedom to say no.

Now, there are a couple of caveats:

• The technique hasn’t been studied specifically in sales. But it’s been proven to work in a wide variety of requests, including so-called “selfish” requests—where the action only benefits the person doing the asking and doesn’t serve some higher purpose.
• The technique has only been shown to work when the request is made personally. So, for example, adding the phrase to a direct-mail mass solicitation won’t work—though it might if you’re sending a personal letter or email.

That second caveat reveals something about why the “but you are free” technique is effective. It works by affecting how the person doing the asking is perceived. One study, for example, found that people who use the phrase were better liked than those who didn’t.

Which means there’s more to this technique than simply adding a few magic words to your close. It’s really about giving your buyer a greater sense of control.

Who’s in control?

That’s an idea that runs counter to many traditional closing techniques, which are built around the idea of the salesperson controlling the conversation.

In the classic assumptive close, for example, the salesperson is told to act as if the buyer had already decided to buy—for example, with questions like “When would you like to take delivery?”—presumably with the idea of bending wishy-washy buyers to their will. Or in another, the “yes-set” close, the seller asks a series of leading questions designed to get a “yes”—so the buyer will then say “yes” to the deal.

But if you’ve ever been on the receiving end of tactics like these, you know how they make you feel. The more the seller tries to control the conversation, the more you feel your arm being twisted. “I don’t feel comfortable working with this person,” you think. Either you push back, or look for a way to end the discussion. 

For salespeople, the “but you are free” technique simply acknowledges what they and buyers both know to be true: that the buyer is in control of the decision. It’s no wonder that buyers like these sellers better. The pressure is off. Buyers feel empowered, and sellers come across as more straightforward, less manipulative, more confident and more customer-focused.

Now, if you think of “but you are free” as nothing more than a clever closing trick, it may still work. But its impact will be far greater if you incorporate the idea of freedom into your entire sales approach. The bottom line is that you have nothing to lose, and much to gain, by pointing out that the buyer is always free to choose. Acknowledge that freedom, and they’ll be more likely to choose you.

Michael Boyette is the Executive Editor of Rapid Learning Institute. You can connect with him via Twitter at @TopSalesDog or read his sales blog, the Top Sales Dog.

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