The situation you'll recognize.
You are trading favours with a prospect and nothing compounds. Every meeting starts from zero, and every ask feels like the first one.
Why reciprocity works here.
Obligation is created by what is given before anything is asked, and it scales with how personal, unexpected and genuinely useful the gift was, rather than with its cost. A generic whitepaper costs you something and creates nothing, because it was obviously going to be sent to everyone regardless.
What to do this week.
Give something only this prospect could use, before you need anything: an introduction to someone useful, an analysis of their specific numbers, a flag on a risk in their plan. Unexpected and personal usually beats expensive.
Where it goes wrong.
Gifts with strings, or a favour delivered while visibly keeping score. The moment the other person reads the gift as an invoice, obligation converts into resentment and you are worse off than if you had given nothing.
Learn reciprocity in depth. The Cialdini Method gives Reciprocity a full module, online and at your own pace, for $1,497 with a 7-day full refund.
Reciprocity is one of the seven principles of influence Dr. Robert Cialdini identified in more than 40 years of research. Read the full reciprocity page, or see how all seven apply to sales professionals.