Reciprocity in sales: give first, and mean it
The situation
You are trading favours with a prospect and nothing compounds. Every meeting starts from zero, and every ask feels like the first one.
Why it works
Obligation is created by what is given before anything is asked, and it scales with how personal, unexpected and genuinely useful the gift was — not 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
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 customised beats expensive every time.
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.
Reciprocity is one of seven principles identified across four decades of peer-reviewed research. Read all seven, or see how they apply to sales professionals.
