Ask Something Small Before Asking Something Bigger

The foot-in-the-door technique is a widely used method in door-to-door sales. Someone who complies with a small initial request will be more likely to agree to a later, bigger, request. If the request had been asked outright, they would not have agreed.

Humans want to stay consistent, so a small yes often leads to a bigger yes.

If you ask someone to bake a cake for you, most people would say no.

If you first ask if they know which ingredients you’ll need, they will probably help you.

If you ask a few more questions (“wiIll you help me buy the ingredients?”) building up to the final question, people are more likely to say yes.

You can apply this principle by changing the order of your form fields.

If you are collecting leads for solar panels, ask a few small questions first (roof size, material, e.g.), before asking personal details (bigger request).