Law of Contrast

Law of Contrast

by Bob Hafer

Think about how much income you've lost because of your inability to persuade. How many times have you been unable to convince a good prospect to buy a home you knew met all criteria but couldn't close the sale? I believe the way to improve sales lays in your ability to incorporate the law of contrast into your sales presentation.

When people visit a home they immediately do three things. They look, compare and contrast. They look to understand what is offered. They compare to make sure what they see satisfies their buying criteria and thirdly, they contrast what they see against what they presently have or other homes they may have just seen. Using the law of contrast helps a prospect make a decision. A decision that is easier to make and, most likely, will end in a sale for you.

The law of contrast states that when two items are different, a person will see them as more diverse if they are placed close together.

The use of contrast is based on a person's perception of things that happens one right after the other. For example, if you've had a rotten day because you found out two buyers suddenly cancelled an agreement you were counting on and you go to the parking lot and find a big scratch on your car, you will have a different reaction to the scratch, if you were having a great day because you sold two homes and then found the scratch. It's the same scratch, but you will have a different reaction to it depending on what you're personally experiencing at the time.

What I'm talking about is perception. The human mind has to find a benchmark of comparison to make judgments. This happens when a prospect is considering different homes, communities and locations. By presenting your prospects with contrast, you are helping to create comparisons for them. Using the law of contrast

Here is an example on how to use the law of contrast to introduce two different homes that are located in the same community but priced differently. To demonstrate contrast you would say: "Before we look at the more expensive home let's look at the lower priced home first."

Since the two homes are in the same community, the more expensive home will have more features and options you can use as "hot buttons" and more importantly, it's the last home the prospect will see. People tend to remember the last thing they were shown versus something demonstrated earlier. Since the last home will have more amenities than the first, then the memory of the upgraded home will make the less expensive home seem drab and unexciting.

The law of contrast can be used in many ways. Here are just a few:

 

• Contrast homes;

   

• Contrast homesites;

   

• Contrast communities;

   

• Contrast locations;

   

• Contrast financing programs;

   

• Contrast amenities;

   

• Contrast available services.

To experience the law of contrast try this experiment: Fill three buckets with water, one with hot water, another with cold water, and the third with tepid water. Place one hand in the hot bucket and the other one in the cold bucket for thirty seconds. Now place both hands in the tepid bucket and you will feel the law of contrast. The water in the third bucket is considered warm, but to the hot hand it feels cold and to the cold hand it feels warm. It is the same water but two completely different reactions. This is the law of contrast.

Any home, community, location and amenity can be contrasted to appear different from what a prospect has seen by using the law of contrast.

Published: September 11, 2008