Practical Sales Training™ > How People Work > The Default Effect

What is it?

The Default Effect is when your offer “defaults” to a certain choice and it’s up to your client to “opt out” for something else.

Why does it work?

It works because as humans, we are lazy and looking for the path of least resistance. We also think that the default choice is often the “right” choice as it’s been made the default.

How can you use it?

Decide on the best default options by considering what’s best for you and your client. In the UK the organ donor register has moved from a system where you have to opt in, to one where you have to opt out. This maximises the number of available organs in the NHS and for most people, they would be happy to donate but never bothered to register.

Example

When a customer signs up for your software, the default plan could be the mid-tier package with the most popular features selected. If they want fewer features, they can manually downgrade – but most people won’t. They’ll stick with the default because it feels like the recommended option and takes no effort to change. This not only boosts revenue but also helps clients get more value, faster.

See also