The day I discovered why okrika sellers show you the torn shirt first before the good one, my whole life changed forever
The day I discovered why okrika sellers show you the torn shirt first before the good one, my whole life changed forever
You know that woman selling tomatoes in the market? The one that always starts by saying "500 naira for this small basket" even though she knows you will price it down to 200? She understands something powerful about the human mind.
Let me tell you what happened to Chidi. He wanted to sell his land in Victoria Island. The first agent told him to put 15 million naira as the price. But Chidi remembered what his grandmother used to do when selling yam in the village. She would always start high, very high. So Chidi listed the land for 25 million instead.
Something interesting happened. People started offering 18 million, 20 million. He eventually sold for 22 million. If he had started at 15 million, they would have offered him 10 or 12 million.
This same thing works for anything you want to sell. Your car, your house, even your services. When my cousin wanted to sell her shop in Balogun Market, she first showed buyers the most expensive shop on the street that was selling for 8 million. Then she showed them her own shop for 5 million. Suddenly, 5 million looked cheap. She sold it within two weeks.
The first number people hear becomes like an anchor in their mind. Everything else they see after that, they compare to that first number. It is like when you enter cold water after staying in hot water. The cold water feels extra cold because your body remembers the hot water.
I have seen landlords do this too. They first show you the spoilt flat with leaking roof for 500k per year. Then they show you the better one for 700k. That 700k now looks reasonable because you are comparing it to the bad one at 500k.
This is not about cheating people. It is about understanding that buyers need something to compare with. When you give them that high starting point, you help them see the true value of what you are selling.
My father who sells electronics in Oshodi market taught me something. He said never be the first to mention price if you can avoid it. Let the buyer see the quality first. Let them touch it, feel it, imagine owning it. Then when you mention the price, start high. Not so high that they walk away, but high enough that when you come down small, they feel like they won.
Remember, everybody wants to feel like they got a good deal. When you start high and come down, you give them that feeling. When you start low, you have nowhere to go but to lose money.
This works even when you are looking for job. Instead of saying you want 100k salary, you say you are currently considering positions between 150k to 200k. Now 120k looks possible.
The world is full of anchors. The price tag in the boutique, the first offer in a negotiation, the neighbor's daughter who bought land at a certain price. All these become anchors in people's minds. The question is, will you set your own anchor or let others set it for you?
Life has taught me that the person who mentions the first number usually controls the conversation. Whether you are selling pure water or selling mansion in Ikoyi, this truth remains the same.
Think about the last time you sold something. Did you let the buyer anchor you with their low offer, or did you anchor them first with your price?
—Jbm
