That's-Not-All Technique
Updated 2026-08-08
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Described by Robert Cialdini in Influence, the that's-not-all technique presents an initial price and then, before the listener responds, improves the deal with a discount or a free bonus. The improved offer reads as a concession, which triggers the reciprocity norm: the buyer feels obliged to concede something in return. Field experiments found it outperformed simply stating the final, better price up front. Its power depends on the improvement arriving before any refusal, so the sequence of concessions, not the size of the discount, drives compliance.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Sequence your concessions: release benefits in several visible installments instead of one final package. - Trigger reciprocity deliberately: make each added item read as a personal concession the other side should match. - Preserve leverage: keep part of your offer unspent so you can improve the deal mid-negotiation.
Anchor fast decisions
An unexpected improvement arriving before refusal is coded as a concession rather than as a price. Because people are wired to reciprocate concessions, the buyer feels pressure to give something back and often accepts a deal they would otherwise have rejected. Splitting the offer into installments also refreshes attention and surprise, so each addition resets the buyer's evaluation upward.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
account_treeGenealogyexpand_more
menu_bookReferencesexpand_more
Source support: Explicit
- scu.eduhttps://www.scu.edu/cas/psychology/emeritus/jerry-burger/jerry-burger---list-of-publications/verified
PRIVATE NOTES · Only visible to you
SAVED Q&A
ENTRY Q&A · Private saving available
Ask with a clear boundary
thinkingmodels answers from published entry context only.
Your question is sent to thinkingmodels. The answer uses public entry context only.
RELATED MODELS