The consistency and commitment tactic can be summed up by saying that if you have done or said something in the past, then you will likely be consistent to the past action with whatever you say or do in the future. It is another human trait that is valued positively; the person who does what he/she says that they will do, a sign of integrity and stability. Most people will avoid not being consistent.
The commitment part of the rule means that small commitments often lead to larger commitments.
The expert salesperson will use this subtly against you. For example, the diamond jeweller may start off by getting you to agree that a certain diamond they are showing you is beautiful. Later on he or she might ask you whether you think the diamond is more beautiful than an inferior diamond they are comparing it too. Still
later the jeweller may ask whether you think your fiancée would cherish the moment when you propose and present the diamond to her.
Because these questions that gain your verbal commitment are asked over a period of 10 minutes, you probably weren’t aware of the purpose of the questioning. But when the jeweller recaps to you what you have just verbally “committed” to, stating that it looks like the perfect diamond for you both and then asks “how will you be paying for that today?” then the pressure can be intense not to backtrack on what you have just verbally committed too.
To defend against this rule being used against you, you must be aware of the type of questioning that is used by the jeweller. What theme is presented by the types of questions he or she is asking? Listen to your gut feel about it and don’t be forced into a corner where you feel like you must purchase there and then because of any consistency issues you are feeling.
