“The tactic of starting with a little request in order to gain eventual compliance with related larger requests has a name: the foot-in-the-door technique. Social scientists first became aware of its effectiveness in the mid-1960s when psychologists Jonathan Freedman and Scott Fraser published an astonishing set of data… You can use small commitments to manipulate a person’s self-image; you can use them to turn citizens into “public servants,” prospects into “customers,” prisoners into “collaborators.” And once you’ve got a man’s self-image where you want it, he should comply naturally with a whole range of your requests that are consistent with his view of himself.”

-         Robert B. Cialdini, P.H.D, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

“Human Beings have a strong need for consistency with their actions. Several studies in this area clearly illustrate how effective this psychological factor can be when applied to motivating a person. They show us that when someone is presented with a small request, and subsequently does it, he is infinitely more likely to agree to a larger request… When we take a small step in one direction we are driven to maintain a sense of consistency by agreeing to larger requests.

-         David J. Lieberman, P.H.D, Get Anyone to do Anything

The foot-in-the-door technique is a proven psychological technique that can be applied to achieving more success with women. I have had many a one-night-stand due to something I call Compliance Plowing which actively applies the foot-in-the-door technique’s principles.

A few disclaimers before I start… This principle may lead to a lot of one-night-stands and casual sex, but may not be the best way to lead to a healthy relationship. I am choosing not to break Compliance Plowing down to a step by step technique at this time and am simply introducing you to the principle, so you can apply it as you see fit. I will tell you some examples of how I use it.

Also keep in mind that, if used incorrectly this technique can be extremely manipulative. There are strong psychological forces at play here, so don’t do anything stupid with the information I’m giving you.

Compliance is a very important factor in seduction, so it must be addressed. After all, unless you have established a very strong “chase dynamic” (where she is chasing you… which is always ideal), sex is ultimately an act of compliance.

When I first meet a girl, I like to establish the precedence of her complying with my “requests”. So many times, as Cialdini and Lieberman suggest, I will ask a small favor of her, something that would be socially inappropriate for her to deny. Some examples of these favors include getting her to hold my drink while I take off my coat/go to the bathroom, asking her to take off my coat for me, asking her to save my seat for me, asking her for a sip of her drink, etc. Any trivial request like this falls in this category.

What I have found is that once she complies with my first request, or I have my “foot-in-the-door”, she is incredibly more receptive to my further requests. You could say that I have unlocked the next level of compliance. What is going on in her head is she is backwards rationalizing, “I just did this favor for this guy, I only do favors for guys that I like, so I must like this guy.” She has made a small commitment to you, and because her actions are congruent with a girl who is attracted to you, she assumes the behaviors of a girl who is attracted to you, and ultimately is more attracted to you.

Once this first level of compliance is achieved, and higher levels of compliance are unlocked, you can effectively work your way up to higher levels of commitment and compliance, at a very rapid pace in some circumstances, which I’ll call “plowing”. Once your first request has been granted, things like a kiss on the cheek, isolating the girl, establishing more physical contact with her, etc. will all be infinitely easier. It makes escalation a piece of cake.

It is important to note that sex is not the highest level of compliance. Things like having her buy things for you, having her do very large favors for you, having her travel long distances to see you, are all higher on the compliance scale. Many girls would have sex with a guy but would never buy him dinner at a fancy restaurant. So a sneaky little trick you can do is “skip” levels of compliance.

For example, if you can convince a girl to buy you a drink, you automatically unlock lower levels of compliance, like sex in some cases. Her thought process when she buys you a drink is “wow… I didn’t even buy my last boyfriend drinks at the bar, I must really like this guy.” More on ways to get girls to buy you drinks on another time, but the best way to do it is to have the mindset that you expect her to buy you a drink, and it is completely out of your reality that she wouldn’t buy you a drink. You can also say, “You get this round, I’ll pick up the next one.” Even if you have to pick up the next round, the fact that she bought the first round establishes a dynamic that is SO much different than the frame that most guys have when they ask “Ummm, can I buy you a drink?”

When she has committed enough to you, you will encounter much less resistance when getting sexy with her. So always remember to get your “foot-in-the-door”… It will make everything a lot easier for you.

This technique, while deadly effective, should be in the back of your head when interacting with women, but is MOST effective when used in combination with some of the other concepts I am going to be talking about in the coming days. So stay tuned…