Nudge Strategy: Convincing the Customer or Facilitating Their Decision?

I'm going to tell you two stories. Both happened to me. Both take place at an event. And both offer a clearer lesson than hundreds of pages might, perhaps, in understanding what lies at the heart of sales and marketing.

When you read the first story, you'll probably recognize something of yourself in it. Either you've experienced it, a friend has told you about it, or you've done it yourself.

When you read the second story, you might think, “Is it really that simple?” Yes, it is that simple.

Let's begin.

First Story: Aren't you following us?

We were at an event I organized. The talks were over, and participants were chatting in small groups; we were in the midst of that enjoyable and productive post-event socializing.

Someone came up to me. We greeted each other. The first few sentences were polite, sincere. Then, in the second or third sentence, something happened:

“Aren't you following us on Instagram? You should follow us right away!”

And that person waited for me to take my phone and follow their company account.

We've all been there. You know how it feels in that moment: a slight tension, an inner resistance. The question “Why do I have to follow them?” pops into the back of your mind, but under the pressure of politeness, you press the button.

And when you get home, or a few days later, you quietly unfollow them.

That person knows this cycle too. Everyone who tries this tactic from event to event, meeting to meeting, knows it. But they still do it. Because in that moment, that button, that instant increase in numbers feels satisfying. What kind of impression does it leave in the long run?

Second Story: “How Would You Like to Follow?”

Another event I organized. Another moment of socializing at the end of the event.

This time, a participant who came up to me asked:

“Where can I follow your next events?”

A good question. But the real difference was hidden in the follow up question I chose to ask:

“How would you like to follow us? Do you actively use social media, or email?”

“I actively use email,” she said. “If you have a newsletter, I'd definitely like to subscribe.”

I took her email address. I added her to our newsletter.

I didn't force anyone to do anything. I just asked a question and let the person decide for themselves.

The Nudge Book and the Illusion of Free Will

I recently read the book Nudge, co-authored by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein. Thaler won the 2017 Nobel Prize in Economics for this work. Sunstein is one of the leading figures in behavioral economics at Harvard Law School.

The book is a lengthy and academic work. I wouldn't recommend reading it if you don't want to delve into this topic in great detail, because I'll share its core message with you now.But first, we need to discuss this: free will.

Robert Sapolsky's Perspective on Free Will

Professor Robert Sapolsky, a neurobiologist at Stanford University, makes a very strong argument in his book Behave and in many public talks: There is no such thing as free will.

You may feel an instinctive resistance when you first read this sentence. “Of course I make my own decisions,” you say. Sapolsky seems to hear you and responds: Every decision you make is shaped by a neural firing that begins in your brain a second before that decision. That firing is determined by what happened before it. And those events are determined by what came before them. If you go back far enough, you reach your childhood, your culture, your biology, and your evolutionary history.*

So, yes, the decisions you make are yours. But the groundwork for those decisions was laid by others. Your experiences, the information you've been exposed to, the emotions you've felt, the relationships you've built. All of these form the infrastructure of a choice.

The Nudge book addresses precisely this. People believe they make their choices mostly spontaneously and independently. However, every choice takes place within a context. And the person who designs that context—whether consciously or not—also shapes the choice.

Thaler and Sunstein define this person as the “choice architect.” And we, as salespeople, are choice architects in every meeting, every presentation, every email.

Choice Architecture: Whoever Designs the Environment Guides the Decision

One of the most powerful concepts in Nudge is “choice architecture.” Thaler and Sunstein explain it this way: When you place healthy foods at eye level in a hospital cafeteria and sugary snacks on lower shelves, you haven't imposed any restrictions on anyone. But consumption habits change. Why? Because you've redesigned the environment.

Now let's return to sales.

The order of the offer you present to your customer, the sequence of packages, the number of options, the word choices in your first sentence: these are all elements of choice architecture. Even if you're not aware of it. And if you design this architecture unconsciously, you leave your customer's decision to chance.

Let's Return to the First Story: What Architecture Did She Build?

The architecture built by the person in our first story was this: Pressure, urgency, automation. She didn't give me a chance to think before responding. She didn't offer a choice. There was only one option: Follow.

This architecture can produce an instant yes. But that yes has a short lifespan. Because there is no real interest, no real need, no real connection underneath. There is only a temporary compliance born out of polite pressure.

In sales, the equivalent of this is saying “Let's sign the contract” in the second sentence without understanding the customer's need or assessing whether they are ready. You can achieve an instant close. But that customer won't renew in six months, won't give a referral, and may even complain.

Let's Return to the Second Story: A Small Question, a Deep Root

The question “How would you like to follow?” seems very simple. But it contains a deep architecture of choice.

First, I gave the person a choice. Social media or email? This question isn't “Follow me,” it's “What works best for you?” And when the human mind makes its own choice, the mind owns that choice.

Second, the customer determined the channel. I didn't force the newsletter subscription on her. She said she actively used email. I simply offered an option that matched that information.

Third and most importantly: That person didn't decide to become a customer that day. They just became a newsletter subscriber. But this was the real starting point of the sales journey. And this beginning contained no pressure.

What is Nudge? And How Does It Differ from Manipulation?

According to Thaler and Sunstein's definition, nudging is any element that influences an individual's behavior in a predictable way without restricting their freedom, prohibiting their choices, or fundamentally altering economic incentives.

In academic terms, this is called “libertarian paternalism.” Translated into sales language: removing the mental barriers in front of the customer and making the most beneficial option for them the “easiest path.” But here we need to clarify a critical distinction: the line between nudge and manipulation.

Manipulation does not consider the other person's interests. You use their weaknesses, fears, or lack of knowledge to achieve your own goal. You get an immediate yes, but you destroy trust in the long run.

Nudge, on the other hand, works with the opposite intention. It involves understanding the customer's real need, making the most suitable option for that need the most visible and understandable, and laying the groundwork for the customer to make the decision freely.

The person in our first story was manipulating. The fact that they didn't realize they were doing it doesn't change the situation.

The second story, however, was nudging. Because it opened up a choice for the customer, and I designed that choice not for my benefit, but for theirs.

Selection Map: Translating Technical Specifications into Real Life

This concept is critical in sales. Because often the product or service you are selling is complex, the technical language is unfamiliar, and it needs to be made concrete for the customer.

Saying “We have cloud-based data security infrastructure” is true but leaves the customer hanging. Saying, “A system that eliminates your team's twelve hours of manual data entry per week and prevents accounting errors that could occur at the end of the month,” creates a selection map in the customer's mind.

Ask yourself this question: “How does this feature I'm offering translate into the customer's daily life?” The answer to this question is much more sales-oriented than the feature itself.

What Does a Good Salesperson Do? They Reveal the Need

I want to open a parenthesis here. I've written about this before in my blog, but it's essential to mention it in the context of this article: Good salespeople understand the need. Once they understand the need, they reveal the customer's pain points. And they address those pain points gently, creating awareness. The customer whose wound hurts now wants to see the solution. But the critical point here is this: We do this with value, not with pain. Not to scare the customer, pressure them, or make them feel like they're losing out, but to see together what they really need.

Keep this in mind: Whoever you talk to, that person is either someone who opens the door when you knock, or someone who knocks on your door. In either case, there is a need. And a good salesperson always brings that need to light. Then they visualize the solution in the customer's mind. And they build the sale on understanding, not pressure.

This is exactly where the nudge strategy comes into play. To ensure the customer experiences that process with the least resistance and the most understanding.

From Marketing to Sales: The Entire Journey Consists of Small Nudges

Sales is not the result of a single communication. The moment the money hits your pocket is actually the final stop on a journey that began much earlier.

Every step of this journey is a nudge. A piece of content you share, an attention-grabbing headline, a meaningful newsletter, a follow-up call at the right time. None of these alone make a sale; but together, they build trust. And trust is the real foundation of sales.

It's no coincidence that B2B buyers interact with an average of thirteen pieces of content before engaging in formal communication with a brand. This is very concrete data showing that trust is built in small steps.*

Default Options: Turning Laziness into Strategy

The human mind tends to accept the suggested option. It chooses the easiest path when faced with complexity. This is an evolutionary trait; rather than resisting it, it is possible to understand it and use it ethically.

If you offer three packages, mark the one most suitable for the customer as “Recommended.” This small label significantly reduces the burden of decision-making. But here's the key point: “Recommended” should not be the most expensive package, but truly the right one for that customer. Otherwise, it's not nudging, it's manipulation.

Avoidance of Loss: Show the Loss, Not the Gain

One of the most robust findings in behavioral economics is this: People are affected by losing something about twice as much as they are by gaining something. This is called “avoidance of loss.” Saying, “If you use this solution, you'll save a hundred thousand dollars a year” is a correct statement. But saying, “If you don't close this gap, you'll lose a hundred thousand dollars every year,” presents the same truth in a much more powerful frame.

The difference is not in the magnitude of the effect, but in the frame. And consciously choosing the frame is also a choice architecture.

Social Proof: Look at What Others Are Doing

People making decisions in uncertainty look to their surroundings. They ask, “Did others take this risk? And what happened?” That's why industry-specific case studies, experiences of similarly sized companies, and references are powerful motivators. But here, quality is far more important than quantity. A story that makes your customer think, “This is my situation,” is far more effective than dozens of generic reference lists.

Becoming the Invisible Architect of Sales

We started with two stories. Now let's go back.

The person in the first story probably didn't have bad intentions. That person just set up the wrong choice architecture. Rushed things, created pressure, and closed off the person's range of preferences. And the result: a temporary follower, a permanent distance.

In the second story, there was no pressure. There was just the right question. That question paved the way for the person to make their own decision. And the result: a real connection, an ongoing relationship.

As Sapolsky says, free will is an illusion. Decisions are shaped by the ground beneath them. But let's add this: Preparing that ground ethically and honestly serves the interests of both the salesperson and the customer.

The nudge strategy is not about manipulating the customer; it's about enabling them to make the right decision with minimal mental effort. We are not just salespeople; we are the architects of our customers' choices in the business world.

And the strongest material in that architecture is not pressure; it is trust.