How $700,000 Was Paid By Mistake And Recovered

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THIS ISSUE

1. Feature: A $700,000 payment mistake and what it took to quickly recover it.

2. The lesson today: The surprising persuasive power of sticky notes

3. Legendary curations: Sticky note curiosities

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FEATURE

A few days after Christmas, an auto insurance company called an emergency meeting. The company had made a BIG mistake. A $700,000 mistake. It turned out that they had accidentally overpaid 150 insurance agents in one of their operating states. Their commission income for the month of December was doubled in error.

In horror, they were faced with the possibility that they wouldn’t get the money back. If only they could push a button to reverse the transaction, but that was not an option.

Luckily, the account manager responsible trained with Brain Ahearn, one of the few Cialdini Method Certified Trainers in the world, versed in influence and persuasion techniques.

The solution?

Sticky notes.

They mailed a letter with detailed instructions on how to return the money and on every letter was a sticky note with a personal message to each of the 150 agents urging and thanking them to return the money.

A few weeks later, 130 of the 150 already sent the money back. And a few months later, 147 had repaid the money in full.

The small effort of getting the stickies and spending an extra 30 minutes to message and sign them delivered BIG results.

What an incredible story from Brian Ahearn - thanks to his training, his company accomplished something incredible.

But was it really the sticky notes? Or was it just luck?

Turns out this is scientifically proven (scroll down!)

❤️ Heartset

Influencing behavior that is ethical creates a win-win scenario. If your intentions are based on the good of your ‘customers’ and ‘audience’, you start to develop a positive reputation and brand for yourself.

This idea is endorsed by the legendary Robert Cialdini himself! 👇🏽

(If you don’t know Cialdini, he is the best selling author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion - he’s sold more than 5 million copies)

🧠 Mindset

Published in 2005, there were four studies performed by Randy Garner at Sam Houston State University that examined the influence of attaching a seemingly insignificant Post-it® note to a survey packet on the likelihood and speed of completing the survey. It’s results were extraordinary.

Study #1

Survey sent to 150 professors. 50 in each group:

• Group 1: Survey with handwritten sticky note on cover letter

• Group 2: Survey with same handwritten note on cover letter

• Group 3: Survey with cover letter but no handwritten note

Results:

• Group 1: 76% returned survey

• Group 2: 48% returned survey

• Group 3: 36% returned survey

Handwritten sticky > handwritten note > no note

This was interesting, he then wanted to test the sticky note effect further.

Study #2

Survey sent to 150 professors. 50 in each group:

• Group 1: Survey with personalized sticky note

• Group 2: Survey with blank sticky note

• Group 3: Survey with no sticky note

Results:

• Group 1: 69% returned survey

• Group 2: 43% returned survey

• Group 3: 34% returned survey

Even a blank sticky note helped to elevate the importance of the survey and the personalization of it made it more effective. What about the speed of return and the amount of work participants are willing to do?

Study #3

Survey sent to 100 professors. 50 in each group:

• Group 1: Survey with personalized sticky note

• Group 2: Survey with no sticky note

Results:

Return rates were consistent with the first two studies. In addition:

• Group 1:

  • Returned survey within 4.18 days

  • 56% gave more in-depth answers

  • With an average of 7.62 words

• Group 2:

  • Returned survey within 5.52 days

  • 43% gave more in-depth answers

  • With an average of 3.86 words

The epic power of the sticky note - it influenced the urgency of the task AND prompted participants to work harder on it.

Randy then wondered: What if the task is harder? What happens then? How would the sticky note perform? And what if we made the note even more personal?

Study #4

180 College students were sent surveys:

Results:

Turns out, a more personalized sticky note becomes increasingly more important when faced with a more involved task.

That’s a lot of information…

So how do we apply these learnings?

🧰 Skillset

1/ Use sticky notes where possible

When the world is zigging (emails, texts, DMs), you zag and send a physical note. Well, where possible and relevant. If you really want someone to do something for you, send it with a sticky note. 

Try using it in the office, at home, anytime you need to influence an outcome.

2/ Make your messages personal

Try adding these to your messages:

• Include the recipient’s first name

• Refer to their needs and interests

• Mention something they care deeply about

• Appreciate them and sign your name

3/ Make your message stand out

Don’t forget that the mere presence of the sticky note made a difference. So always think about the medium of your message and not just the words.

Can you say the same thing with an eye-catching or unexpected format?

Some examples:

• A personalized video instead of an email

• A song instead of a speech

• A FedEx envelope instead of a regular one

Ready to put these skills to work?

See you next Sunday!

Make your mark, live your legend 🤘🏽,

Howie Chan

Creator of Legend Letters

​Read my story​

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P.S. Legend, I would appreciate it if you’d send me an email on what you think of the newsletter! I’m always trying to improve it and make it more impactful for you. What would make it a 10/10 email you can’t wait to open each week? #Grateful, Howie.

LEGENDARY CURATIONS

🔗 3 interesting things across the interwebs inspired by the Sticky Note Effect:

1. How were sticky notes invented? This article from 3M gives the play by play of how an accident became a global phenomenon.

2. 144 brutally honest sticky notes that sum up your life as an adult 😂

3. The coolest sticky notes money can buy on Etsy.

SOURCES

1. Garner, Randy, Post-It® Persuasion: A Sticky Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Journal of Consumer Psychology 15(3), 230-237, 2005 - LINK 

2. Hogan, Kevin, The Surprising Persuasiveness of a Sticky Note, Harvard Business Review, May 26, 2015 - LINK

3. Ahearn, Brian, 700,000 Reasons to Use Yellow Sticky Notes, Influence People Blog, January 30, 2012 - LINK

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