Practical Sales Training™ > How To Get Attention > The Small Number Effect

What is it?

When it comes to talking about the numbers in your business, the smaller the number you can use, the less impact it has – this is particularly important when discussing price increases.

Why does it work?

It works because smaller numbers can change your perception and reframe your understanding. A 2% increase sounds more appealing than a £95 increase… but both could be describing the same thing.

How can you use it?

When you are trying to communicate something about your offering – consider how you could reframe the number so you are describing the same thing, but using a different unit of measurement.

Our goal is not to actively mislead people, but we can lessen the impact of something (such as a price rise) with the smallest number(s) possible.

Hypothetical Example:

A gym needs to raise its membership fee from £45 to £50 per month. Announcing a “£5 price increase” risks sounding like a big jump to members.

Instead, they communicate it as:
“To continue improving your experience, we’re increasing membership by just 16p per day—less than the cost of a stick of gum.”

The actual increase is the same, but reframing it in smaller, more digestible numbers makes it feel negligible, reducing resistance.

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