It’s conference season.

After the past few years of isolation, you’re excited to be around people again.

Better yet, you’ll get to meet people who could help you grow your business—possible customers, collaborators, or maybe even someone who can help your dream speaking gig.

As you get dressed that morning, you take extra time in the mirror to make sure you look sharp.

You have people to impress—and you know first impressions are everything.

Your day starts off great. You even meet an awesome woman who asks you to join her and her friends for lunch. One of them could connect you to a big, exciting client. Eeek!

While everybody is eating lunch and chatting about their biggest takeaways from the morning sessions, you do the unthinkable…

You spill your ice tea all over yourself 😱

As the tea drips down your shirt, you decide to make the best of it. You crack a joke and laugh it off, but deep down you fear this will make people think less of you.

A few hours later, the person you were hoping would introduce you to that business-changing client asks for your number to make the connection.

Are you surprised?

In today’s edition of Why We Buy, we’re exploring the Pratfall Effect – why showing your flaws can actually make people like you more.

Let’s get into it…

🧠 The Psychology of Pratfall Effect

People don’t want perfection. They want relatable.

In 1966, researcher Elliot Aronson first discovered this with a study involving spilt coffee. An actor was filmed answering quiz questions. After answering, the actor then spilt his coffee down himself. Turns out, viewers rated him as more likeable after he spilt the coffee.

Advertisers have also seen sales increase when they go out of their way to point out why someone shouldn’t buy their product.

As Joanna Turner points out, Cybertruck sales didn’t implode after Elon Musk’s infamous failed unveiling (you know, the one where he said the glass was bulletproof and then it cracked twice).

Instead of pretending it didn’t happen or writing a PR-style follow-up, Tesla made t-shirts laughing at the incident.

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Within one week of the unveiling, Tesla pulled in 250,000 Cybertruck reservations.

Why are people okay with buying products with clear flaws?

🧐 Inside Your Buyer’s Mind

People like to buy from people. And people are far from perfect.

While they may not realize it, your customers may prefer flaws over perfection.

This works when we evaluate other people—like in a job interview—and it works for products too.

According to studies by consumer psychologist Adam Ferrier, people prefer ‘imperfect” cookies:​

Flaws humanize brands and products.

Whether it makes sense or not, that’s just how the cookie crumbles (pun intended).

🤑 How To Apply This

Alright, so how can we apply this right now to sell more?

Flaunt your flaws

Your flaws are a marketing opportunity. They’re like the bat signal telling your ideal customers that you’re the brand for them.

For instance, Nudge host Phill Agnew flaunted a flaw to promote his show. Taking inspiration from Buckley’s, Listerine, and dozens of others, he highlighted the flaws of his podcast.

The results? A 4x increase in Reddit ad click-through rates:

Go and check out episode 70 of Nudge here where Phill expains the Pratfall Effect in full detail.

Don’t sweat the occasional typo

Everybody makes typos. Without the Pratfall Effect, it can feel like these are the end of the world. The reality is that typos show that you’re human, which is the most relatable experience you can highlight.

Welcome the odd “bad” review

1-star reviews may sting your ego, but they’re great for your brand. The occasional brand review helps build trust, especially when the complaint makes it obvious that the customer was in the wrong.

Northwestern University found that product purchases increased when reviews ranged between 4.2 to 4.4 out of 5 stars and DECREASED when the average rating was higher.

💥 The Short of It

People appreciate realness. And we’re *very* aware that nobody is perfect.

Ask yourself, what flaws does your brand have and how can you use them to make your product more relatable?

Imperfection can be a selling point.

That said, there’s a difference between small imperfections and incompetence or messy mistakes. Don’t overdo it.

Until next time, happy selling.