How to Coach Yourself and Others Beware of Manipulation | Page 267

Sometimes the gift you get is not so tangible: someone's time. The longer time you spend with a sales
person, the more you'll feel compelled to return the favor of it by buying the product you showed an
interest in. You can tell them that you have no intention of buying, so that it is up to them not to give
you all the time of the world.
When you orient yourself without any help from sales people, you will not feel compelled to return the
favor of their precious time, because they haven't even given you that gift. It has the added advantage
of your not getting subjected to all kinds of other manipulations. There are nowadays all kinds of
websites that offer you information about products for free.
The free bonus
A variation on the free gift is
the free bonus. A product
you're offered at a steep price
comes with a free bonus item,
and because of that doesn't
seem so pricy anymore. A cell
phone subscription may come
with a "free" laptop, a
briefcase can come with a
"free" key ring, a bag of crisps
can come with a collectible
item for children. Of course, there is no such thing as a free lunch, you are the one paying for the "free"
bonus item.
Sometimes it is just tempting to go for that bonus, simply because it is a bonus. But does the bonus
item really have value for you? Often, extras are a dime a dozen things, and don't really have that much
value for you in particular, when you come to consider it. The real value may be low, especially if it's a
usually expensive item, like, for example, a laptop.
It's good to keep in mind that yo