The foot-in-the-door technique, known by the acronym FITD, is a communication and sales approach based on the principle that obtaining a client’s agreement to a small, initial commitment facilitates a larger agreement later on. By first seeking the client’s agreement on a minor matter, an initial connection is established, symbolized by this “foot in the door.” Various studies in psychology have demonstrated that having someone perform an initial, relatively inconvenient action increases their likelihood of adhering to a more significant subsequent behavior.
Lobbying strategies are often compared to this “foot-in-the-door” concept because they aim to prepare the ground for larger demands. The foot-in-the-door analogy is explained by the ease of opening a door that has already been ajar with a foot, rather than pushing it open when it is closed. As Robert-Vincent Joule and Jean-Léon Beauvois have pointed out, the foot-in-the-door technique is based on the concept of progressive commitment: by asking for little initially, one hopes to obtain more later.
In short, the foot-in-the-door technique relies on a two-step strategy, where the first step prepares for and influences the next. It is based on the principle of soliciting a small initial commitment to facilitate the acceptance of a larger request later.
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