The SAY/DO Principle and How It Can Help You Win...
Picture a cramped hallway in Harvard’s psychology building in 1978.
The only photocopier on the floor is grinding through stacks of term papers. A line of students, coffee cups in hand, deadlines looming, shuffles forward one slow step at a time.
Suddenly a young researcher slips to the front and asks the next person in line:
“Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine?”
A few students grumble, but 62% let her cut the line.
Then she tries again, same copier, new crowd, but tweaks the request:
“Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I’m in a rush?”
This time 94 % step aside.
Finally, she runs a third version:
“Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I need to make some copies?”
Nothing urgent, no real hardship… yet the agreement still hits 93 %
That research by psychologist Ellen Langer was popularised in the book ‘The Psychology Of Influence’ by Robert Cialdini. It’s a great book if you haven’t read it.
Most people teach that a single word ‘because’ can flip hesitation into action but that’s not really understanding the lessons from this research. The clear finding of the research is people need to hear and understand a clear “why,” behind any offer or request.
So why am I telling you this?
Because of...My because
Over the last 6 months I poured an uncomfortable amount of my own time and savings into an AI CRM platform that builds business development strategy, tactical campaigns and also coaches you on how to apply these in the real world.
I’ll tell you more about the unique AI features in the coming days but I wanted to share a more fundamental human centric angle.
I’ve coached consultants for a long time now. To be quite honest, I’ve had amazing success with some and not so great success with others.
This has always bothered me. It’s the age old question - why can one person create different results with the same systems and process?
I don’t claim to have cracked it but I’ve done everything in my power to even the playing field.
The Power Of Clarity:
One of the very first thing we built into the CRM was not a deal pipeline but implementation clarity following the SAY/DO principle of human consistency and reinforcement:
Why this matters
A Simple 1 page action plan that you commit to
The ability to change your activities instantly based on your workload - Hunt/Capacity
The ability to time block those activities in your calendar so they get done
The ability to share your commitments with anyone (your coach/peer group maybe?)
A historical, searchable, record of all your weeks progress, commitments and say/do score.
The Say/DO Score
The Say/Do principle is grounded in decades of behavioural science showing that people are significantly more likely to follow through on commitments when they are stated clearly, tracked visibly, and supported by reminders (most notably Cialdini’s work on Commitment & Consistency, Gollwitzer’s research on Implementation Intentions, and prospective memory studies by Einstein & McDaniel).
When you consistently do this with clients you win more work by proving you are consistently reliable. When every promise is turned into a visible, trackable commitment, nothing slips, follow-through becomes effortless, and clients quickly learn they can trust you. That reputation for doing exactly what you say is one of the fastest ways to stand out, close more engagements, and keep clients coming back. And for your own self worth and identity...
When you consistently do what you promise, you start to experience yourself as someone who follows through, who is dependable, and who creates results rather than hoping for them. That reliability becomes a core part of your professional self-worth. Each kept commitment reinforces confidence, reduces imposter feelings, and strengthens the belief that you are the kind of consultant clients trust and return to. Over time, your Say/Do ratio becomes not just a metric, but part of who you are.
Until now there hasn’t been any good way of tracking that. In fact. most AI CRM’s will completely undermine that by auto creating tasks for you and adding them to your task list.
Yuk!
Here’s where we are different...
We allow you to create and track your high value commitments separately from run of the mill tasks. These are the ones that you absolutely must do. And when you add in gamification adapted from the very best behavior change apps in the world, we think it’s a powerful combination.
If you are hitting a say/do ration of 100% consistently then your belief and confidence is sky high!
Why this matters for you now...
My plan is to merge my coaching and software model over the 2026. I’m looking to get together a small group of people that will adopt the CRM and be coached on how to use it for Business Development.
You become my ‘Founding Members’ You commit to making 2026 a great year and run your activities through the CRM.
I commit to ‘do what it takes’ I’ll do whatever it takes to make you achieve your goals for 2026. I’ve already committed to run 2 calls per week where we can go deep into LinkedIn, Social Signals, Offer creation, Lead Generation --- all of it.
Built-in accountability This isn’t just a CRM as it has built in accountability to ensure we all stay on track [see above :-) )
Quick recap of the 2026 Best Year Ever Program
1 Year Tier 3 (Top Tier @ £99 a month) access to my new AI CRM
1 Year - Coaching and Accountability Calls x 2 Per Week
I’ve got a fancy web page set up now. If you are interested and want the look to take a peak just reply to article and I’ll get the link over.
* - If you’re part of a company and want everyone involved message me. If you’re a past client, get in touch...
Talk soon,
Peter