Before I can fill up, the pump always asks: car wash today? I usually say no. But about every two months I say yes. And when I do I’m given three choices:

1. Supreme, with everything including Sunshine wax (don’t know what that is) and under-carriage cleaning.

2. Deluxe, basically a wash with some sort of wax and drying.

3. Express, just a wash.

I always choose the Deluxe. Seems like the best deal. But why do I think it’s the best deal? Well…

The people who designed these offers know something about human behavior and marketing.

The gas station has created a micro store by letting me shop and compare. I get to exercise my amazing skills at value detection without even considering another station where the prices for all three options might be less. I’m here and I’m going to make a choice.

Once we’ve said yes to view some choices, we almost never say no to all of them. And given three choices, most of us will choose the middle option and assume it’s the best deal.

The gas station has stacked the deck to make me choose the Deluxe wash by making the Supreme hard to compare. I now have only two clear choices, and the Express has no drying. I thought I chose Deluxe, but they made the choice for me!

You can apply this technique to checking accounts either at the point of sale or in your direct mail. Make sure the middle option is the one you want to sell and make sure it’s the best deal.

I rarely see this option when applied to CD offers, but there’s no reason it wouldn’t work. Find the most popular CD you offer and put it in the middle of your micro store.