𝗙𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗣𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗳.

In 2010, researchers gave patients with irritable bowel syndrome pills containing 𝘯𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

The patients knew they were placebos.

Yet 59% of those taking the pills reported adequate symptom relief, compared with 35% receiving no treatment.

The researchers had explained that placebos sometimes produce beneficial responses, even when patients know what they’re taking.

That raises an interesting question about selling.

Some marketers believe the greatest illusion produces the greatest profit. Find the fantasy behind the customer’s desires, make it irresistible, and collect the money.

But what if the fantasy doesn’t require deception?

Consider someone selling a course on becoming a successful freelance copywriter.

The familiar approach sells financial freedom, working from beaches, and escaping the nine-to-five grind. The difficult parts are often glossed over if they are mentioned at all.

Now imagine showing prospects exactly what success requires: writing bad drafts, enduring criticism, prospecting for clients, and handling rejection.

Then show them the life these efforts could eventually make possible.

Would that destroy the appeal?

Perhaps. But it might attract buyers more likely to finish the course, get results, and recommend it.

The placebo experiment doesn’t prove this marketing hypothesis. It demonstrates something narrower: knowing an intervention’s limitations doesn’t necessarily eliminate a beneficial response.

A marketer who exaggerates may win today’s sale while creating tomorrow’s disappointed customer.

The bigger opportunity might be discovering how much desire survives when you remove the deception. And whether that produces more profitable customers over time.

RW

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