The DM Script That Turns Leads Into 25% Booked Calls

Get your "foot-in-the-door" with micro-commitments

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Today’s post is written by Artia Hawkins. Tia specializes in conversational sales psychology and helps high-ticket education businesses automate their DM & SMS funnels with AI. She’s the creator of the ACT Framework, a proven system to 3X DM-to-call conversions in 6 months.

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If you're running hand-raiser posts for lead magnets but struggling to move DM conversations from "thanks for this" to booked discovery calls...

This one's for you.

Here's what I learned after 20 months of testing, 50+ conversations per day, and helping generate over $3M in cash collected:

There's a massive gap between delivering your lead magnet and booking the call.

Most people either interrogate their prospects (too many questions) or coach them for free (killing the need for a call).

Neither works.

The solution? A psychological technique called the "Yes Ladder" that I've adapted for DM conversations.

The “Yes Ladder”

The Yes Ladder is based on the "foot-in-the-door" technique, first researched by psychologists Jonathan Freedman and Scott Fraser in 1966.

They found that by asking residents to put up a small "Drive Carefully" sign in their yard first, then returning later to ask them to put up a larger sign was more successful (76% compliance) compared to asking residents to display a larger sign from the start (<20%).

The core principle:

People Who Say "Yes" To Small Requests Are Far More Likely To Say "Yes" To Bigger Requests.

Robert Cialdini later built on this research with his principle of "Commitment and Consistency.”

As he explains:

“The best persuaders become the best through pre-suasion — the process of arranging for recipients to be receptive to a message before they encounter it.”

Once someone makes a commitment (even tiny), they want their future actions to align with that commitment.

Each small "yes" creates psychological momentum because of what researchers call "self-perception theory"—people become "the kind of person who does this sort of thing, who agrees to requests made by strangers, who takes action on things he believes in".

Here's an example Yes Ladder from a traditional sales conversation:

• "Do you want to save money?" (Yes)

• "Would an extra $500/month help?" (Yes)

• "Are you willing to spend 10 minutes to learn how?" (Yes)

• "Can we schedule a call to show you exactly how?" (Much easier yes)

The problem with most DM conversations is people skip the ladder and jump straight to the big ask.

"Thanks for the lead magnet!" → "Want to book a call?"

That's like asking someone to marry you on the first date.

The Yes Ladder For DM Conversations

Image Credit: getvero.com

I've adapted this 60-year-old research for post-lead magnet conversations using what I call "Micro-Commitment Questions."

Instead of asking for the call immediately, I guide them through 3 small commitments:

• Micro-Yes #1: Get them to acknowledge their situation

• Micro-Yes #2: Get them to admit there's urgency

• Micro-Yes #3: Get them to envision the outcome

By the time I suggest a call, they've already said "yes" three times.

The booking feels like the natural next step, not a sales pitch.

Build Your Yes Ladder With AI

After 20 months of testing and thousands of conversations, I developed this prompt that generates the perfect Yes Ladder sequence for any DM conversation.

It analyzes where your prospect is mentally and creates the exact micro-commitment questions that move them forward without triggering sales resistance.

Here's the prompt: