Fake selling is an elementary component in the Lean Startup method. The agile innovation methodology is based on a distinctive, fast iteration cycle in which testing of proposals for products and services is a fundamental component.
The fake sale is also more often referred to as the Wizard of Oz test. With fake sales, a shell or facade of the later product is created, so to speak (not to be confused with an MVP/Minimum Viable Product). This shell aims to look exactly as if the offer already exists on the market. However, all functions that make up the offer are executed manually in the background.
In this way, the respondent or potential customer therefore interacts with an offer that appears as if it already exists on the market and is therefore fully mature. In this way, the test designer or provider hopes to get more uninfluenced feedback than is typically possible in traditional testing situations. Here, influencing factors are usually triggered by the “artificial” or “prototypical” form of the offer at the customer.