Is it possible for you to be too avialable. Well read on and I will tell you the way I found to charge premium prices for goods and services. Ready? I spent 23 years in the real-estate /mortgage banking field before getting into information marketing. I think everyone would agree that real -estate and mortgage banking are both very competitve fields and that many buying decisions are based on price.
Part of this is solved by being a specialist NOT a generalist but I will discuss that in detail in another post. For right now let me give you the first of many profit stimulators that I will be sharing.
IT IS THE POWER OF SCARCITY
For years I operated like a mortgage 7-11 .I was open ( attached to my cell phone and pager) 24/7/365. I even took them on vacations. Unfortunately I did not take many vacations and when I did they were only short 2-3 day ones. See I didn’t think I could afford to be “away” and risk losing business.
MY MODEL WAS LOW PRICES AND GREAT SERVICE WITH 24/7/365 AVAILABILITY
The result of course was that I was burnt out and not making alot of money but man was I working hard. What I discovered is that availability actually HURT me .. Let me explain with an example. Actually I’ll be generous here and give you a few examples so I can really drive the point home for you . YES ! It is that important.
Have you ever been attracted to a person and they didn’t really pay much attention to you? And.. Didn’t you want them more when they continued to ignore you. Human nature forces us to want what we can’t easily get. When you are always available you actually hurt your position and become viewed as a commodity.. Sort of like a head of lettuce. You can purchase lettuce at any grocery store so why not shop for the cheapest one.
So now that you know how I feel about this let me ask you a few more questions ok?
Does your doctor do home visits on Saturday afternoon? Does your attorney see you at 8pm on Thursdays? Think of any proffessional you do business with and you will notice two things. First it usually takes some time to get in to see them and usually their secretary is the one who schedules the appointment.
MY WIFES EXPERIENCE
Many of you may know that i have a son who is dyslexic. It was suggested by his school that he get some specilaized tutoring help. The issue was that school had already started and after my wife contacted about 10 tutors she became very frustrated because they were all booked and couldn’t fit him in. Then someone gave her the # of another specialized tutor and she got very excited.
When she called him he answered the phone , asked what my son’s issue was and started to discuss fees. She asked him what he had available and he told her that he was open mornings , had 4 evenings available and would happily see him anytime on Saturday if that worked better.
You would think she would be excited right? I know I thought she would be , after all, problem solved right?WRONG– My wife said that she would never use this guy. WHY? Well she continued, ” If everyone else is booked solid , and this guy can see us pretty much anytime , then there must be something wrong with him”
The key to having a successful business or practice is creating more demand for you than there is a supply of you available. Just to go a bit further with this in case you are selling a physical product…. What is more expensive- a honda or a Rolls Royce? Well there are a lot more Honda’s than Rolls Royces. Both are cars but very few are able to get a Rolls Royce. So the Rolls Royce is not only more expensive but even their dealership hours are different than the Honda’s. In fact when was the last time you saw a sale on Rolls Royces in the paper? Or for that matter when was the last time you even saw an ad for one in the newspaper.
BOTTOM LINE : Scarcity is a key ingredient in any ad or promotion you have. Aside from creating scarcity of “you” There are 2 ways to create Scarcity in your ads or promotions.
The First type of scarcity is in #’s … So if you are offering a service you can tell your prospects that are only able to handle a certain number of appointments for the month. If you are offering a product at a discount you can tell them that you only have X number in stock and when they are gone that’s it. Many companies offer bonuses with a purchase and those usually have a limited supply.
The Second Type of Scarcity can be a deadline: Adding you must respond by X date. Or the sale or offer ends at the end of X MONTH.
YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS — YOUR GOAL IN ANY AD AND PROMOTION MUST BE TO GET YOUR PROSPECT TO ACT NOW… NOT LATER— NOT TOMMOROW– NOT WHEN THEY GET AROUND TO IT !!!!
THEY MUST ACT NOW !!!!! The reality is that we are all constantly distracted and bombarded so if your prospect doesn’t act right away you can pretty much count on losing that sale….
KEY POINT : IF YOU DON”T USE SCARCITY AND HAVE A DEADLINE THAN YOU DON’T HAVE AN OFFER !
Know anyone else who might benefit from this profit stimulator? Then please send it to them … the link is below and right next to that button is the place for you to leave me your comments.. Really would love to hear your thoughts. Are there any Topics you would like to see me cover? Tell me !
To Your Next 12 Months,
Brian Sacks
PS- If you would like to hear my “phenomenon” story go to http://www.brian.in12months.com
If you would like to learn from the same “masters” I learned from go to http://whatiused.com
PPS— I just posted a great book in the resources area that are just loaded with profit stimulators and another MUST READ book. In fact this is a book I give to all new clients and read at least twice a year. You can see the link to the resources page on the tab at the top of the page…
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