Thank Goodness It's Monday #360

NO SMALL POTATOES!

USE “SCARCITY THINKING”

TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

“You want fries with that?” These days you may hesitate to say “Yes” to French fries for any of a number of right-minded reasons, but --

Strange but true: There was a time in history when, for many in the world, potatoes were not a popular food. As not-so-long-ago as the late 1700s --

·         The French thought potatoes, fried “pommes frites” or otherwise, were connected with leprosy.

·         In meat-loving England, farmers and urban workers regarded potatoes with extreme distaste.

·         Throughout Europe, potatoes were regarded with suspicion, distaste, and fear. Generally considered unfit for human consumption, potatoes were used largely as animal fodder.

·         In the Russian Empire, Catherine the Great ordered her subjects to begin cultivating the tuber, but many ignored this order. They were supported in this dissension by the Orthodox Church, which argued that potatoes were suspect because they were not mentioned in the Bible.

In Prussia, however:

Frederick the Great
(Friedrich der Große)
aka "Old Fritz"
painted several years after
he planted his potatoes

Frederick the Great (1712 – 1786) saw the potato's potential to help feed his nation and lower the price of bread. But he too faced the challenge of overcoming his subjects’ prejudice against the plant. When he issued a 1774 order for them to grow potatoes as protection against famine, the town of Kolberg replied: "The things have neither smell nor taste, not even the dogs will eat them, so what use are they to us?"

Trying a less direct approach to encourage his subjects to begin planting potatoes, Frederick used a bit of –

Reverse Psychology: He planted a royal field of potato plants and stationed a heavy guard to protect this field from thieves. Nearby peasants naturally assumed that anything worth guarding was worth stealing, and so snuck into the field and snatched the plants for their home gardens.

 This, of course, was entirely in line with Frederick's wishes.

TGIM Takeaway: The human need to get in on the action and get a share of the “scarce” commodity makes us crave it even more-- especially when choice is limited or threatened.

The idea’s not “small potatoes.” Scarcity thinking can increase the value of any product or service. Scarcity thinking drives people to action.

This “Law of Scarcity” not only pertains to physical products, but also to time, information, price and knowledge.

A 21st Century case in point: Even if your head, heart and pocketbook told you otherwise, didn’t you want to participate in the Facebook IPO for fear of missing out?

It’s human nature: We don’t want to miss out on anything we might have had. We get uptight. We get all noble about “having our freedom.” We dislike having restrictions placed on us and will even act in uncharacteristic ways to not miss out.

Instead of thinking, “OK, I can do without that,” we take the opposite approach and the restricted item becomes even more important to us. Researchers call this tendency –

Reactance. Because we hate feeling restricted, we are highly motivated to resolve anything that creates that feeling. It’s like that version of the so-called Serenity Prayer that goes, “Lord, give me patience …”

“… And I want it NOW!” The Law of Scarcity works in part because it makes people feel as if they will lose all opportunity to act if they do not do so immediately.

Fear-of-Loss Thinking. The mental trigger of missing out causes such great anxiety in people that they act to prevent loss even though they may not be particularly interested in the object itself. When you feel the availability, timing or price may change against you without notice, you are driven to acquire.

It’s classic. Study after study confirms it as a consistent and constant phenomenon, even when we’re aware of it.

So, now that you’ve been alerted, what should you do with this Law of Scarcity awareness?

Use this insight wisely, grasshopper. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, no matter which side of the transaction you’re on.

►Are you acquiring? For many issues of varying importance, most of us hesitate – often out of some scarcely acknowledged fear – in making the commitment. We naturally want to put it off. We convince ourselves we need more time to think about it.

So sometimes a “scarcity” argument is necessary to help move us to a decision.

►Are you selling? As a consultative seller or people persuader, be aware that the longer prospects put off the decision, the less likely they are to make the decision for you. Yours may be the perfect solution for them, something they really can use right now, but if you let them drift, everyone loses.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Creating scarcity helps them make their decision. And faster action also eliminates the long-term drain on your time and resources.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: It doesn’t take some high-pressure, sleazy-seller, morally-questionable “moves” to create legitimate scarcity with your product or service. To create scarcity, just be sure you have some or all of four elements in place:

#1: Deadlines. We all operate on deadlines in our personal lives and in our businesses. They’re accepted and expected. No deadline means no action. So give prospects clear decision points, cut-offs, point-of-no-return deadlines.

#2: Limits. Folks are more motivated to take action when they feel they are competing for a resource limited in some manner such as quantity or accessibility.

#3: Potential loss. It’s not unfairly manipulative to state your case in a way that is more powerful for you. So create a state of emotion in which the prospect can clearly see the potential for loss.

Easy-to-grasp example: “Imagine how much money you’ll save if you make that considerable outlay for home insulation or replacement windows.” No, wait: “Do you realize how much money you’re losing by not improving your property?” Ask any home improvement seller which approach creates more urgency and closes more deals.

#4: Restrict freedom. It’s what Frederick the Great used. (Hardcore salesmanship calls this the “Take Away” close.) If you take away the opportunity for the prospect to get involved with your product or service, they reactantly want it more. If they perk up and find they’re truly interested, that’s great. If not, they will walk. Either way, everyone’s saved time and energy.

So about that burger order … You bet you’ll have the fries. Because the limited-edition, movie-tie-in toy that your small person wants is available until Friday only with the Junior Achiever Happy Meal.

No small potatoes: Now, want to Super-Size that for only a dollar more?

Geoff Steck   
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S. “No complaint ... is more common than that of a scarcity of money.” The Scottish philosopher and economist Adam Smith (1723 – 1790) shared that thought.

P.P.S.  How many Law-of-Scarcity reasons can you find in the pitch below? And what are you going to do about it?

Speak Like A Pro II –

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

At Park 33 in Freehold, NJ

is over 75% full

There is no additional room to expand, so –

RESERVE YOUR SEAT(S) NOW!

(It’s likely there will be NO at-the-door tickets available)

Click through HERE

for details and to secure your place

and your Early-Bird Saving

I look forward to seeing you in there.