If you'd prefer to watch this on YouTube, click here.
Today, I'm going to share with you the one thing that helps me sell more products and services and make more money than anything else I've ever done.
And it's not some slick, complicated digital marketing funnel or website landing page or anything like that.
It's actually an old school thing that's been around forever. I can describe it in one word: FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)
The "secret sauce" of sales and marketing
Creating urgency is the secret sauce.
I don't care if you're young or old, male or female, rich or poor, college-educated or you didn't finish high school. It doesn't matter. Urgency motivates everyone. It's baked into our DNA.
Yes, of course, there are other factors that motivate people to take action and make a purchase.
For example, people buy things to achieve status: fancy car, fancy house, fancy clothes.
People buy things to make their life easier: dishwashers, laundry machines, wireless earbuds (to eliminate all those tangled cords!).
But if I could only pick one thing that's going to move the needle where you can see immediate results, it's creating a sense of urgency
It works in all industries
FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), creating a sense of urgency, works in all industries and professions.
Let me give you a few examples.
Website designer/developer:
(Let's use me as an example.) When a company hires me to modernize their business website, I give them a proposal and a price quote. And I always include a 10% action taker discount, which is valid for only 3-4 days. I'll write in the service agreement, "This discount is good until 5:00 PM Friday, September 1st." That's it. I've used this technique for over 20 years and I know it works because I've had clients come to me and say, "Mark, here's the paperwork. We wanted to get it back to you before the deadline so we get the discount!"
Local garden center:
You could say "Spring Planting Special. Buy two potted plants, get one free! Offer valid until Sunday". If you want to kick it up a notch, you could add "While supplies last!".
Local photography studio:
"Book a family portrait session this week and get two additional prints free!"
Dental clinic:
"Back to school special. The first 20 bookings for dental cleanings in August receive a complimentary fluoride treatment!"
Chiropractic clinic:
"Book your chiropractic adjustment in the next 48 hours and receive a free 15-minute therapeutic massage. Only 15 slots available!"
Dermatology clinic:
"Summer skin check. The first 50 appointments booked this June for skin evaluations receive a complimentary SPF moisturizer!"
As you can see, it's not rocket science. You just have to use a little creativity.
Two important points about FOMO offers
A couple important things to keep in mind when using urgency in your offers:
1. Don't use phony or false scarcity. I think we've all been to a website with a countdown timer saying, "Today only, 40% off!" And then you go back to that same website a week later and you see the same offer, "Today only, 40% off!" That hurts your credibility and damages your brand because people then know you're not being 100% truthful.
2. Stand firm with your deadline. If supplies are limited or your offer has a deadline, then stick to that deadline and don't waiver. When you stand firm and don't waiver on your FOMO offer, it trains people to not procrastinate.
I've had the situation (and I bet you have, too) where you get a 25% off discount code in your email, but it's only good until Friday. Then you procrastinate or get distracted, and when you try to use the discount code on Saturday you get an error message, "Sorry, that discount code has already expired."
Therefore, the next time you get a discount code from that company, you don't screw around because you know their discount codes really do expire!
Conclusion
If you're not already using fear of missing out (FOMO) in your sales and marketing processes, figure out today how you can inject a little urgency.
I promise you, you'll sell more stuff and make more money if you use urgency.
