Fake Scarcity

Urgency and Scarcity are both powerful triggers for enticing someone to make a decision.

Urgency is when something is time sensitive and scarcity is when there is a limited quantity available.

I’ve used them both at various times and have seen great results with them.

I’ve also seen when they can have the unintended effect of driving people away.

Sometimes people manufacture urgency and scarcity that aren’t real just to make a sale.

The other week I watched a webinar replay that supposedly was ‘live’ but in reality had probably been recorded weeks or months in advance.

There was a quantity available countdown that ticked off the numbers as people were joining ‘live’ on the webinar.

I got the sense that this was all manufactured and that the people joining were fictional characters created to help manufacture scarcity.

In this case, the scarcity counter had zero affect on me.

The problem with fake scarcity is, while it may work on some prospects, it can drive away your best ones.

I was talking to my friend Joseph yesterday about this topic.

Joseph is a top earner in home business and an all around great guy.

He told me when he sees stuff like this he thinks to himself,

‘If they’re going to lie to me on this, what else will they lie to me about?’

…and then he goes his merry way.

See how using fake scarcity can drive away some of your best prospects?

Fake Scarcity : maybe helpful for some short term sales – probably not the best for long term rapport & reputation in the marketplace.