331 – November 27
“I had a terrible thing happen to me yesterday. Opportunity knocked on my door and by the time I unhooked the chain, pushed back the bolt, turned the two locks, and shut off the burglar alarm—it was gone!”—Robert Orben
My seminar series was going very well. For eight weeks, I taught the Financial Stress Reduction Workshop, people were getting great results and now they often wanted to continue the process. So, I invented a course for graduates, called the Money Mastery Network.
I wrote up a flyer announcing the new course and the next week, I started making calls. I was delighted when I filled the class with just the first few phone calls. But what should I do about the people I hadn’t talked to yet? “Uh, oh,” I thought, “I’d better call everyone else to let them know the class is sold out so they won’t be disappointed if they can’t come at the last minute.”
What happened next was really funny. The typical telephone conversation went like this:
“Hi! This is Chellie. How have you been?”
“Great, Chellie! What’s happening with you?”
“Classes are going wonderfully. Did you get my flyer on the new class I’ve started for graduates?”
Their tone of voice would change at this point: “Oh, yeah. Listen, I’m not sure about…”
“Oh, I’m really sorry,” I would break in, “but I’m just calling to tell you that you can’t come. The class is already sold out.”
Immediately, now that they can’t come, they want to come: “Oh, no! I was planning on rearranging my schedule so I could come. It sounds wonderful.” “Well, I could put you on the waiting list,” I would say. “Then if I have an opening, I could call you. Or I might start another group on a different night. What night would work for you?” I filled up another class that same week, solely because people didn’t want to be left out. If it was sold out, it must be because lots of people thought the class was going to be great, which gave it huge value. When I told them they couldn’t have it, the people who had been unsure, suddenly became sure: They wanted it!
This is why you will see lots of advertising based on a limited time offer or discount that will expire. It is a classic sales principle—create a sense of urgency.
Where can you use this idea in your life? Instead of forcing spinach on the kids, or trying to wheedle them into it, why not make it special—and there’s not enough to go around? If you need an audience for the charity show, instead of begging people to come—tell people there aren’t enough seats for everyone, so they’d better make their reservations early. People don’t want to be left out; they want to be in on things.
They need you.
Today’s Affirmation:
“More and more people are happily buying my services today!”
I love what I learn from my friends and clients! Like this note from Jack Molisani, President of ProSpring Technical Staffing:
I had an interesting realization this morning that I think is share-worthy:
I woke up feeling “blah” and not feeling like working, so I decided to go to a gym that has a pool and do some cardio. (On my way driving to the gym I did my morning affirmations, of course.)
Normally I consider swimming laps boring and monotonous (but do them as they are less stressful on my hips than the elliptical or running). Anyway, this morning I decide to make it a game instead of a chore, and consider each end of the lane a “goal” that I get to make. When I make that goal, I turn around and aim for the next one. When I got (physically) tired of freestyle swimming I get one of those float-board and then kick back and forth. When my legs got tired, I switched to those floaty-things you put between your feet and I worked on swimming with just my arms.
Many laps into this I get winded half way down the lane, so I pause, catch my breath and continue on. That’s when I had a realization that what I was doing applies to life as well.
Here are my realizations:
- In life I sometimes wonder if I will make my goals (if they are even possible) and consider giving up. When I was swimming I never considered that the end of the pool (my goal) “wasn’t there” or “wasn’t attainable.” I KNEW it was there, I just had to keep swimming until I GOT there.
- It never occurred to me that I wouldn’t make it to the end of the pool. Even when I got winded I just stopped, caught my breath, and continued on. And eventually I DID get there.
- At one point what I was doing to reach my goal wasn’t “working” (freestyle swimming) so I switched to a kickboard. When that “stopped working” I switch to a floaty. Each time something something changed or presented an obstacle, I just changed tactics and pressed on.
- In this pool 88 laps equaled a mile. I’m sure at one point I’ll work up to being able to do 88 laps non-stop, but that was too big a target to attempt on my first day. I KNEW, however, I could do ONE length of the pool, so that was my first goal. I made that goal and set another. Made THAT one and set another. And another. And finally I got enough lap-goals set and met that it added up to “Cardio Done!”
- Finally, I realized why I detest doing cardio on stationary bike or elliptical trainers. You don’t GO anywhere or specifically GET anywhere. So while I always prefer to walk TO some place or ride my bike TO someplace, I now can also do laps in a pool: each lap is an attainable goal that I can set, SEE, MAKE, and set another one.
I think I’ll start doing that at work, too.
