Limited Time Deals Can Increase Sales
Humans are strange creatures; sometimes we just need a kick up the butt to spur us in to action. In business as in general life a sense of urgency can act as a great motivator. You can use a sense of urgency to increase sales in business, by offering limited time deals.
The best results come from those that don’t last more than a few days. If you make them too long people will tend to put off buying until later and you lose the advantages of the urgency. You’ll often get most of your sales on the final day so you don’t want people to forget. If you have an e-mail list, you should mail the most on the final day with reminders to the deadline.
Countdown timers can be another great way to emphasize the urgency. You have probably seen furniture stores that seem to always have a sales on that is ending on the weekend. You know in your heart that they will probably have another sale later in the month but you’re more likely to buy now because there’s a sale on. Many of us have a tendency to procrastinate, so a limited time deal can spur us in to action.
If you run a gym, you could run a sale on gym membership, offering a discount or bonus sessions if they sign up over the next 3-4 days. The time limit creates a sense of urgency, encouraging those who may have sat on the fence or procrastinated to take action and sign up. The fear of missing out, FOMO, is a recognized motivator.
I learnt these techniques from Shawn and Brian who have been in business for over 20 years and generated over $100 million in sales in that time so I figure they know what they are talking about. What follows is their advice along with an offer to get your copy of a free book with 50 more tips to improve your business.
One huge marketing tip that we’ve perfected over the years, which has made us a lot of money, is a limited time deal method that we call the 3 Day Money Maker or the 1, 2, 3 Limited Time Offer. It can especially work well if you have an e-mail list and can e-mail them about the special offer.
How to run a time limited deal
Here’s how it works. You setup a special offer (ideally either a big discount like 50% or with a big bonus included) that only lasts for three days. They typically begin this on a Thursday or Friday so that it ends at midnight on either Saturday or Sunday night.
On the first day you email your list to announce the special deal, and provide a link to the sales page so they can buy it. Emphasize that it is a time limited special and that the deal ends on midnight in three days time. Typically this first mailing will deliver some initial sales, but there will be more to come.
On the second day, you send an e-mail in the morning and another e-mail later in the afternoon or evening. This will get you a few more sales but the third day is where the real magic happens.
On the third and final day of the sale, you e-mail three times. Mail once in the morning, once in the mid to late afternoon, and again in the late evening. You need to increase the sense of urgency in the subject lines. Use subject lines like “Final Chance – 50% Off Deal Ends Today” and “Only Hours Left to Save 50%” or “Final Warning – Deal Ends in a Couple Hours”. You can vary the wording to suit your style as long as you stick to the principle of making it seem increasingly urgent.
It’s on the final day that you typically get the best results. In the final couple of hours you usually will get a ton of sales. The final few minutes of the special offer often give the best results of all. In fact if you leave the offer up until the morning, you can get several sales after midnight. some people think they have gamed the system by getting the deal after the official closing time.
Don’t confuse this with leaving the offer up permanently. It is OK to leave the deal up until the morning but if you leave it up for days then you will get a reputation for using false scarcity and that could damage your reputation.
3 day sales typically increase sales many fold
If you use this method exactly as described, your business could make more money over a few days than it normally makes in several weeks. For some businesses it can generate even more than a few weeks worth of increased sales.
Think about creating your own short term deal where people only have a limited time to take advantage. Using a sense of urgency to increase your sales definitely encourages people to buy. Don’t forget to constantly remind people on your email list of the deadline, as typically the most sales happen towards the end of the last day.
For other cool strategies to increase your business, check out this book full of marketing and sales tips 50 Marketing Tips & Tricks Learned After $100 Million in Sales Over 20 Years!.
