There was an interesting discussion on the CoachVille list, and an ethical issue of using deadlines (fake or real) was raised. The post went something like this:
"I am turned off by the sense of immediacy in an offer, a discount or a premium bonus offer that expires in 72 hours. ESPECIALLY those 'fake' deadlines that keep changing every day...Whose idea was it to market to the lowest level of intelligence?"
I posted the following response:"Love this discussion,
...and want to congratulate those coaches who accepted the fact that using proven marketing strategies to sell is the only way to make it in business. Especially, when there is so much competition out there, or to put it mildly...so many alternatives to choose from.
Usually if a coach tells me she or he struggles, I later discover that no marketing, let alone "gutsy" marketing, has been used. Word-of-mouth and networking is wonderful, when you have time.
But if we want business NOW, we better make sure people are given a reason to act faster. Make their blood run faster and their eyes light up!
I personally experienced the power of a deadline earlier this year. The deadline was absolutely real, backed-up by a valid situation, and literally hours before the deadline, 1/3 of the people signed up! To be specific, 150 signed up for the
coaching tele-summit in January, but about 50 of them signed up in the last 48 hours (even though there was a whole month to sign up).
To me, this is an absolutely phenomenal discovery. I always knew deadlines were powerful, but never expected THIS turnout! I think deadlines make us feel unethical when we cannot justify it. So I recommend when creating a time-limited offer, think of a good REAL reason why people who buy later will miss out.
What's the logical explanation for your deadline?
Here are some I thought of that coaches could use:
1. For Group Coaching or Programs: Group size is limited to ensure that each participant receives individual attention and guidance.
2. For Tangible Coaching Products: Quantities are limited and reprints are not guaranteed. In other words, "I don't know if I am ever going to offer this product again, but do want to sell what I have." This is my personal situation with the
ACCPOW coaching tele-summit, for example, because I have 350 sitting in my living room, and they better be gone by the next year's event! There is a very slim chance I'll produce those ever again, my deadline is extremely real. Once they're gone, they're truly gone.
3. For Coaching Clients: There are only so many hours in the day, and you want to work with no more than 7 clients (as Andrea Lee mentioned, "my coaching practice is full to the brim with 7 clients"), so once all 7 client spots are taken, you won't be able to take any new clients until next Fall. Of course, you better have powerful reasons and benefits to make people want to work with you.
4. For Any Product or Service: I've done this with a couple of my products in the past...I add a bonus, but have a concern about how much time that bonus is going to take me. For example, adding a fre.e consultation, or fre.e installation service, on a limited time basis. I say something like this: "I don't know how long I'll be offering this bonus, because of the time restraints. If I start feeling overwhelmed, I will have no choice but remove this bonus. If you're planning to sign-up, please do so now."
I feel good about every time limited offer I create, because I always have a reason behind it. Why should YOUR prospects hurry to sign up with you? Or buy your product? What will they lose if they don't sign up in the next 30 days? Think about it: if you can't find a reason, then maybe there is no reason to sign up with you at all...
But here is a great reason coaches can use to stimulate better response. It's not really a deadline or a time-limited offer. It's a "what if you don't sign up today" statement. For example:
"What if you don't get a coach today? Are you willing to continue your struggles? Are you willing to continue suffering from ADD? Bad time management skills? Tolerating the job you hate? etc..."Sorry for a long e-mail, I got carried away...Just hit close to home with what I experienced two months ago with a surge of sign-ups in the last 2 days. Try a deadline. Even if you don't feel good about it, just try it for a month and see what happens.
Bad publicity is still good publicity...at least in my experience.
Although it may sound like a quote from the same Scottish-written article I mentioned below, this was written by our very own Oregon newspaper, called The Oregonian.
Audio Message from Milana:
I kept holding my breath to see how Chris Rock, the host of the event, would hold up on stage without giving his usual mouthful...Surprisingly, he did great. Which goes to show that stand-up comedy can be funny without the cursing.