You Ever Wonder Why People Head Outdoors The Moment They Are Told To Stay Inside…Or Lessons In Takeaway Selling.

Watching the news during this crazy storm, said to be the worst ever recorded to hit the eastern seaboard, it amazes me seeing crazy folks outside dancing in the rain. One guy said on the news, “It’s Only Water, Whats The Big Deal.” Now that local deaths have been reported, and cell phones are getting text messages from the NY OEM, a car stuck floating down the Schrewsbury River, and Governor Chris Christie Bashing Mayors for encouraging Atlantic City residents to stay home instead of evacuate, a fire in Teaneck, a tree killing someone in their own home, and still crazy kids outside with boogie boards, checking out nature, and just waving to the camera while first responders react to a building collapsed in Chelsea neighborhood…You would think common sense would kick in eventually, and people would start paying attention and staying safe… The truth is, this is nothing new. In fact, this is such a strong emotion. The need to establish autonomy, the need to HAVE WHAT YOU CAN’T is so strong, the smarter marketers use it to raise prices and get clients chasing after them. It’s what They Call TakeAWAY SELLING, and its all about leveraging the desire people have to want what they cant have.

Dan Kennedy describes in one of his gold cd’s a story with the late and legendary Copywriter Gary Halbert, who was scheduled to speak at a conference, came on stage in shorts, flipflops, a T-Shirt and a Hat that Proudly Proclaimed, “Clients SUCK!” in case you missed it, he pointed it out at the beginning of the speech… He continued to go on for ten minutes about how he hates clients, and no body in the audience should bother him during breaks, after his speech, or ever, because he doesn’t want their business, and has no interest in having them as clients. For the rest of the conference, people followed him around, even at the urinals begging him to work for them. Sure, he would have gotten plenty of work from his speech without utilizing takeaway selling, but he definitely got more money, and was more importantly in a better negotiating position because he positioned himself as something others can’t have.

The magical secret to this strategy is that it gets people past the price point and wondering how much it will cost them, and right onto the point of trying to figure out how to GET HIM in the first place.

I personally have used this strategy very successfully with clients in the past, turned them away 2-3 times, until they finally offered me too much to walk away from.

However, I should warn you that this strategy only works in the following circumstances… A) You genuinely do not need their business… They can sniff weakness from a mile away, and odds are you’ll do more selling, than taking away… You want to be in a strong and intimidating negotiating position, like Robert Ringer says, ” IF you can walk away from any deal, people will be too afraid to nickle and dime you, and will be too intimidated to do anything other than what you demand of them.B) you also need to positioned well enough that you can actually deliver the goods. The key to this is to be confident, and sincere in your taking away the opportunity to work with you.

So, the next time you see crazy kids playing in the storm, remember, human nature can work to your advantage, and be like Chris Christie, and take away the opportunity to work with you from them, and the first thing their mind and hearts will drive them to do is to try to find a way, any way to work with you.

Good Luck Selling Out There, and Stay Safe During The Storm.