Are Limited Time Offers Always Manipulative?
Are Limited-Time, Limited-Number Offers Always Manipulative?
I would like to share with you a great article from my friend and colleague, Isabel Partlett. She is amazing at bringing together business with transformation and how to talk about that in a new language of business. As a heart-centered entrepreneur I imagine you often struggle with what I call "authentic marketing" - how to market your services to reach those who you can help with "sales strategies". Isabel sheds some light on one such strategy....read on & en-JOY!
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In my Vibrant Language teleclass training, I teach participants about the different "languages" of business, including the Language of Manipulation. I ask them to bring back an example of manipulative language, and often they provide me examples of early bird offers, such as "Save $100 if you purchase by xyz date," or "Special bonus for the first five people who respond."
Even a year ago, if you had asked me about the practice of offers with limited availability, I would have questioned if it was an appropriate practice for an ethical business owner. I don't have a problem with early bird offers, but I worried that offers that were only available to the first five people, for example, were discriminatory, and expressed a mindset of limitation and scarcity.
But today, I am not so sure. As I continue to observe who is doing what in the marketplace, and experiment to find my "line in the sand" for business practices, I am beginning to question the position I formerly held.
In fact, I recently sent an email to those who signed up for my recent free call, with a sassier voice than usual, emphasizing that time was running out for some special offers, and urging them not to wait too long to act. While I mostly received positive response to the message, one longtime subscriber took time out of her day to tell me how disappointed she was in me, and how she concluded that I had changed my approach "to lean in the direction of typical hype campaigns" or had "jumped the shark simply to make a buck!"
(Given my history as a starving actress who lived in New York on $600 a month in my twenties, and as a serial under-charger who sometimes asked for ridiculously low compensation for my work, I chuckle a bit at the thought of myself as "out to make a buck" or "driven by money" as someone else once suggested.)
I am deeply concerned that those of us in the healing, helping, and personal growth professions sometimes hold ourselves to such high standards of what we believe is integrity that we make it very difficult, if not impossible, to prosper financially. Here are some of the new thoughts that are shifting my perspective.
- A number of
people I know and respect, who are making multiple six figures or seven
figures, use the practice of limited and special offers. They appear
to be decent, soulful, and high-integrity people. They deliver quality
services that make a difference, have grateful clients, and honor their
word. Most of the people I know who are vehemently opposed to these kinds
of techniques are making less than six figures. Is it all about the money?
No, but I do know that those making more money are reaching more people,
and having more impact sharing their message with the world.
- What matters
is how you use the technique, not the technique itself. Any
technique, including those I teach in my communication training, can be
used honestly or deceptively. I think having a special limited-time or
limited-number offer can be in integrity when you honor the limit you set
(you don't sell 200 copies when you've promoted that you only have 100)
and if you are up front about why you are making the offer and the outcome
you want (you want to reward those who act fast, or it saves you time and
money to not have to follow up for weeks).
- I finally
realized that my time and energy are limited resources, so it's ok for my
offers to reflect that limitation. On a call I held last year
called The Language of Persuasion, we talked about whether our offers had
a natural limit or an artificial one. I thought it was
"artificial" to impose a limit like "first five
people." But now I realize that my time and energy are not infinite,
so it's not inauthentic to say that I can only give four people a bonus
hour of coaching or a bonus review of their website.
- It's not my
job to be "kind" to prospective clients, or to protect them from
any discomfort, it's my job to deliver the value I promise to those who
choose to use my products and services. I, like
many in the healing and helping professions, sometimes bend over backwards
to be considerate of my audience's needs, even at the expense of my own. I
use to disdain some of the sales techniques we talk about because I
worried they might make people uncomfortable or bring up difficult
feelings for them around money and their own value. But, what I am
learning about sales is that part of being effective is being willing to
create some tension between the audience's desire and their willingness to
commit time and money and to allow that tension to build. Is it kind?
Maybe not, but I know ultimately, for the right people, I can be so much
kinder and give so much more if they choose to resolve that tension by
moving forward to work with me.
- It's arrogance
to think that I have that much influence over my audience. Lisa
Sasevich of The Invisible Close says something to the effect of, nothing
you offer will persuade someone who is not interested to buy from you. So,
special offers really are only likely to influence those who are
interested but for whatever reason are not ready to act. Frankly, I
haven't mastered the art of truly irresistible offers, but I am having fun
thinking of ways to please and delight those who support me by moving
quickly on what I have to offer.
So, what is manipulation after all? Is it any action designed to get a response? I don't think so. To me, manipulation is influencing someone to behave the way I want through intimidation, coercion, or deceit. And ultimately, we can all tap into the power of established sales techniques without resorting to that.
If you are looking for support to integrate the language of soul into more effective business communication, Parlance Training can help. Learn about our programs at www.parlancetraining.com/training.html.
You may forward or reprint this article, as long as you include the following attribution: Isabel Parlett is a business communication expert who helps innovative professionals create the market for their services by tapping into the emotional power of their words.
© 2009 Isabel Parlett. This article may be reprinted with written permission from the author.
If you want help bringing forward the most powerful, profound message you have to share, Parlance Training can help. Learn more about our training at www.parlancetraining.com/training.html.
