I was originally planning on taking the idea in this email and packaging it up as a paid product, maybe a short video course.
I could use the money. But the idea is still too rough to sell.
Perhaps with your help I can polish it. And then sell it, for a fair price, which reflects its true worth. And maybe we can even split the profits.
So here’s what I’ve got so far:
1. Parris Lampropoulos fundraiser. A few years ago, A-list copywriter Parris Lampropoulos was raising money for his cousin’s cancer treatment. Back then, I wrote an email about why I finally broke down and bought the webinar series that Parris was offering. And one part of what made me do it was this:
People rush to a fire sale because they feel they must be getting a steal. Because they think they are taking advantage of somebody else’s time of need.
I’m not proud of it, but I realize that, somewhere not very deep down, there was an element of this in my motivation to seize this opportunity.
2. The Robert Collier kicking story. Collier once wrote about how his colleagues at the publishing company spent time each day kicking holes in the boxes of books they were selling. Because lightly damaged sets of books, advertised as such and sold at a discount, sold more easily and made more money than sets in perfect condition.
3. The continuing problems with the Green Valley supply chain. Not long ago, I wrote about the overstock at the Green Valley warehouse. It’s the second time it happened in under a year. Both times, they had to run a sale to get rid of the extra bottles of pills. This twice-in-a-year overstock was either extremely unlucky or transparently false.
So that’s what I’ve got so far.
You can see the common thread. If you wanna sell something, it’s often very powerful to run a sale and give a reason for the sale.
And not just any reason.
But a reason that allows your prospects to think they are taking advantage of your need. Just don’t be transparent about it, or you lose credibility.
I think this is a super valuable idea at its core. Everything tells me it can move mountains of stuff, if it’s only used wisely.
But how exactly? That’s where I’m stuck. I don’t have any good examples of this strategy being used consciously and yet credibly in today’s market.
So you got any ideas for me? How to apply this today? How can I take this “fire sale” insight, and wrap it up as a little course I can sell?
If you do, get on my email newsletter so we can stay in touch. And then write me and let me know your ideas. If I ever end up putting this product out with your help, I won’t just give you a free copy. I want to show my gratitude. So I’ll also give you a royalty, a share of the earnings as well.