Party foul on purpose?

Last week, we hosted my wife’s extended family for a post-Christmas get-together.

I'm not the greatest party host, but I do know one thing.

Never, absolutely NEVER EVER, run out of food or drinks.

 It's a social faux pas that would make even Cousin Eddie cringe.

Whenever we're hosting a dinner party, we estimate demand for food and drinks (i.e. which uncles are invited and what their respective consumption multipliers are), and then overbuy.

We want to make sure everyone eats and drinks their fill, and leaves the party feeling satisfied.

However, there is another kind of party where we should strive for the exact opposite.

 A party where the goal is to end with more desire than we started with,

One where demand far exceeds supply.

It's called a launch party.

If you run a non-Amazon online business, pay attention.

(Amazon-only sellers, you can skip the rest of this email.  Your one job is to never go out of stock).

Listen, when we are introducing a new product or service, our impulse is to serve as many customers as possible.

We want to make sure there is plenty for everyone.

However, I'm here to tell you that at a launch party, the goal is to run out of everything as quickly as possible.

You want many of the guests to leave with more hunger and thirst than they arrived with.

I know this seems contrary, but think about it:

When supply cannot meet demand, then both desire (total demand) and price tend to increase.

(Shout out to all the 90's kids whose moms thought Beanie Babies were going to pay for college.)

More people want it because they cannot have it.

Less supply = More demand.

But supply is a variable we control.

Therefore, it's possible to engineer insatiable demand by carefully controlling supply.

You can create a launch that looks like a cross between Taylor Swift ticket sales and Black Friday at Walmart.

Just by making sure you sell out quickly.

Once you establish a pattern of scarcity, your followers will be more likely to pay attention to your launch emails…

…Setting timers on their phones and blocking out time to buy your stuff. 

Which means each subsequent launch will be larger than the last…

 …Even as total demand skyrockets.

Eventually, you will be launching to a pool of hungry piranhas,

Instead of crickets.

(I have a client who has mastered this technique. Recently, they sold over 2000 units of a product within 30 minutes, with a single email.)

So what do you think?

Are you willing to test this and run out of prime rib halfway through dinner service?

Only serve dessert to half of your guests, and watch the unlucky ones gaze longingly as the lucky few lick their plates clean?

Are you willing to let the wine run dry at the wedding feast?

While you decide, I’m making a bee line for the plate of deviled eggs.

In your corner,

Greg

P.S. This technique only works if you have something unique and worth waiting for. If your hungry customers can just head to the generic burger joint down the road, this will never work.

Do you have something unique? Or is it a me-too commodity?

One of the ways I help people is showing them how to turn the latter into the former. If you’re stuck competing on price and wondering if there’s a better way, hit reply and I’ll see if I can help.