Typically, we think of scarcity in negative terms, of not having enough of something. More time would be nice and more money certainly wouldn’t hurt. We feel guilty for wasting time or spending too much money because we feel that we don’t have enough. We quantify our time so it translates into money. On the other side, we hear that it’s important to shift our mindset away from scarcity and focus on abundance where we can all win and there’s enough to go around. But are there instances when scarcity can be a good thing? I am hear to tell you it that yes, yes there are and if leveraged correctly, they can drive abundance elsewhere in your business.
Before we dive in, let’s take a page out of our high school macroeconomics textbook and make sure we’re on the same page. Supply and demand tells us that you’ve got to strike a balance of offering enough of your service at the right price, so that you can charge a decent price, without over saturating the market or charging so much that demand falls. The scarcity principle demonstrates that if there is an insufficient supply of a good that’s in high demand, people will pay more for that good.
When scarcity in your business is a good thing:
- Availability: If you can be reached at all hours of the day, your time isn’t perceived as valuable. I once had a coworker who didn’t use the company Slack channel. As a result, he didn’t get asked questions throughout the day, freeing up his time and energy to focus on higher impact things.
- Your offers: You can create a higher demand for your products or services by creating a sense of urgency to get the client to buy by limiting the time they have to purchase before the offer closes, you can limit space or only open your groups at certain times of the year.
- In decision-making: Scarcity might be too extreme a word for this example, because you want enough options to make the best decision, but you can spend a lot of mental energy and time deciding between too many options. An abundance of choices can slow you down and lead to inaction. This same issue happens with your clients if they’re faced with too many offers, they’ll be overwhelmed and suffer from the paradox of choice. Don’t let indecision hold you or your clients back from making strides and taking action.
- Your to-do list: If you’re overwhelmed, too busy and don’t have enough time to focus on the major operations of your business, then you aren’t allocating your resources effectively. Whether it’s your number of clients, offers, projects, courses, etc. focus on quality over quantity. Don’t do all the things, focus on the things that have the biggest impact on your biz and delegate the rest.
- Your expertise: Your unique combination of gifts mean that you are a scarce and valuable resource. There’s only one of you, which means you can and should get clear on where to focus and spend your time. You are your company’s competitive advantage, don’t squander it.
If we apply the idea of scarcity to your business, make your offers and expertise so irresistible that demand remains high and as a result, you can do less for a higher price.
What are some other ways we can look at scarcity in a positive light?
digitallyevergreen.com 