The “Fear of Loss” factor might be that extra motivation to get the job done. A friend and I had lunch at TGI Friday’s, one of my favorite restaurants. The waitress had only one thing on her mind: Getting me to sign up for the TGIF Gold Card. First she asked me, “Do you have a Gold Card?” When I said I didn’t, she spent three minutes explaining all the frequent eater benefits of having a TGIF Gold Card. I told her that I wasn’t interested, but wanted to order something to drink. When the waitress returned with the drink order, she reminded me that the TGIF Gold Card was free, and that she would even help me fill out the simple application. I wasn’t interested, and insisted that she take our order for food. While waiting for food, the waitress checked the status of our drinks and reminded me that I would get 500 points just for signing up for the TGIF Gold Card. Then I would get ten points for each dollar spent at TGIF’s. NULL
I asked, “And what do I get for the points?” She answered, “You can redeem the points for free appetizers, desserts, and even a cruise.” A cruise? Now I was paying attention “So how many points do I have to accumulate for a cruise? One million? Two million?” She didn’t know, but reminded me that she could help me fill out the application while waiting for our food order. I declined. Finally, the food arrived. The waitress continued: “You know that you get one free appetizer just for signing up for the TGIF Gold Card, right? It’s free. I know you’d love a free appetizer.” I caved in. “Yes, a free appetizer would be nice to go along with our meal today. Could you bring me the menu so that I could choose an appetizer?” The hook. The waitress smiled and replied, “Oh, you don’t get the free appetizer now. You get your free appetizer the next time you visit any TGI Friday’s restaurant.” Now I understood why the waitress was so persistent. I’m sure that a supervisor had lectured the staff that no one leaves TGI Friday’s without a Gold Card. It was the new corporate policy. Everyone had to get one. Why? Repeat business.
Fear of loss motivates people. It’s powerful. It works.
Think of the examples in your life where “fear of loss” was much greater than your “desire for gain.” For example, let’s say that a husband would like to impress his wife (desire for gain). He goes to a flower shop, asks somebody to chop off some nice flowers and wrap them up in a pretty bouquet. He then stops by a chocolate shop and picks up a box of assorted chocolates. If his spouse is not totally suspicious of this spontaneous gift of dead flowers and chocolate… well, there is a pretty good chance of some public relation points (desire for gain). And how often does this happen in real life? How often does the husband spontaneously give flowers and chocolates? It has yet to happen. However, imagine that the spouse kicks the husband out on the street for taking her for granted. The “Fear of Loss” factor immediately kicks in and the husband rushes to the flower shop and the chocolate shop.
“Fear of Loss” is always greater than the “Desire for Gain.”
So what is TGI Friday’s strategy? I now have a TGI Friday’s Gold Card. I will lose my free appetizer if I don’t go back to a TGI Friday’s and eat again. They have guaranteed my repeat visit. And how much does a cheap plastic membership card cost? A cent or two. And how much does a free appetizer cost? Less than a dollar. TGI Friday’s has now guaranteed that I will come back, probably bring one or more people with me, and I’ll spend $40 to $100 on my next visit. All for the total cost of one measly dollar. Pretty neat, eh? But it gets better. They got my email address too from the TGI Friday’s Gold Card application. I’m sure I’ll be receiving email offers of “Buy one order of buffalo wings and get the second order for half price.” So how can you use the same TGI Friday’s Gold Card technique in your business? Idea #1. Offer a frequent customer program. Every time the customer orders, you give the customer one point. After 10 points, the customer gets something free. Maybe give the customer a free month’s supply or a complimentary product or service. But to instill the “Fear of Loss” factor, start your customer off with five points. The customer feels that he is half way there already and certainly doesn’t want to lose those free five points. Idea #2. Offer a frequent meeting program. Every time your distributor attends an opportunity meeting or training meeting, you give your distributor one point. After 10 points, the distributor can attend the special all-day Saturday rally at no charge. And yes, you’ll instill the “Fear of Loss” factor by starting the distributor with five points. What a great way to get your distributors to attend meetings regularly! Or maybe you could give the distributor an extra point for every guest he brings to the opportunity meeting. Would that help your business and the distributor’s business? Can you see your distributor saying this to his friend? “Awwww, you just have to come. Do it as a favor for me. I need the extra point to get my free ticket to Saturday’s rally.” Now the distributor has one more reason to invite his friend. Idea #3. Be creative in your reward program. You can offer as a reward:
- Priority position to be first in line to get the new products when announced.
- A pre-paid phone card to use for getting guests on conference calls.
- A free subscription to a product newsletter.
- A seat with the company president at the end-of-the-month banquet.
- A Big Al book.
What’s the bottom line?
Use a frequent reward program to lock in your distributors and customers. It’s a great way to motivate people to do things.
The “Fear of Loss” factor might be that extra motivation to get the job done. * Want 7 more great marketing ideas for your business. Go to http://www.BigAlReport.com and download 7 great mini-reports to use to get more prospects – all written by Tom “Big Al” Schreiter.
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