Understand Your Buyer > How To Lose The Sale > The High Demand Fallacy
What is it?
When a seller is promoting the fact that something is “selling fast” and that you need to act quickly to secure your spot… you need to stop for a second and ask a question…. If it’s selling so fast, then why does it need promotion…?
The High Demand Fallacy is using the illusion of something being popular to drive demand. But it’s an illusion.
Why does it work?
It works to annoy buyers because it’s lying and most people aren’t fooled by it.
The only person who thinks they have everyone fooled is the seller themselves – but the reality of an offer that isn’t performing well isn’t hard to spot in the long run.
How can you use it?
If you want to repel buyers and lose credibility, then tell us just how popular your offering is and how fast it’s selling out… even when you haven’t sold much at all. The fake hype from the imaginary sales may help you sell more in the short term, but in the long term it’s a losing game…
Example:
An online coach posts:
“Only 3 spots left! Selling FAST!”
But a quick scroll through their timeline shows they’ve been saying this every week for the last two months… and comments are empty.
Why it doesn’t work:
It comes across as desperate and fake. Buyers start to question the integrity of the offer – and the seller. If the demand were genuinely high, they wouldn’t need to keep shouting about it. It damages trust and makes people tune out.
Better approach:
If there is genuine demand or a limit, prove it with transparency:
“Last month’s cohort filled in 4 days. This one is now open to 12 new people.”
That’s believable. And credible.
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