bouncer at a strip club taught me more about sales than any course
$300K/year
works 4 nights a week
no degree
barely speaks English
watched him turn away a bachelor party of 12 guys
"sorry full tonight"
(club was half empty)
they begged
offered $500 to get in
he said $1,000
they paid
i asked him after:
"bro it was empty why'd you do that"
he looked at me like i was stupid
"if i let them in easy, they spend $200
if i make them pay to enter, they spend $2,000
they already decided the night is expensive
so they act expensive"
tested this on consulting:
before: "$5K for the project"
response: "let me think about it"
after: "i'm at capacity but let me see if i can move things around"
[wait 3 days]
"ok i can fit you in but it's $8K because of the rush"
close rate went from 34% to 71%
the lesson:
people don't value what comes easy
make them work for access
then charge more for the privilege
scarcity isn't a tactic
it's a filter
use it