The other day I received a false countdown email. You know the ones I’m talking about, the emails where it has a built-in time counting down, telling you that you have to buy before the timer runs out.

The problem is I can’t tell you how many times I’ve clicked on those videos to the now-expired landing page, refreshed my screen, and the same price is there that supposedly expired two days or even a week earlier.

It was all a lie. The price didn’t jump like they said it would. The bonuses didn’t expire. There wasn’t a ‘last chance to get this amazing price’ before it goes up.

It’s all false scarcity, and it’s killing the reputation of speakers, coaches, and consultants in every industry I’ve worked with so far.

Let’s trade false scarcity with doing what we say we’re going to do. If a price expires at midnight, then guess what, the price actually jumps up at midnight.

If bonuses are only for the first 25 people, then honor the 25 people who took the initiative to sign up first by not handing out more bonuses to people who weren’t part of the first 25.

I get it - not everyone is ready to buy right now, and that’s okay. What’s not okay is giving out false scarcity in exchange for a faster sale. Let your integrity drive your sales - you’ll be just fine when it comes to sales.

In fact, you’ll have a healthier, more profitable business if your crowd knows they can take you at your word when you do what you say you’re going to do.

The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”