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Imagine this…

You’re driving home after a weekend camping with friends.

It’s Sunday night and you've got a busy week ahead.

You’re thinking through everything you need to get done on Monday morning, and your mental to-do list is growing as the GPS counts down the minutes.

You pull into your driveway and thank your friends for dropping you off.

It’s only after they drive away that you realize…

You don’t have your keys! 😱

In a flash, you realize what happened. You were in such a rush to leave for your trip that you left your keys on your kitchen counter.

And of course your door locked automatically behind you. Doh!

In a flash, you know what happened. You were in such a rush to leave for your trip that you left your keys on your kitchen counter. And of course your door locked automatically behind you. Doh!

You Google “locksmith near me” and call the first number. Thankfully, someone picks up. It turns out they can be there in 10 minutes!

Happily, you hang up the phone. Ten minutes isn’t a huge deal.

The locksmith arrives right on time and walks up to your door. They fumble with the lock with a series of tools. To your surprise, they get the door open within 3 minutes.

“Wow, thank you! That was so fast,” you say gleefully, “How much do I owe you?”

The locksmith says it’ll be $190.

Why does that price feel like a gut punch when you got exactly what you needed?

In today’s edition of Why We Buy we’re exploring The Labor Illusion—why we may value something more when we think it requires a lot of effort.

Let's get into it…

​

🧠 The Psychology of The Labor Illusion

We believe a product or service is more valuable if it takes longer to complete.

In one study, future homebuyers were divided into two groups.

The first group was shown 10 apartments and told a real estate agent had spent 9 hours scouring homes to find ones that fit the buyers’ desires.

The second group was *also* shown the same 10 apartments. But they were told a real estate agent only took 1 hour to find the best options thanks to a computer program.

The homeowners who thought the apartments took 9 hours to find rated them 36% better than apartments on the “low-effort” list.

So while you may *think* your customers always want instant solutions, that’s not necessarily the case—especially if a high price tag is involved.
​
​When something happens too fast it can make people feel cheated.

That’s why showing your customers the effort that goes into an outcome makes them happier with their purchase.
​

🤑 How To Apply This

Alright, so how can we apply this right now to sell more?
​

Ads

Tell (and show) prospects how much work went into your product

What if I told you adding 2 words to a title increased a Reddit ad’s click-through rate by 45%?

Phill Agnew, host of the only podcast on consumer psychology, knows all about that.

While A/B testing two different ads, he sprinkled some labor into one:

“I’ve spent 480 minutes listening to marketing experts over the past year on my podcast. Here are the 6 best marketing lessons I’ve heard 👇”

Why it worked so well?

Phill smartly showed the effort it took to curate these lessons (and the effort his buyers don’t have to take by downloading the lead magnet and getting the lessons in minutes).

​
Luxury products

Slow the purchase process for high-end products

Wanna spend five figures on a Birkin bag? You can’t—at least, not without first visiting a Hermès boutique in person.

But even then, you can’t just buy one.

You’ll typically need to develop a strong relationship with a Hermès sales advisor (usually by buying other Hermès products).

If you’re lucky, you *might* be offered the opportunity to purchase *a* Birkin bag at some point in the future.

Hermès’ masterclass in scarcity and exclusivity has led to a worldwide obsession. Consequently, by slowing the buyer journey, people don’t view Birkin bags as merely valuable.

They consider them priceless.
​

Product descriptions

Show the thought process behind outcomes

Giving a behind-the-scenes peek into the labor and thought processes behind your decisions or solutions—instead of just presenting the outcome—can reveal your work’s value and help customers appreciate it.
​
Patagonia does this by letting you know you’re *not* buying a run-of-the-mill jacket.

Instead, Patagonia transparently shares its ethical manufacturing and sustainability efforts, highlighting the detailed labor involved.

Not only does this build brand loyalty, but it also enhances customers’ perceived value of their products.
​

💥 The Short of It

People are buying your expertise through your products. They want to save themselves time and money by outsourcing their needs to you.

Show them you’re the one worth outsourcing to by proving you’ve worked the hardest to create the best possible product (or piece of content) out there.

Until next time, happy selling!

With ❤️ from Katelyn​
​
P.S. Wanna really get inside your buyer’s head?

When you're ready, there are a few ways we can help:

• Grab your Wallet-Opening Words playbook and make tiny copy tweaks that drive BIG bucks.
• Use Clarity Calls to deeply understand buyers... so you can get LOTS more of them.
• Apply to sponsor Why We Buy 🧠 (booking 6 weeks in advance)

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