This week while moving offices I lost my best sunglasses.
They were an expensive purchase that I had enjoyed for the last 6 months.
The feeling and frustration of the loss was quite intense! I would have done anything to go back in time and take a little extra care of those glasses. 😎
The next day my wife mentioned that I should sell a bicycle that had received little use since I purchased it. The sale of a second hand bike was equal to the repurchase of a new set of sun glasses.
But my initial reaction was “meh!”.
I knew I could make this gain and make up for my loss, but I didn’t feel that interested.
Scientific research shows we are keenly more aware of loss than of gain (Amos Tversky’s “loss aversion” principle (Kahneman & Tversky, 1979)).
Sales Startup Tip - don’t make yourself too available to a customer. You want her to think she could miss out on getting the best deal from your product.