Why your business should be like a 2008 Cabernet Franc

I recently spent the weekend at a friend’s home near Kelowna. As luck and serendipity would have it, the house was only steps away from 3 Okanagan Valley wineries. We visited all of them.

Grey Monk was our third and final visit and after 4 samples from a rather impressive list, we asked our lovely hostess what her favourite wine was -

-Oh it’s not on the list. We don’t sample it.

-Why not?

-Because we only make it every 3 years and there are only 6 cases left.

-Oh

-It’s the 2008 Cabernet Franc. You can find it in the middle shelf, third from the bottom. It’s $35.00 a bottle.

I have never in my life spent $35.00 on a bottle of wine. Did I buy some 2008 Cabernet Franc? Ya, I did.

And it was just a great reminder that creating exclusivity in our business is a great way to generate sales. They could very possibly have thousands of cases in the back and grow the grapes every single year. That’s not the point. The point is they created scarcity and cachet, which made me want it more. Limited time offers (ie: Only 6 cases left!) are a fabulous way to get people to buy and pay more for your product or service.

We bought, we drank, we enjoyed.