The Secret To Creating Irresistible Urgency Nobody Told You About

Barry Davret
Jul 10, 2017 · 3 min read
Source: Stencil

Every few years I call in the professionals to do some tree pruning. This is one of those years. I’ve been putting it off for months because of the expense.

This morning I went out back to play some basketball. A brief gust of wind came through. I heard a loud bang. A huge branch fell off an oak tree and landed in front of our play set. It took a minute to catch my breath. I went inside and called a tree maintenance company.

“How soon can you come by?”

Sorcery Persuasion

It’s the most powerful driver that compels someone to take action. In medieval times, a sorcerer set conditions that compelled people to action. Today, it was dumb luck.

The thought of one of my kids standing where that branch fell set things in motion.

Shoring up my trees is not only urgent. It’s non-negotiable. It’s an absolute. Price no longer matters. It’s a matter of survival.

That’s absolute urgency.

Creating Urgency

Importance requiring swift action

What makes something urgent? According to the definition, it’s importance plus a deadline.

Here’s the problem. Importance is an abstract concept. That means our opinion can change over time. Tree maintenance was of minor importance yesterday. Today, it’s critically important.

To persuade someone to take action, you want them to feel absolute urgency. You must set the right conditions or wait for the right conditions.

Waiting is not a viable option. How do we up the stakes?

Conditional Urgency

Here’s the limitation with conditional urgency. Desire is subject to a cost-benefit analysis.

Expense, convenience and priorities impact conditional urgency. You may want the book I sell. At $20, you crave it. At $100, you lose interest.

This is the kind of urgency that exists in 99% of persuasion or marketing attempts.

Absolute Urgency

We look for the triggering event. In my earlier example, the falling branch triggered the absolute urgency.

What about selling a book? It’s much harder but it can be done. Here are the top strategies.

  • Create a fear of being left behind
  • Stoke their fantasies
  • Exclusivity — only a select few gain access
  • Eliminate pain
  • Get back at an enemy

You need multiple strategies to create this level of urgency. Use with subtlety. In writing, it’s easy to come across as overbearing. Your reader needs to come to his own conclusion. Lead the way but let him walk the path.

Bullet writing is a great tool to trigger absolute urgency. Get my free guide here. Oh, if you enjoyed this story… click the ❤ button below.

surTHRIVAL Skillz — By Barry Davret

Next Level Skills For The Modern World

Barry Davret

Written by

Writer. Experimenter in life, productivity and creativity. Contact: barry@barry-davret dot com.

surTHRIVAL Skillz — By Barry Davret

Next Level Skills For The Modern World

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