Give 'em something or take something away

In event planning, especially for new or young events, a huge challenge is getting players, participants, spectators and sponsors to commit to the event early. Assuming you have a good reason to get them in early (such as the event will be canceled if you don't get people in by a certain date) the challenge is to create a sense of urgency.

People are funny in that they want everything now but want to pay for it later. In this case, your challenge is to give them a reason to get out of their comfort zone. Revenue or Yield Management sort of addresses this challenge but I summarize it by something one of my boss's once told me. "You either give them something now, or take something away from them tomorrow."

This is the concept used in early registration discounts, evening rates at golf courses and season ticket packages. Your goal is to maximize your revenue selling the same thing.

But this also applies to creating urgency. "Buy your family ticket package today and get a free hamburger." "Call in the next 10 minutes and get a free locker room tour." "Don't wait too long or we may run out of Thunder Sticks!" All create urgency by either giving them something or taking something away.