What Managing Hundreds of Launches has Taught Me About Human Psychology…
I’ve managed a lot of launches.
Big ones, small ones, messy ones, smooth ones… you name it.
And no matter the niche, the product, the audience size, or the price point...
The same pattern shows up every single time.
We’ll open the cart and celebrate as a stream of excited early birds roll in. Then?
Crickets. Sometimes for days. And all the while, my clients are checking funnels (for the 2343464264th time), panicking over email deliverability, hammering out more social posts… doing anything they can to try to drive sales.
And when we are just about into the “heads are going to roll” stage of panic… it happens:
The beloved Urgency Period arrives.
What is the Urgency Period? Simply put, it’s the final few days of your launch (or your pricing tier, bonus package, etc. depending on what your offer is).
It’s at this stage in the launch that suddenly, the sales start pouring in.
People who ignored five reminder emails are finally clicking “buy.”
And it feels like magic.
But it’s not magic, my dear friend… It’s psychology.
You see, humans are procrastinators by nature.
Even when someone knows they want the thing…
Even when it’s exactly what they’ve been looking for…
They will still wait.
Wait for more proof…
Wait for a better time…
Wait to feel "ready"...
Wait until they’re up against a wall and forced to either choose it or lose it.
The majority of decisions happen when the clock is ticking.
This is why urgency isn’t some sleazy sales tactic… it’s necessary. Urgency is not there to pressure people into buying something they don’t want… But to support them in making a decision they’ve likely been circling around for days.
Because until there’s a deadline, most people will stay in indecision - and indecision is the death of momentum - in life, in business, and definitely in a launch.
So what’s this mean for you? It means that no matter what you’re promoting - a full blown launch or a weekend flash sale… even an evergreen offer or upcoming live event… Urgency is a CRITICAL component in generating a successful marketing strategy.
Remember:
Give people a real deadline. Not a fake one - an actual moment when the doors close, the price changes, bonuses go away, or some other element of the offer changes to become less desirable after a set time.
Send the last-day emails. Yes, the ones you’re scared will annoy people… They work. In fact, many times I will include multiple emails during that last day and almost always, each email proves even more effective than the last.
Expect the surge. RESIST THE URGE TO PANIC if things are quiet early on. Your buyers are still watching, still deciding, still waiting. They just need to be supported in making the decision to move forward.
So the next time you're in the middle of a launch and the numbers aren't rolling in like you hoped - take a breath. Trust the process. Remember that silence doesn’t mean failure… it means people are still thinking. Still weighing. Still waiting for the moment that pushes them off the fence. Your job isn’t to hustle harder during the quiet… it’s to stay steady, show up with integrity, and guide your audience through to that final, decision-making window. Because when you build in urgency with intention, you’re not just boosting conversions - you’re helping people say yes to something they already want. And that? That’s what marketing is all about.