Ah, the things we will do to get what we want and the disappointment we experience when we don’t get it.

Today, I my alarm (Zen bell chimes) went off at 3:45 a.m. I stumbled, bleary-eyed out of bed and quietly went into the master bathroom, so as not to awaken the wife.

I fired-up my computer that I had strategically put in there the night before.

And the countdown began to the time of reckoning – 4:00 a.m.

What mission was I embarking on at this ungodly hour?

Trying to get a reservation at Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy.

This was voted the best restaurant in the world for 2016 and since I am vacationing in Italy later this year, I want to go…badly.

The problem is that there are only 14 tables and it books up three months in advance and they open up their online reservation system on a certain day at a certain time. That just happened to be today at 10:00 a.m. –  Italy time.

When I logged on, I was greeted with a message that said that because of demand, the system was overloaded and that every 60 seconds, it would try to log me in.

At 4:20 a.m., I finally got in and, as you would guess, every day and every time, was completely sold out. I put myself on a waiting list in case someone cancels but I don’t have high hopes.

So what can be learn from my little tale of woe? Mucho things:

Excellence, plus originality, plus media= insane demand.

Osteria Francescana, obviously serves great food but they would just be another great restaurant in Italy if they didn’t strive for excellence and were not  highly original.

But even that alone wouldn’t create such demand. They needed media which they got in spades including the opening episode on Netflix’s original series, Chef’s Table.

Next, is real scarcity. I see so many people who use obviously fake scarcity in  selling in webinars and live online events. This actually has the opposite effect they are looking for. You want to create real scarcity because, like Osteria Francescana’s 14 tables, it drives sales. People hate the idea of losing out on something.

Finally, if you have all the elements right, your ideal prospects will jump through hoops to get to you or to buy what you’re selling. This puts you in a very powerful position and virtually guarantees your success, provided that you keep on delivering the goods.

Although I’m disappointed I didn’t get a reservation, I’m thinking I can probably find some good food in Italy, right? 😉

Kick butt, make mucho DEEnero!

Dave “The Crazy Foodie” Dee