You’re damned lucky I’m here writing this piece this morning. I shouldn’t be here – I shouldn’t be here at all. I should be down at the local  retail park attempting to wrestle a TV bigger than my living room out of the grasp of  an overweight sweaty taxi driver (David Mellor has nothing on me) before strapping it to the roof of my Toyota. I should be in the Black Friday battle,  bagging never-to-be repeated bargains. And if this mornings reports are to be believed, I think I must be the only person left working.

Tesco stores in Glasgow and London were the scene of scuffles as they tried to snap up bargains.    Desperate customers were seen brawling over a Blaupunkt HD TV in Tesco which had been slashed by just £60, and  several major websites crashed under ‘huge demand’ with Currys, Argos, Tesco Direct and Boots having problems.

Scotland Yard confirmed officers were called to supermarkets in Willesden, Surrey Quays, Edmonton and Edgware, and   Greater Manchester Police said two people had been arrested in connection with Black Friday sales incidents.  One man allegedly told a staff member he’d ‘smash their face in’ while another woman was injured by a falling TV

I don’t know about you, but I’d never really heard of Black Friday until a couple of years ago. Like Halloween , it’s an American  import, and the name is derived from the day when, historically, the stores go into profit (‘the black’) after 11 months of playing catch-up. But to the customers, it means just one thing…bargains!

I have to admit that all of this leaves me cold. I don’t like shopping at the best of times and an unseemly scrap to save a few quid on something I probably don’t really need anyway isn’t my  idea of how to spend a fantastic Friday.  But if this morning’s scenes are anything to go by, I’m in a minority and there’s something to learn for anyone who wants to maximise their sales and profits.

I know this is offensive, but I’m not here to make friends, I’m here to help you make some more money. So I’ll say it anyway….

Large sections of the population are of a sheep-like mentality. If they see a crowd, they want to be part of it. If they see others walking in one direction they will follow them. If they see a queue they will join it. In short, people are very easily led.

Now perhaps you can’t create your own ‘Black Friday’, but you can take inspiration from the idea. If you can create the perception of  a bargain or ‘hot deal’ customers will come. And when they do, you can be sure that others will follow, fearful of missing out. Once you reach a critical mass with your offer, the sheep-mentality starts to do your work for you. A snowball forms. It takes on a life of its own.

“Everyone else is doing this. You’re missing out!”

You probably wouldn’t use that exact phrase. You’d be far more subtle. But take the psychological idea that underpins it and it could be the source of a great deal of money.

I’ll leave you to think how this applies to your life or business.