The Psychology of Spending in the Super Bowl

People make many excuses to not spend money. Many things, personal or situational, prevent sales and inhibit money changing hands. Successful selling, then, gets past those inhibitors. The Super Bowl is an example of something that almost unequivocally overrides that resistance. Whatever your interest in professional football, the day of the big game results in money changing hands on an enormous scale. On the personal side, 17.2 billion dollars were projected to be spent nationally on food and party supplies for an average of around 90 dollars per person. Around 6,500 people attended the game in person, spending on average 2,500 dollars per ticket and up to 9,000 the day of. Businesses had to get in on the fun too, with an estimated ad expenditure of over 400 million dollars.

In sales terms, what makes this Sunday so different than any other? The Super Bowl presents two things essential to getting people to part with their money. First, it is a tremendous opportunity. One must have a chance to spend their money before they can actually spend it, and what better chance is there than a day where everyone else is excited to buy food, go to a party, and have a good time. The big game had 102 million viewers, all excited about the same thing. That’s a pretty powerful force, especially when it promises the second important part of the process, pleasure. Regardless of your feelings about football, almost everyone looks forward to Super Bowl Sunday. To get together with your friends, to cheer for or against something (Patriots), and to eat food you would normally feel guilty about is a pretty rare occasion. That’s enough to make going all out to host a party not feel like a blow to your bank account. Pleasure is a huge reason why people spend money, and when paired with a day the whole nation is doing so, it creates millions of transactions causing billions of dollars to change hands.

Yes, it is probably not possible for you to create the hype the Super Bowl does when you are trying to make a sale. If you could, then you would truly be deserving of the profit you make. More likely however, is a situation where there is little cause for occasion about a sale, and little knowledge of the pleasure to go with it. It is part of the job of the salesman to make those two things apparent. As one builds their relationship with a customer and comes to understand what they want, don’t want, fear, and hope for, use those motivations to fill the needs of the customer. Regardless of what you’re selling, look to the Super Bowl and remember that if they can build a 17.2 billion dollar event around grown men wrestling for a pigskin, then your sale is a walk in the park.