You know what happens before a client pulls out their wallet
or checkbook? They hear a little voice in their head asking,
"What if something goes wrong?"
It doesn't matter whether that prospect is just about to buy a
cheap paperback novel or a million-dollar yacht - the question
is always the same. But the impact of the question will be
different, depending these three factors:
· Factor #1: How much money is involved.
· Factor #2: How important the purchase is.
· Factor #3: How many other people will be affected.
The greater these factors are, the more troubling the question
"What if something goes wrong?" will be inside the mind of
your prospective client.
Wow - that really puts you - as a direct marketer - in a corner,
doesn't it? Like the corner at the intersection of Nervous
Customers Avenue and Stalled Sales Boulevard. But I'll show
you a way to get things moving again - a number of ways, in fact.
Start with this proven balm to calm your prospects' jumpy
nerves:
· Provide more reassurance to your prospects.
It's human nature that your prospects are worried, especially
if they're buying by mail, phone or over the Internet. They need
reassurance that what they're doing is not risky. Of course you
know this, but, have you ever thought what would happen if you increased
the level of reassurance you offer your customers?
I'll tell you what would happen. Sales would increase at the
same time.
So it might be worth considering. But how do you increase the
level of reassurance you offer your customers?
Two of the easiest ways to do this right away are to strengthen
and lengthen your guarantee. Here are the details:
· Make your guarantee stronger.
Just as with headlines, guarantees aren't nearly as powerful in
attracting additional customers when the guarantee is stated in
a merely factual and logical fashion.
Of course, a factual, logical and explicitly stated guarantee
will be more effective in promoting sales than no guarantee
at all, or a guarantee that is merely mentioned but not described.
However, a guarantee that is both clearly explained and vividly
dramatized is simply the best of all. Here are two examples for
a hypothetical product, the Soothie-Lounger Massage Chair, to
show you the difference between the two ways of stating a
guarantee.
· Example 1: "The Soothie-Lounger Massage Chair is fully
guaranteed for one year. If you are not satisfied for any reason,
let us know and we will arrange for return shipping and refund
your entire purchase price."
Factual, logical, descriptive - that's good. But compare it to the
following:
· Example 2: "The Soothie-Lounger Massage Chair is fully
guaranteed for one year. Use it at the end of a rough day to
gently massage away your tensions. Turn watching TV into
a relaxing stress-reduction session. Take a nap in the Soothie-
Lounger and wake up refreshed like never before.
"Try the Soothie-Lounger for a full year. If for any reason you
are not fully satisfied, all you have to do is give us a call toll-
free and we'll take care of the rest for you. We'll even arrange
for return shipping as well as refund your entire purchase price.
That's your no-hassle, unconditional one-year money-back
guarantee.
" See the difference? By dramatizing the guarantee, it becomes
more memorable and more compelling. In short, stronger.
Action: First, make sure you've explained your guarantee
clearly and completely in a factual way that's easy to understand.
Then, dramatize the guarantee by suggesting uses of your product
the customer can measure through experience to determine their personal
satisfaction with, and/or the performance of, the product.
· Make your guarantee longer.
A friend of mine sells unique, very powerful specialized
business information by mail order, and he offers a lifetime
guarantee. His product is a good value for the money, and his
customer service is first-rate. He's sold over 2 million products
and he says he can practically count the returns on one hand. He
also says experience has shown over and over that the longer
the guarantee, the fewer the returns.
Will this work in your business? Probably. Better guarantees
typically increase response rates. The percentage of total orders
returned usually either stays the same or in some cases actually
declines. If you were selling 100 units for every mailing before
and getting 5 returns, you might sell 200 units with a greatly
improved guarantee and get perhaps 10 returns, or less, for the
same size mailing.
What you should focus on is not doubling the returns. Those
returns were going to happen sooner or later anyway. What you
should focus on is getting twice as many sales for the same mailing
cost - and getting more than twice the profits, since your fixed
mailing cost stayed the same.
Action: Test a longer guarantee on a portion of your promotion,
and track returns. The odds are very good that returns will stay
even on a percentage basis. They may actually decrease.
To sum up: As an entrepreneur, you might believe that the last
thing you should be worried about is the fear your customers
feel right before they buy. But, in fact, taking the time and making
the effort to calm that fear - before it can ever become a problem
- is one of the smartest business moves you can make.
Why? Because as people grow to trust you and feel more
comfortable about you, they will buy more from you, refer more
of their friends to you, and even involve you in opportunities you
probably never imagined could happen. And it all starts with the
reassuring manner in the words you use and the actions you take.
============================================== David Garfinkel
& Jim Edwards are co-authors of the NEW
"eBook Secrets Exposed": How to Make MASSIVE Amounts
of Money - In Record Time - With Your Own eBook! WHY are
some people getting positively RICH selling ebooks? Click Here Now ==> http://hop.clickbank.net/?6d39f8a1/ebksecrets
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