7 Secrets in Getting
Your Prospects to Act
Copyright © Ray L. Edwards
Today I would like to look at the matter of persuasion.
How do you get your prospects to take action?
I remember as a door-to-door salesman, my instructor
often said that you must understand 'why people buy'.
It has a certain ring to it doesn't it? If you know
why people buy then you must gear your ads towards
these 'psychological buttons'.
Before I go any further, I would just like to mention
that this is in no way 'manipulation'. It’s just
common sense that you don't approach someone about an
important decision when they’re angry. Every wise wife
knows how to place their husband in that 'mood' before
they spring their special request on him!
Even kids wait until their parents are in a good mood
before they tell them the cost of the special outfit
that they MUST have.
Having cleared the air let’s look at these important
principles.
1. Scarcity - People go after those opportunities or
products that are limited in availability. That’s why
you must show in your ad that your offer is for a
limited time or in limited quantities. Field tests
have shown that limited-quantity ads pull much better
than limited-time ads. Procrastination is still a
large part of human nature, so there’re always those
who would wait until the last minute to act. If the
prospect knows that the item is in limited quantity,
there’s no way of determining when they’d be all sold
out.
2. Herding Instinct - Your prospects will better
respond to your ad if you can show that people JUST
LIKE them are responding. Just recently a high school
senior knocked on my door selling magazine subscription
for a college scholarship program. She used that
number on me - she was sure to let me know that my
neighbors had bought subscriptions! We all just want
to keep up with our neighbors. Needless to say, I fell
for it. Whether I would read the magazine is another
story.
I often point this out to my wife and you can try
looking for this pattern as well. You would seldom
find a satellite dish on a single home on a block. You
often find dish receivers in pairs or more. One
neighbor gets that service and the other follows. The
same goes for gardens and lawns. Nobody wants to be
the sore thumb! This is where the use of testimonials
comes in. Your testimonials say "See, a lot of people
like you are making this decision". Use lots of
testimonials.
3. The desire to pay back a good deed - If someone
thinks that you’ve given him or her something of value
then there is a strong desire to pay you back the
favor. One example is that of AOL that marketed their
service by giving away those floppy disks. They
literally blanketed the USA with these floppy disks.
They still do but now with CDs and 1000 hrs free etc.
Do you think that this is working for AOL?
In your marketing efforts you must give something of
value FIRST - this builds loyalty and results. Always
show the value of what your 'free' service is - never
just say 'FREE'. Show the value of the gift then say
that it is free. This is important because you want
the person to place value on your bonus.
4. Authority - People will listen to you if they see
that you have authority on your subject. There was a
TV commercial that used this line - "My son-in-law
recommended that I take _____ for my heartburn. Why
should I listen to him you say? He’s a doctor".
You may think that you do not have authority on what
you are advertising. In this case appeal to authority
figures - quote from a respected journal, expert ...
you get the idea.
5. Commitment - If someone has made a PUBLIC commitment
to something then they are more likely to follow
through. Find some way of getting someone to make a
commitment and he or she’s more likely to follow
through than if they did not. That’s why any
motivational trainer would tell you that it’s important
to WRITE your goals down -you are more likely to
complete them! Just today I received a sales letter in
the mail for which I had to send for free information.
My physical act of commitment was to peel a nice red
label marked "free" and place it in a designated spot
on the mail back card. Now you know why they make you
do this little silly stuff.
Only if weddings worked the same way!
6. Your ‘likability’ - People would respond to your
offer if they like you. It’s hard to sell to someone
to whom you have no relationship even if it’s just a
'perceived' relationship. This is one of the most
overlooked areas of marketing on the Internet. The
Internet can seem a little cold sometimes.
I’ve found that even after making email contact with my
prospect I still have to make voice contact before they
sign up for my offers. At the same time the Internet
is a wonderful tool to build relationships through
emails, message boards, instant messages ... the list
goes on.
It’s a known fact that someone would buy from you if
THEY think that YOU like them. Give people value, more
than they expect and you have a customer for life!
7. The eternal "what's in it for me?" principle - As
your prospect read your ad this is the question they
are seeking an answer to. Make sure that you give them
plenty of answers. Appeal to their desire for
recognition, wealth, better health, and security -yes
all those nice things on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs -
all the way up to self-actualization. But do not forget
to appeal to their FEAR of pain and loss. Field
research has shown that people are more responsive to
loss than gain. Be sure to show them what they would
LOSE if they don't get your product.
Read through your ads again and see if these buttons
are pressed!
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Ray L. Edwards is publisher of 'Inbization', a weekly
newsletter providing motivation, inspiration and hot
marketing tips. He is also the author of "The No-Click
Traffic Secret" and "77 Ways to Skyrocket Your
Website's Conversion Rate". To subscribe to his
newsletter: subscribe@dalice.com?subject=subscribe
or visit http://www.raydal.com
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