Sacha Guitry, a French
writer and actor who was renowned for being provocative, wrote: 'The women you
haven't had are probably the ones you didn't ask!' What Mr Guitry jokingly
suggests really does apply to most situations in life: you have to know how to
ask for things. In fact, knowing how to ask is often the key to success: ask
any top salesperson or head of business!
The same thing applies
to copywriters: never hesitate to ask your clients to act. Don't
be afraid of sounding too forward, aggressive or impolite: experience has shown
that people rarely perceive a straightforward demand that way. And
you'll also be finding out about very subtle ways to ask your readers to act,
so subtle that they'll find it difficult to refuse your offer...
On the other hand, if
you don't tell your readers what they should do, the chances are they won't do
it!
Golden rule number one:
before making an explicit appeal to action, set the groundwork for your attack.
Summarize the
advantages of your offer
This is the most
traditional way of going about getting your clients to act. It corresponds to
the equation:
ADVANTAGE /PRICE =
VALUE
The greater the value,
the easier it is, because price is no longer an obstacle. This is also the
moment where you might want to add yet another argument in favor of buying your
product.
Reassure your
clients
If you're going to
offer a guarantee, this is the time to do it, because this is the moment when
your prospective clients are afraid. You can also resort to one, or a number,
of the techniques we described earlier for reassuring your clients and
convincing people who can't make up their minds. Your objective is clear:
before going any further, you are asking your clients to make some kind of
sacrifice and you must reassure them strongly that they will not lose out. Only
then can you get them to act.
Getting your clients to
act
Get a classic plan for
concluding a deal
Five more
effective techniques for inciting clients to act
Set an expiry date
Don't put off making a
decision. Unfortunately, I can't guarantee delivery of this jewel of a product
if your order form is dated after midnight, 28 March 2005. So don't wait! This
is really a unique and rare opportunity!
Set a time period
I tried to spread this
offer out over a period of time, so that we could serve you better, and so that
Catherine, my secretary, would not get too overloaded trying to fill too many
orders all at once. If you would be so kind as to mail your order within the
next five days, I'd be happy to send you a little gift, as a token of my
appreciation and friendship - a 'high performance' CD. So take advantage of
this limited offer by sending us your order form today!
3. An imminent event...
This may cancel out all
or many of the advantages you’ve just offered, such as:
• A limited number of
clients;
• Running out of stock
or an imminent increase in price;
• A special
introductory price (launching the product, subscription drive etc.)
4. Offer a free gift if
the client responds quickly
5. A list of everything
the client has to lose...
By not responding
quickly, or by passing up your extremely attractive offer.
Which technique is
best?
Try to associate and
combine a number of techniques, so that together they are perfectly suited to
the type of product you're offering. In this way, the advantages of each single
technique are multiplied (the whole is greater than the sum of the parts!).
Finally, tell your
clients exactly what they have to do and do everything you can to make it easy
for them. For example, tell them explicitly to fill out the order form, to put
it in the return envelope along with their check or credit card details and to
drop it in the post-box. You must do this even though it may seem infantile and
unnecessary, a little like talking to a child.
Telling them exactly
what they have to do save time since clients don't have to ask themselves all
kinds of questions and it reinforces your original point: 'This really is
easy!' In fact, you kill two birds with one stone: clients don't make any
mistakes and you administer what is called 'The Lancaster Touch . . .'
Summarize the
advantages
Lancaster was an
American insurance salesman who discovered a pretty astute technique for making
a lot more sales than any of his colleagues.
Towards the end of his
presentation, after explaining and making sure the prospect understood
everything, he would summarize all the advantages of his offer and made sure he got the prospect to respond
with a 'Yes' answer to two or three very minor questions. He would then start
filling out the contract as if it were the only natural thing left to do...
After completing the contract, he would offer his pen to the prospect and point
to the place where the prospect was to sign. And that's all there was to it! By
some seemingly miraculous process, the number of prospects who actually signed
was astounding.
Why? Because Lancaster
did everything he could to make it easy for them: signing became the logical
next step! Prospects understood this logic, and consequently asked themselves
fewer questions and had fewer doubts. The transition from passive listener to
active buyer became completely natural...
You, too, can use the
'Lancaster Touch': prepare the groundwork, make things as easy as you can for
your clients and lead them through a logical progression towards your objective
- buying your product and sending you a check in the mail!
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