What Do You Say When Your Customer Asks, “What’s The Catch?”

Has this happened to you?

You’re in the process of selling your widgets to a prospect. You’ve turned features into benefits. You’ve given him an amazing demonstration. You’ve attempted several closing techniques.

Overall, you’ve done such a marvelous job of proving the value of your widget, that you’re convinced he’s ready to sign on the dotted line.

Suddenly, he hits you with: "What’s the catch?"

Most people have been taught to believe that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Sometimes, you can oversell to the point where your prospect thinks there has to be a catch.

Your response to this question can be critical. If you say, "There’s NO catch," your prospect will, nevertheless, assume you must be hiding something.

So what is the best way to handle this situation?

First, be prepared for it. Don’t get caught with your pants down. Hesitation or stunned silence will lose you the sale every time.

You may even want to provoke the subject before your customer does with the question, "You’re probably wondering what the catch is, right?"

Then, give your customer a catch that is true yet meaningless to him.

The best way for me to illustrate what I mean is through an example from my own personal experience.

Years ago, I worked for a promotional company that sold coupon books to golfers by phone. The golfer who purchased a book would receive six rounds of golf for the price of one. The deal definitely sounded too good to be true.

My closing technique went something like this:

ME: "Now, I bet you’re wondering what the catch is, right Bob?"

BOB: (Laughs) "Yes, I am."

ME: "Well, you’re right. There IS one catch."

BOB: "I knew it." (Bob tenses, preparing for the worst.)

ME: "The catch is that the golf course owner requests that you call in

advance to book your tee-off time. But you probably do that anyway,

don’t you?"

BOB: "Usually I do, yeah. That’s it?"

ME: "That’s it, Bob."

Bob: "Sounds great."

ME: "Great! So how many books would you like, one or two?"

See how I’ve given Bob a catch to earn his trust – but I’ve made it a catch he can live with!

Try this technique yourself the next time you’re faced with the "too good to be true" scenario.

Find a small catch about your product – create one if you have to. Just make sure it’s a catch that your prospect doesn’t care about. You’ll gain credibility in his eyes and close a lot more sales in the long run.

Tags: niche marketing, Jonathan Hook, internet marketing tips, website optimization, affiliate marketing

The Secrets Of S.A.F.E. Selling

"S.A.F.E. Selling" is a phrase I coined to help new and veteran sales professionals understand a sales situation from the customer’s side of the table.

S.A.F.E. is an acronym for: Skepticism, Apathy, Fear and Egotism.

These four words sum up the four major emotions a prospect is struggling with during your sales presentation. You as the sales person must deal with each one of these emotions before you can close the sale.

Here are some brief examples of what your prospect is thinking and feeling as you present your product:

S = Skepticism ("It won’t work!" – "I don’t believe you!". . .)

A = Apathy ("I don’t need it right now!" – "I can’t afford it!". . .)

F = Fear ("What if I don’t like it?" – "Will you rip me off?". . .)

E = Egotism ("My problem is different!" – "It won’t work for me!". . .)

Your prospect will experience some or all of these emotions during the course of your presentation.

How do you find out which ones he is feeling and when? Through the use of effective probing.

But ultimately, your pitch should flow naturally so as to answer your prospect’s concerns as they are raised in his mind. Then, you can interject periodically with a trial close to make sure your prospect is satisfied.

Remember too, that advertising is merely salesmanship in print. Don’t think for a moment that your ads and sales letters aren’t required to heed this advice simply because no face-to-face presentation takes place.

In fact, advertising has an even tougher job. Sometimes, (and especially on the Internet) your sales letter must do the complete selling job. And that includes handling objections.

You must know your product. But more importantly, you must know your prospect.

Then, and only then, can you use "S.A.F.E. Selling" techniques to make your prospect feel SAFE enough to become your customer.

Tags: Jonathan Hook, affiliate marketing, internet marketing tips, internet marketing, article marketing

9 Steps To Creating Ads That Sell

If you’re like most small business owners, you can’t always afford to hire an advertising agency and sometimes find it necessary to create your own print ads. These nine tips will help you to design ads that get better results and make more money.

1. Start With A Headline That Contains An Important Consumer Benefit,

Or News, Or Promises A Reward For Reading The Ad

The headline is the most important part of any advertisement. David Ogilvy, world-famous copywriter says, "If you haven’t done some selling in your headline, you have wasted 80% of your money."

The headline has four functions:

1. To get attention

2. To select the audience

3. To deliver a complete message

4. To draw the reader into the body copy

Let’s take a look at how headlines perform each of these tasks.

1. Getting Attention: Headlines get attention by appealing to the readers’ self-interest (e.g.. "Give Your Kids a Fighting Chance" – Crest). Or headlines can give the reader news. These often include words such as new, discover, introducing, announcing or now. The most powerful selling word is FREE.

Other attention-getting words are how to, why, sale, quick, easy, guarantee, results, proven and save. Avoid headlines that are cute, clever and titillating but irrelevant. They may get attention but they do not sell.

2. Selecting The Audience: Don’t attempt to be all things to all people. Why target your advertising at anyone but your potential customers? Choose words that select the right audience and screen out others. Life insurance companies do this all the time (e.g.. "To Men and Women Over 65 Who Need Affordable Life Insurance Coverage".)

3. Delivering A Complete Message: Make your entire offer in the headline. Here are some examples:

"Buy One Record or Cassette for $3.99 and Take 10 More Records or Cassettes of Your Choice for 1 Penny" – Columbia House

"Own a Leather-Bound Masterpiece for $4.95 -the Price of a Paperback!" – The Easton Press

Or here’s my personal favourite:

"How to form your own corporation, by phone, totally legal, in any state in the union, in as little as 8 minutes, as low as $45" – The Company Corporation

That’s six consumer benefits, separated by commas packed into one headline. Whew!

4. Drawing The Reader Into The Body Copy: Only a few products – perfumes for example – can be sold with an attractive photo, a powerful headline and a minimum of words. Most items or companies require that the reader be given a lot of information. So the headline must compel the reader to read the whole ad. To do this, arouse her curiosity. Ask a question, make a provocative statement, promise a reward or useful information.

The headline for a facial lotion ad reads:

"The $5 Alternative to Costly Plastic Surgery"

A software ad begins:

"If You’re Confused About Buying a Personal Computer, Here’s Some Help"

2. Use A Picture That Illustrates The Benefit Stated In The Headline

First let me point out that you don’t necessarily have to use a picture. Hundreds of successful ads have used words alone to get their message across. Contrary to popular belief, it is the words – not the pictures – that do most of the selling in an advertisement.

If you do use a picture, try to make it illustrate the benefit stated in the headline. One effective way to do that is by using before-and-after photos. Tide uses them, the before shot showing a muddy T -shirt – the after shot showing the same shirt made brighter and whiter with Tide.

Slim Fast uses them too, first showing a chubby Tommy Lasorda, then a slimmer, happier version.

Another way to use visuals in an ad is to appeal emotionally to the reader. An ad asking for a blood donation shows a close-up face of a sad little girl looking directly at you. The picture works well with the headline, which reads:

"How do you tell a 4-year-old she may never be 5?"

3. Expand The Theme Of The Headline In The Lead Paragraph

The ad for the Easton Press begins, "The finest Moby Dick you can find is the Easton Press leather-bound edition. Now, own this luxurious book (a wonderful value at its regular price of $39.50) for the price of a paperback – only $4.95 – with no further obligation." (Note the interesting choice of the word luxurious to describe a book – meant to convey an image of high quality.)

An ad for the Wall Street Journal has the headline, "How to Succeed in Business…And Investing". The first paragraph begins, "One sure way to succeed in business is to make smarter business decisions. And one of the smartest business decisions you can make right now is to subscribe to the Wall Street Journal."

4. Draw the Reader into the Ad and the Body Copy with a Clean,

Uncluttered Layout

The key to getting an ad read is to make it easy on the eyes. Here’s a brief list of layout dos and don’ts:

Do:

- Use one central visual

- Set the headline in large, bold type

- Set the body copy in clear, readable type

- Use spaces between paragraphs to enhance readability

- Use subheads to help draw the eye through the text

- Keep paragraphs short

- Use simple visuals without too many elements that confuse the reader

Don’t:

- Set headlines and blocks of copy on a slant

- Use tiny type (smaller than eight-point)

- Use long, unbroken chunks of text

- Overuse circles, bursts, arrows and other techniques that call attention to the fact that

the ad is an ad

- Use poorly executed or reproduced artwork or photography

5. Cover All Important Sales Points In Logical Sequence

An effective ad tells an interesting, important story about the company. And, like a novel or short story, the copy should have a beginning, middle, and an end.

Put your most important point in the headline and take the reader from the major benefits to minor features in the body copy. If the sales points are unrelated, you can simply list them using numbers or bullets.

6. Make Sure The Copy Provides Enough Information To Convince The

Greatest Number Of Qualified Prospects To Take The Next Step In The

Buying Process

Perfume ads typically don’t contain a lot of words. Perfume is sold mostly on the mystique of what wearing perfume does to enhance your sex appeal. Mail order ads, however, often have a full page of solid type with no pictures and only subheads to break up the copy. That’s because the ad writer only has a small space to convince you to part with your money now.

What you say in your ad and how much you say depends on what you want the reader to do. Should he call or write for a free brochure? Should he stop by your store for a demonstration? Or should he use the coupon at the bottom of the ad to make an immediate purchase? Think about what the next step in the buying process should be. That will determine the appropriate length of the copy.

7. Make Your Ad Interesting

With apologies to Moses, let me suggest an eleventh commandment: "Thou shalt not bore your readers". People will only read your ad as long as it appeals to them. The style should be crisp, lively and light. The copy should have rhythm and clarity.

But great style won’t save an ad without substance. Here are a few ways you can add interest to your advertisements:

- Speak directly to your reader’s needs and desires

- Tell a story

- Tell about people

- Write in a personal style – warm, helpful and sincere

- Use testimonials

- Offer a free gift, brochure or sample

- Provide useful information or news

- Address major issues – beauty, health, security, education etc.

- Answer important questions your readers have on their minds

Here are some sure-fire ways to make your ads boring:

- Focus the copy about your company, its philosophy, or its success

- Write copy that gives features of your product rather than its benefits to the

consumer

- Tell readers things they already know

- Write all sentences the same length (varying sentence length adds snap to writing)

- Present facts without showing the reader how these facts relate to his needs

8. Make Your Ad Believable

Dishonest advertising can convince people to try a bad product once. But it can’t convince them to buy a product they’ve already tried and didn’t like.

Don’t lie or stretch the truth in your ads. Besides being unethical, it’s unprofitable for you and your company. Be sincere, informative and helpful. It comes across to the reader and they’ll believe what you’ve written.

9. Ask For Action

Your ad should ask the reader to take the next step in the buying process. Keep in mind that including a coupon in your ad boosts response between 25 and 100 percent.

You’ll also increase response if you can offer something free whether it is a sample, a consultation or just information. Other techniques for getting people to act now are to include lines like: "Supplies are limited," "This offer expires April 4," or simply "Act now!"

There you have it. Nine steps to creating more profitable print ads. Follow these steps when you write your next newspaper or magazine ad and watch your sales increase dramatically.

Tags: website optimization, internet marketing tips, article marketing, affiliate marketing, internet marketing