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Have you seen the movie "The
Godfather"?
It's a brilliant movie, filled with
great scenes, great lines, and great characters. One of the most
memorable pieces of dialogue is spoken by Don Corleone after
he's asked how he will convince someone to do
something that person would prefer not to do. The Godfather
replies,
“I’m going to make him an offer he
can’t refuse."
Essentially, the old man is saying,
"He better buy what I'm selling… or he's dead meat." I gotta
admit, this approach is a little extreme and probably not
something you want to try in your business, but it is a perfect
example of an irresistible offer!
An irresistible offer is an "invitation" that is so clearly
compelling, so powerful, and so obviously attractive that no one
in his/her mind could refuse. That's the kind of offer you want
to make, too.
Personally, I like to create the
offer FIRST before I put my fingers on the keyboard or write a
single word of copy. The initial idea for an offer may come
quickly, but I may spend days just thinking about it,
brainstorming it, framing it and re-framing it, and playing
around with different combination of offers.
Once you've got a handle on your
irresistible offer, the rest comes easy…
If your offer is “hot,” your sales
copy will practically write itself and it will easily bring an
avalanche of sales. If your offer is weak, no magic “phrases and
words” are going to save you.
That’s how important a well-thought
out, well-articulated offer is! So the million-dollar question
is: how can you make
your offers amazingly seductive?
Here’re some "Whip Up An Immediate
Buying Frenzy" tips that I’ve learned over the years…
Whip It Up #1
–
Don't Be A Victim of "Human Nature"
–
Get Readers to Act NOW
 It’s
human nature to procrastinate. People need that extra
“nudge." If your prospect doesn’t take action the
instant he/she is finished reading your ad copy, there’s
a fat chance you’ll lose your prospect's enthusiasm,
interest, and ultimately the sale.
You can achieve immediate action by
either having a deadline or a limited quantity or preferably
both!
Below is a good example from
http://www.wizardtalk.com
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = =
Urgent! Time Sensitive Message…
It’ll cost you nothing to get
started. Plus, if you’re not satisfied… for any reason or no
reason at all… you’ll pay nothing ever
–
guaranteed! (Please read this entire message right away because,
this offer is extremely limited and may expire for good on
DATE!)”
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
You can't afford to let your prospect “think about it.”
You don’t want them to wait till tomorrow, till the day after,
or even one extra minute because they might get distracted or
change their minds. You want them to whip out their plastics and
order NOW!!!
 Here's
a mathematical formula you need to know:
Delay = Lost Sales.
And here's the flipside:
Fast Action = Big Money.
State all the specific benefits they’ll get from taking
action now… Remind them what they will 'lose' or miss out by not
responding… Have a clearly defined time limit… Do everything you
possibly can do get them to ACT now!
You can also make your prospects stand-up and take
action now by making your bonuses a limited time offer… This
means if prospects order by a certain date, they’ll get a
bouquet of bonus stuff.
Which leads to the next trick…
Whip It Up #2 -
Overload Your Prospects With Bonuses
If you really want to give
your readers and hot-foot and send them running to place an
order, beef up your offer with high-perceived-value bonuses…
How valuable should the
bonus be? Your prospect should feel that he/she will be rewarded
with 2, 5, 10, or 20 times the value of the cost of the main
item.
I was watching TV the other
night and was absolutely glued to the information that was on…
Okay, stop laughing. For
your information, I like to watch infomercials MUCH more than
regular shows… they’re just awesome…and the learning opportunity
is unbelievable. (And I've even scored a few great products
through the years, too!)
Anyway, I was watching the
Ronco Six Star Cutlery infomercial… And Ron Popeil, the father
of all pitchmen -- Pocket Fisherman, is a personal favorite --
was pitching his Showtime knife set (carefully, of course, so as
not to cut anyone!)…
Pitchmaster Ron was talking
about how you can get the Showtime knife for only 3 easy
payments of $13.33… (I said to myself… that’s a little pricey,
but I know there's a ton more goodies coming, so I waited… Okay
Ron, show me what you got!)
And then, of course, Ron
said, “But wait, there’s more!”
Ron promised: "You’ll also
get the Carving knife… you’ll get the Large Filet knife… you’ll
get the Bread and Bagel knife… you’ll get the Bread and Bagel
knife… you’ll get the Chef's knife… you’ll get the saw knife…
you’ll the boning knife… you’ll get the sportsman’s knife…
you’ll get the chop n’ server knife… all for only for only 3
easy payments of $13.33!"
(You feel the urge the pick
up the phone and just dial the number yourself, don't you?)
But wait, there’s EVEN
MORE! That Ron Popeil is a "black belt" in the "Bonus Arts"!
"You’ll also get the Cheese
knife…." says Ron. "You’ll get the cleaver… you’ll the carving
fork… you’ll get the utility knife… you’ll get the paring knife…
you’ll get the garnishing knife… you’ll get the poultry sheers
plus you’ll GET 8 friggin’ steak knives… ALL FOR ONLY 3 easy
payments of $13.33!!!
"Good heavens, haven't you
picked up the phone yet? You must hurry up because there’s only
2 minutes left… 1:59… 1:58… 1:57… 1:56… hurry up, time is
running out, so start dialing and order NOW."
Well, I am teasing you a
bit… this isn't exactly Ron's pitch… But you get the idea,
right?
A Bonus on Bonuses:
whenever you add bonuses to your offer… you must work just as
hard selling the bonuses as you do selling your product or
service!
We talked earlier about the
best bonuses having a high perceived-value. That doesn't happen
by magic. You must
build the value in the mind of your prospects… tell them the
worth -- financial (tangible) and
emotional -- of EACH bonus item and what’s special about
them individually and collectively…
Back to Ron and his
Showtime knife...
After he's described in the
bonuses in extensive and colorful detail, now Ron has got an
amazing offer to share. He's not just selling a bunch of knives
for $42 bucks. No way! He's offering you a $852.75 value for
only 3 easy payments of $13.33.
By factoring in the
enormous combined value of the bonuses, Ron makes it seem as
though you're getting the original product for free… and then
some!
 And here's the beauty part:
you can pretty much set the value at any reasonable level you
like. What you paid for the bonus doesn't matter…
What matters is the worth
of the bonus to the consumer. So can you see how much more
“convincing” your offer becomes when you assign a specific value
to your bonuses?
Whip It Up #3
–
Make Your Offer As Risk-Free As Possible
"Doubting Thomas" is a
Biblical figure… the Apostle who would not believe the
resurrection of Jesus until he saw Jesus with his own eyes. But
"Doubting Thomas" is also with us today, thousands of years
later, alive and well and living in the hearts of consumers,
both male and female.
Today,
everyone is a Doubting Thomas or Thomasina. Based on centuries
of past experience, your prospects are very skeptical of sales
offers. They don't trust the offer and they don't trust you.
They’ve been burned too many times before. They’re afraid of
making a bad decision.
Most importantly, they’re
afraid of making a mistake. Very often, the fear of making a
mistake is exactly is what prevents people from buying. So
acknowledge that fear… face it head on… and then blow it out of
the water by taking the risk off the shoulders of your prospect.
If you can turn the risk of
loss from your prospects to yourself -- if you can say to
consumers, "I'm the loser if you don't like what you ordered
because I'll refund every penny you paid" -- you'll both end up
winners.
Lots of offers have a
"money back guarantee" and that takes away some of the risk.
But, if you really want to explode a consumer's doubt, make your
offer better than risk-free.
Here are two risk-removing
offers. Which one gets your vote… in dollars?
30-Day Money-Back
Guarantee. “Every one of our Widget Executive Pen and Pencil
Sets comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you don't find
that you're writing better, writing faster, and writing neater
with your Widget… if you are not completely satisfied with your
purchase for any reason… simply return it within 30 days for a
full refund of the purchase price.”
Lifetime Guarantee.
“Every one of our Widget Executive Pen and Pencil Sets comes
with a lifetime guarantee on the mechanics. Should your pen or
pencil ever develop mechanical problems simply return it and
we'll replace it with a new one. You have nothing to lose so
order now...”
That lifetime guarantee is
pretty powerful stuff isn’t it? Let's you envision yourself
writing away happily for the rest of your days on earth.
Kinda makes you feel “safe”
to order now, doesn’t it? So there you have it, the "easy as
1-2-3" ways to create an amazingly seductive offer no one person
can refuse! They'll be calling you the Svengali of the Market in
no time!
Remember though… use your
powers for good! |
