How To Get Immediate Response to Your Sales Pitch

How To Get Immediate Response to Your Sales Pitch

Simply because your prospects are convinced that your product is
the best thing since slice bread, doesn't mean that they'll buy
right away.

In fact, most people will want to think about it for a little
while. There is that little voice in all of us that resists
being sold. We think that if we caved in to that salesman then
we aren't really strong. We feel almost like a sucker to fall
for his pitch.

This adage is a meaningful one: 'People love to buy but hate to
be sold'.

Even after we've bought that item that we must have, there is
still some mental dissonance (referred to as 'buyers remorse')
that torments us. This is one of the major reasons for refund
requests.

So you have to provide as much urgency and incentives as possible
for your prospect to make that purchase right away. Here are
seven of the most effective strategies to push them over the
decisional edge.

1. Make a Limited Offer

This is probably one of the more popular strategies to get people
to buy now. Don't let its popularity of use fool you though.
Once you can show that your offer is limited in availability then
the perceived value instantly quadruples. Limited quantity
offers work much better than limited time offers because you
don't know when the items will run out.

2. Offer Bonuses

This is another popular tool used to get buying decisions. The
bonuses should be related and complimentary to the main product.
This increases the value of your primary product and makes the
price appear much less for the value the customer gets. You
should try and avoid offering rebates or discounts if you can;
offer a bonus instead.

3. Give a deadline

If you give a deadline by which the offer will close or the price
will be raised, then this will build real urgency and increased
sales. You should make sure that the deadline is kept, or if
you extend the offer you should give a reason why you did this.
There are many websites that use a script that continually
changes the deadline. But this method can really backfire as you
can lose credibility with your customers. When customers buy
right away only to see the same price after the deadline is gone,
they feel cheated and tricked.

4. Offer a 'surprise bonus'

We've already said that bonuses are great decision helpers.
Well, the 'mystery gift' or the 'surprise bonus' also increases
sales because of the suspense element injected by this unknown.
There are many people who will buy just to find out what the
surprise gift it. This reminds me of the Cracker Jack boxes of
candied popcorn I'll buy as a child just to get the surprise gift
inside. It still works, even with adults.

5. Reward for fast responders and penalty for slow responders

As a teenager I'll attend summer youth camps that I'll have to
register for a few months in advance. All the forms came with a
deadline after which you'll have to pay a higher price. I
always tried to register early so that I'll get the lower price.
This sure defeated the procrastination bug in me.

A slight variation to this is the sales of tickets for an event
that will carry a higher price if you chose to pay at the door.
This encourages ticket sales because those who bought the ticket
are assured of a lower price.

6. Games of chance.

You've may have seen this strategy in selling magazine
subscriptions. You are pitched on subscribing for a chance to
win a Caribbean vacation or a digital camera. The only way you
can win will be to get an entrance by making the purchase. It's
a gimmick that works very well for Publisher's Clearing House.
There are many other companies that use this method as a lead
generation tool as well.

7. Make it easy to respond.

This may be the least obvious strategy of all but it's often
overlooked. Do you want your prospect to call? Then offer a
phone number in big bold type. Should they fill out a form then
make the form simple to fill out. You can even pre-fill the
options to make this a multiple choice type survey sheet. Do you
want them to click on a link and fill in their credit card
information? Then tell them so. Even though it may be obvious
to you this doesn't mean that it will be obvious to your
prospects.

If you give your potential customers too many hoops to jump
through then they'll more than likely abandon the sale. There
are many big company websites that take you through multiple
steps just to give them your money. These are the same companies
that complain of abandoned shopping carts.

So provide easy and multiple ways of ordering-phone, fax, credit
card, money order, online merchant and whatever is practical for
you.

I've read many websites where the copywriters seem to almost
apologize for asking for the order. There is zero incentive for
me to order now. It's as if they are saying, "Now that you've
read this, you can go away and think about it. Then come back
and make your order." Don't bring me to the top of the
decisional mountain and then allow me to slide right back down
the other side-a lost soul. … I mean a lost sale.

After getting me excited about your product or service then sell
me (I mean let me buy) and encourage me to feel really good
about it.

Make me feel lucky that I got in on that great deal.

The best deal since the invention of slice bread!