By David Garfinkel
© 2002 David Garfinkel
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You know what happens before a client pulls out their wallet
or checkbook? They hear a little voice in their head
asking, "What if something goes wrong?"
It doesn't matter whether that prospect is just about to buy
a cheap paperback novel or a million-dollar yacht - the
question is always the same. But the impact of the question
will be different, depending these three factors:
· Factor #1: How much money is involved.
· Factor #2: How important the purchase is.
· Factor #3: How many other people will be affected.
The greater these factors are, the more troubling the
question "What if something goes wrong?" will be inside the
mind of your prospective client.
Wow - that really puts you - as a direct marketer - in a
corner, doesn't it? Like the corner at the intersection of
Nervous Customers Avenue and Stalled Sales Boulevard. But
I'll show you a way to get things moving again - a number of
ways, in fact.
Start with this proven balm to calm your prospects' jumpy
nerves:
· Provide more reassurance to your prospects.
It's human nature that your prospects are worried,
especially if they're buying by mail, phone or over the
Internet. They need reassurance that what they're doing is
not risky. Of course you know this, but, have you ever
thought what would happen if you increased the level of
reassurance you offer your customers?
I'll tell you what would happen. Sales would increase at
the same time.
So it might be worth considering. But how do you increase
the level of reassurance you offer your customers?
Two of the easiest ways to do this right away are to
strengthen and lengthen your guarantee. Here are the
details:
· Make your guarantee stronger.
Just as with headlines, guarantees aren't nearly as powerful
in attracting additional customers when the guarantee is
stated in a merely factual and logical fashion.
Of course, a factual, logical and explicitly stated
guarantee will be more effective in promoting sales than no
guarantee at all, or a guarantee that is merely mentioned
but not described.
However, a guarantee that is both clearly explained and
vividly dramatized is simply the best of all. Here are two
examples for a hypothetical product, the Soothie-Lounger
Massage Chair, to show you the difference between the two
ways of stating a guarantee.
· Example 1:
"The Soothie-Lounger Massage Chair is fully guaranteed for
one year. If you are not satisfied for any reason, let us
know and we will arrange for return shipping and refund your
entire purchase price."
Factual, logical, descriptive - that's good. But compare it
to the following:
· Example 2:
"The Soothie-Lounger Massage Chair is fully guaranteed for
one year. Use it at the end of a rough day to gently
massage away your tensions. Turn watching TV into a
relaxing stress-reduction session. Take a nap in the
Soothie-Lounger and wake up refreshed like never before.
"Try the Soothie-Lounger for a full year. If for any reason
you are not fully satisfied, all you have to do is give us a
call toll-free and we'll take care of the rest for you.
We'll even arrange for return shipping as well as refund
your entire purchase price. That's your no-hassle,
unconditional one-year money-back guarantee."
See the difference? By dramatizing the guarantee, it
becomes more memorable and more compelling. In short,
stronger.
Action: First, make sure you've explained your guarantee
clearly and completely in a factual way that's easy to
understand. Then, dramatize the guarantee by suggesting
uses of your product the customer can measure through
experience to determine their personal satisfaction with,
and/or the performance of, the product.
· Make your guarantee longer.
A friend of mine sells unique, very powerful specialized
business information by mail order, and he offers a lifetime
guarantee. His product is a good value for the money, and
his customer service is first-rate. He's sold over 2
million products and he says he can practically count the
returns on one hand. He also says experience has shown over
and over that the longer the guarantee, the fewer the
returns.
Will this work in your business? Probably. Better
guarantees typically increase response rates. The
percentage of total orders returned usually either stays the
same or in some cases actually declines. If you were
selling 100 units for every mailing before and getting 5
returns, you might sell 200 units with a greatly improved
guarantee and get perhaps 10 returns, or less, for the same
size mailing.
What you should focus on is not doubling the returns. Those
returns were going to happen sooner or later anyway. What
you should focus on is getting twice as many sales for the
same mailing cost - and getting more than twice the profits,
since your fixed mailing cost stayed the same.
Action: Test a longer guarantee on a portion of your
promotion, and track returns. The odds are very good that
returns will stay even on a percentage basis. They may
actually decrease.
To sum up: As an entrepreneur, you might believe that the
last thing you should be worried about is the fear your
customers feel right before they buy. But, in fact, taking
the time and making the effort to calm that fear - before it
can ever become a problem - is one of the smartest business
moves you can make.
Why? Because as people grow to trust you and feel more
comfortable about you, they will buy more from you, refer
more of their friends to you, and even involve you in
opportunities you probably never imagined could happen. And
it all starts with the reassuring manner in the words you
use and the actions you take.
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David Garfinkel & Jim Edwards are co-authors of the NEW
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