There is one question your prospects are asking themselves as they evaluate your product or service.
They may not ask this question consciously. But it’s ever present at the back of their mind. And without a good answer, you’ll have a difficult time making the sale.
The question is…
“Why should I do business with you as opposed to any and all of the alternatives that are available to me… including doing nothing?”
Your answer to this question is your Unique Selling Proposition, or USP. It’s the ultimate “reason why” your ideal prospect should do business with you.
If asked to do something, every one of us on the planet wants to know WHY. This desire is so strong, military recruits must endure months of training before they’re conditioned to act first and ask questions later.
But as a business owner, you must persuade your prospect to buy… not order him. And in order to more effectively persuade you need a good solid “reason why” he should open up his wallet right now and buy.
Ask yourself these questions…
- “Why me?”
- “Why my business?”
- “Why my product or service?”
- “Why buy?”
- “Why at this price?”
- “Why now?”
If you can persuasively and subtly address all of these questions in your sales letter or marketing piece, your prospect will have all the information he needs to make a buying decision… which means you’ll certainly make more sales.
Aaron
P.S. Be sure to download my FREE guidebook on “Covert Written Persuasion”.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
“Why buy” clearly gets answered before the wallet gets open…I couldn’t agree more! The first step in communication, however, is getting the audience’s attention. the second step is the establish rapport and credibility. Only if you achieve these two steps do you get a chance to persuade. I wish I was a good enough writer to get attention, establish rapport and persuade all in a single letter. This is why I declare success with each an every response I get.
Bill Freedman’s last blog post..Open Source Products I Use for Fun and Profit
Thanks for the comment, Bill… And I agree–I’ve written previous posts on those very topics and likely will again.
Excellent post, Joshua… and I’m glad you pointed out that “doing nothing” is also an option many people choose to exercise.
That’s because people often prefer to put off doing things, which includes making a purchase decision.
Working in direct sales, we used what many would consider pretty “hard sell” closing techniques… but the philosophy was, if we didn’t get the order on the day, the prospect would talk themselves out of the purchase. “Doing nothing” was an easier choice than having to actually commit to something.
What I found (and I apply now to my copywriting) is that if I DIDN’T answer ALL of the questions you listed, then almost certainly I wouldn’t get the sale.
So if someone isn’t getting the sales they want, your list should absolutely be treated as a checklist of what really MUST be answered in their copy.
Paul Hancox
.-= Paul, copysnips.com´s last blog ..Short Copy – How To Sell In 50 Words Or Less =-.