10 Shortcut Secrets to Closing the Sale in Print

by Scott Bywater

Published on this site: September 12th, 2006 - See more articles from this month

Ask any salesperson the hardest part of making a sale and they'll tell you that it's closing the sale and gaining a commitment from your customer.

And in a sales letter or advertisement, it's even more important you get it right? Why? Because it's so easy for your reader to forget about you. All they need to do is put your marketing piece aside... and you're a dead dog.

And that's why, over the last few weeks, between 6 and 7 am I've been rewriting some of the world's best closes in my own handwriting.

I've written virtually dozens of closes, trying to find the common bond between each of them.

It's been an insightful exercise. And now you can use all the hours of my hard work to construct your own.

Here are the 10 'closing steps' you should consider factoring into any sales letter or advertisement:

1. Reinforce the fact the customer is special. And this is a special offer especially for them.
   
   
2. Advise your prospect what they have to do: call and give you their credit cards, post a cheque, etc.
   
   
3. An apples to oranges comparison (this involves comparing your service to something different in order to reinforce what a great deal it is. For example, if you're selling an ebook on fitness for $37, don't compare it to other ebooks on the market. Compare the price to a personal trainer who charges $50 an hour (or $1000 a year). That makes the ebook sound like one heck of a deal.
   
   
4. Tell your prospect they are getting a bargain.
   
   
5. Guarantee your offer
   
   
6. Explain why you are giving your prospect such a great deal (people are skeptical if it sounds too good to be true, so make sure you explain why!)
   
   
7. Allow the customer to picture themselves enjoying the benefits
   
   
8. Reinforce the urgency: (most people will put off making a decision if they can. So make sure you reinforce the offer is available for a limited time. And tell people exactly why it's limited
   
   
9. Social Proof: Show how other people are enjoying the benefits / respect what your product has to offer
   
   
10. Take Away: Mention who the offer is not for (usually disqualifying the people who the offer is not for) Why do we do this? Quite simply, because nobody wants to do business with someone who is desperate, therefore disqualifying who the offer is not for is a powerful process.

Is that a powerful little closing system or what? I have never seen anyone else break it down quite like this, so what you've just read is information you're probably not going to find anywhere else.

So print it out. Put it in your copywriting file under closing. And the next time you need to 'close a sale' in print... use this as your secret weapon.

Scott Bywater - is a professional direct mail and direct response copywriter, and the author of Cash Flow Advertising. To get a complimentary copy of his special report '7 Ways to Increase Your Turnover... No Matter What the State of the Economy' (valued at $29.95) simply visit his web site at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au