Guarantees That Knock Customers Off The Fence
Put yourself in your client’s shoes. No strike that.
Put yourself in your prospect’s shoes a prospect being someone you’ve never marketed sold to or married before.
She doesn’t know you; she doesn’t trust you and she couldn’t care less if you drop dead tomorrow.
But through deft marketingyou’ve captured her attention! Her eyeballs are yours!
And she believes as she scans your sales copy that you just might be selling something she wants. No strike that.
She immediately realizes via a great headline and lead that you’re selling exactly what she wantsor something she thinks she wants same difference.
Let’s say it’s a book a cream a doctor or a pill that’ll help her lose weight.
Now if you’ve ever tried to sell weight loss products you know how sisyphusian a task that can be. Weight loss products are a wasteland of failed talismans potions and quackery despite “A”quality copy offers and celebrity endorsements.
Why? Because…
There’s only one way to really lose weightand keep it off
And if you think it’s through exercise or diet or bothyou’re half right.
The only way to lose the blubber is through the 3D’s otherwise known as determination dedication and downright doggednessanything else is just lowfat salad dressing.
But I digress.
So your prospect let’s call her Julie is hesitant to order your product because… well there could be lots of reasons. For example:
- You didn’t provide compelling proof or credibility to back up your claims
- Your sales copy loses steam in the middle and runs off on different tangents
- You didn’t mine and exhaust the list of deepdown benefits your product provides or you didn’t fully dimensionalize them
- Your sales copy from beginning to end doesn’t lead Julie inescapably to the “Order Now” button
- Your website/brochure/sales letter looks like it was created by a designer who wants to be and artist and win awardsnot make sales
- You have no testimonials or endorsements
- You don’t clearly and unequivocally ask for the order nor do you mention the terrible consequences of not ordering
- There’s not enough personalization and “you speak” in your copy when Julie reads your ad/sales letter she has to feel as if you’re talking to her not a faceless festering blob of cellulite
There’s more of course; the list goes on and on….
But let’s say you’ve provided all of the above and more. Yet Julie still won’t show you the moneyeven though you’ve absolutely persuaded her that your blubber pulverizer works.
Why might she still be hesitant?
Well she’s fallen for other blubber blasters before too many in factand still can’t zip up her pants.
And in these scary economic timesshe can’t risk of losing more money on more blubbery promisesregardless of how much her hips thighs and seat swell.
Allay her fearsremove all the risk
Offer Julie what I call a “gifted guarantee”.
I know very few of us value or trust guarantees anymorethey’ve lost their marketing effectiveness due primarily to thoughtless copycat construction.
Like so many newspaper ads they’re a blur of meaningless unconvincing verbiage.
Others are way over the top…
“Lose 50 pounds in one week! Erase all stretch marks in 3 days! And have the movie studios calling you by tomorrow nightor your money back!
Such a guarantee is patently stupidand would convince only the equally stupid.
And yet even though Julie doesn’t believe or trust your guaranteesshe still wants you to offer her one.
A guarantee is like a presidential election promise. Everyone wants to hear and applaud how Obama and McCain are going to lower taxes grow the economy and keep America strong domestically and globally.
Yet everyone knows whoever becomes our next president it’ll be business as usual on Pennsylvania Avenue come Januaryand nothing will change.
So even though Julie is distrustful cynical and maybe even scaredshe still wants to believe you can help her.
She wants you to tell her everything will be all right and she won’t be taken to the cleaners again and have the waist on her skirts and pants taken out.
So how do you craft a guarantee that combines the eloquence and hope of Obama with the honest and straightshooting nononsense approach of McCain?
How indeed do you overcome that last hurdle between you and Julie’s money?
Crafting an unusually effective and convincing guarantee
The fist thing you want to avoid is to make your guarantee read like everybody else’s.
If your guarantee sounds obligatory perfunctory and commonplace e.g. “Your money back if not 100 satisfied” not only will Julie’s jaded eyes ignore or miss itshe’ll completely discount it. That is to say she’ll not be in the least bit persuaded by it.
So rather than write a guarantee that reads like a limp handshakepower it up. Explain it and sell it!
Explain why you’re offering it why it’s worth more than the paper it’s written onand why there’s no reason to doubt it.
Your guarantee is part of your offermake it attractive and absolutely believable. Make it part of the running text and a few paragraphs long.
But remember if it sounds too good to be trueyou’ll lose the sale.
And by all meansbe imaginative. If your guarantee is distinctive enoughit might even become your USP unique selling proposition.
Domino’s Pizza…
…Built an empire base on their guarantee: Delivered in 30 minutes or it’s free.
Do the same thing with your guarantee! Think outside the pizza box. But never make a promise you can’t keep.
Instead of offering a typical and boring 30day guaranteemake it a 6month or 1year guarantee.
Tests actually prove the longer the guarantee the less the returns.
Why? Because when Julie realizes she’s got only 30days to ask for her money backshe’ll remember that you can bet on it.
But tell her she’s got a yearshe’ll fuhgedaboutit!
And while you’re at it if you’ve got a truly killer cannotfail productwhy not offer a doubleyourmoney back guarantee!
Sure you’ll attract a number of lowlife’s trying to score some “free usage”but they’ll be nothing compared to the increased traffic and orders you’ll receive when your offer/guarantee goes viral.
And whatever you do at the very leastmake your guarantee bigger better and bolder than your competition’s…
And then… lo and behold… guaranteed success!
Barry
Barry A. Densa is one of Americas top freelance direct response copywriters. Visit www.WritingWithPersonality.com and see how easily and quickly Barry converts prospects into buyers using salesmanship in print. And while there sign up for his highly regarded FREE ezine: Marketing Wit Wisdom!
About the writer: Barry Densa is a freelance direct response copywriter who often injects a wry sense of humor into his powerfully motivating copy. Subscribe to his popular free ezine “Marketing Wit Wisdom” when you visit his website at www.WritingWithPersonality.com where you’ll see how Barry persuades readers to buy inquire or subscribe using “salesmanship in print”.
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