All of us are familiar with the "Golden Rule" - Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Good advice written toward the positive.

Interestingly enough, not all "Big Three" faiths articulate the Golden Rule the same way. The Rule as stated above is the generic Christian statement. Judaism takes a different spin - "What is hateful to you, do not do to others."

Perhaps not as grand or sweeping in scope, but perhaps easier in execution with its specific, real world approach and acceptance of the human condition. You know what you hate, don’t do it to anyone else. I can think of 5 things off the top of my head I hate and would hate having done to me. It would take me a lot longer to conjure up 5 "positives" I’d like done unto me. (Hey, keep it clean. This is a family-friendly blog :=)

So what has this to do with "sealing the deal" in your next DM promotion? Well, just about everything …

Remove the obstacles to the behavior you’re looking to influence.

When you’re writing a DM promotion, you’re looking for the prospect to accept your promise and premise. You’ll spend, and rightfully so, most of your time crafting benefit-rich, emotionally-resonant heads, subheads, bullets and body copy to reach deep into your prospect’s psyche toward a happy conclusion, be it a click, a call, or card in the mail.

So you bring your prospect to the brink and then, and then … nothing. So what happened?

Most the time you haven’t done anything wrong. Even the most perfect of prospect lists won’t produce a 100%, 50%, 25% or even 10% response. Like the bell curve example you learned about in high school, at one end you have the early adopters, just tell them the what, where, and how much and they’ll buy. On the opposite end you have the naysayers, they’ll never buy anything from nobody ever.

So what you’re left with are the variations on a theme between the two extremes. These are the fence-sitters. These are the folks you’ll have to convince and motivate off the fence toward a positive response. You do this by not making them move too fast or feel like their making more of a commitment than they’re ready for.

So don’t make fence-sitters say "Yes" to your offer. Instead, get them to "Sure, why not."

Free-trials (the best offer in all the world), samples, bonuses, and money-back guarantees make it easier to nudge that wary customer over to your side. Add an "we’ll even pick up the tab on your return postage if you’re not delighted with WIDGET" and you’re golden.

Typical obstacles: price too high … price too low … what if I don’t
like it … what if it breaks … what if I like it today but not next
week … I never heard of your company  … etc.

Make a list of all the possible challenges/obstacles to accepting your offer - and then write a meaningful response to each one. Thread this through your sales copy. Close strong with a recap.

To use my favorite baseball analogy, don’t shoot for the homeruns,
though they’re great when they happen. Instead, strive to always get on
base. Be ruthless as you go through your copy. I keep a running dialog
in my head with the prospect. When I hear the voice say, "Yeah, but
what if …" that’s an obstacle that’s needs eliminating.

Maven’s Maxim
Nullify your prospect’s natural skepticism and inertia with meaningful offer sweeteners. Remember, you’re shooting for "Sure, why not." rather than a unequivocal "YES!" Both will get you a response, the former just makes it easier to get there.

• Enjoyed this post?
  Get free updates by email or RSS
  
• Enjoy this blog? Please add Copywriting
  Maven to your Technorati favorites