How to not Force A Sale on amazing customers

The Dream

As a business owner, I bet you have done many things to entice your customers. We all dream of hordes of people latching on to our content and buying whatever service or product we have. One simple truth of this however is that you cannot force a sale on your audience, it has to happen organically.

Let’s get into it.

What an organic sale looks like:

So, as I said, you cannot, and should not, force a sale on your audience. Trying to do this will often have the opposite effect on your audience and chase them away instead.

What you should be doing instead is letting your audience think that buying your product or service is their idea, with just a bit of nudging from you. Then you close up with an offer or by restating the strong points and provide them with a way to pay. Make the process user-friendly, fast and especially smart and your audience will convert like crazy.

Let’s start by building out your sales argument.

Take you product or service as an example. What does it do for people? How can it help them?

This is different than “what does my product do” and instead focuses on “what does my product do for my customer”. You can also think of this as Benefits versus Products. You specifically want to focus on Benefits when talking to your audience as this will make sure you are not appearing to force a sale.

Now, come up with at least 5 benefits that your audience will get from what you’re selling.

If I were to use my own copywriting business as an example, it would look like this:

1. Competitive content
2. SEO optimized content
3. Time back to work on what they enjoy
4. Realistically priced work
5. Revision included for maximized customization

 These let the reader know what I do for them and other incentives that other copywriters may not provide.

How to use your benefits to your advantage.

 Now that you know a minimum 5 benefits for your product or service, it’s time to let your audience know that those are.

 Build a piece on content that talks about your benefits in a voice that appeals to your audience. The voice itself is important, and I will get back to that.

 You should try and tie-in strong emotions to each of your benefits, the ones that will hit home and encourage your audience to want to buy-in. For example, an insurance agent sells you an assured feeling of safety, not insurance.

 Once you have each benefit associated with an emotion, start to write out your copy. As you go through each benefit, make sure to include the emotional tie and really prove to your reader why this benefit is important to them. You should be making a strong emotional appeal at this point and transitioning between each benefit in a way that makes sense and keeps the reader engaged.

 A strong piece of copy is one that can not only make the audience feel, but also make them act.

Your voice can help entice the reader.

 The way in which you talk can have a massive effect on your reader.

 For instance, if I was to write a sales email to a group of college graduates, I would sound distinct, informed and as though I had a secret they had never learned.

 If I had to write a flyer for plumbers specifically from Wyoming, I would reference local happenings and people that make the reader feel as though I am one of them.

 That last portion is incredibly important. Always present like your audience, but with something to give. A famous phrase is “People buy from who they know, like and trust.” In order to not force a sale, a very good position to be in is the one, or to be perceived as in the one, of your target audience. This allows you to speak on common ground and move the unfamiliarity out of the equation.

So how do I know how to talk to my audience?

 That is a good question and one that requires some research.

 You have to know the average person using your service, or buying your product. Do you know anywhere that your audience normally talks to each other about your product, such as forums, social media or even in person? How do they talk about it, and what comes up commonly?

 These sorts of things, along with actual user/buyer statistics will give you a HUGE amount of information to throw into your copy. Now, you can address the actual person you’re talking to in all but their name (unless you have a way to throw their name in. This gets bonus points).

 Once you can talk directly to a person’s wants and in a voice that doesn’t scare them off or force a sale, you’re getting close to a gold mine.

Making the reader think it was all their idea.

 This is part of the magic of good copywriting.

 Your copy needs to push just enough to get the sale going, but it should not try to force a sale. It should instead come from the reader.

 We’ve talked about building a strong argument and how to apply emotions to your benefits, but how do you get the final push to close the sale?

 Proof.

 Once you have appeased the emotional side of your reader’s mind, you need to get that final bit of justification. Answer the question in their heads of “why shouldn’t I buy this” with the hard proof about your product/service or company.

 Have you been in business for 20 years? Do you have a large list of happy customers that leave reviews and testimonials? What about those rewards you received?

 This is all proof that you can show to you audience that will not only appeal to their emotional side, but also to their logical side. If you can convince both aspects, then you will have your reader’s signing checks incredibly quickly. Just appealing to the emotional side with entice impulse buyers, but exclude those who need stronger push.

Why trying not to force a sale is a good idea.

 So now that we’ve talked about how to organically move sale, I think I should tell you why this is important.

 You shouldn’t force a sale on your audience for two reasons:

1. They are less likely to convert, and you’ll waste your time
2. It could hurt your reputation and lead to ruin.

 When you set out to engage with your audience and move their wallet, you need to know that the time and money you put in will have a result. This is a basic of business. If you content however is only proving to move your audience away, you not only aren’t making money, you could be damaging your chances of future money.

 You could even go so far as to hurt your company’s overall appearance and get negative reviews/press. This of course is to be avoided at all costs. Negativity from customers and readers can spell death for young businesses, and have even taken down large companies.

 To avoid all of this, don’t force a sale. Just let it happen organically and weave your readers through your sales argument.

The steps to not force a sale on your readers

Here is a review of everything above:

• Build a list of benefits, then pair them with strong emotions
• Define how your audience speaks and who they are as a person
• Find your proof that appeals to your audience’s logic
• Write a piece that weaves all of that together
• End on a strong call-to-action that puts the pieces together.

 All of this should come together to lead your reader all the way to your goal, and not force a sale on them that will hurt your chances.

Support and Continued Reading 

Now, if you feel like you may have come in to the wrong class, then I suggest you go here: Why Your Business Needs Strong Copywriting. This will teach you everything you need to know about the basics of copywriting and what it can do for you.

 If this article has brought up some questions, I would love to answer them! Either set up a meeting time with me here: https://calendly.com/zackscopywriting/1-on-1-business-chat, or comment down below.

 

Have a great day!