Step 14- How to Move A Person From Anxiously Eager To Sold On You

Have you ever been there? Looking at the those beautiful shoes, that cool hat, or staring at you in the mirror wearing that luxurious overcoat with exactly the collar you wanted - but, oh! It's so expensive. Remember how you were both excited and anxious at the same time: Is this the right decision? What will my best friend say? Isn't it too much money? It is at this point you need reassurance. The greatest innovation in sales in America was the 30 day money back guarantee. It gave people exactly the exit door they craved. And the marketers, ever focused on the numbers, recognised that at worst barely 5% of people actually took the refund, yet it produced significantly more sales than that. I've used the same concept in dating. It's harder to achieve, and it won't work if it's a scam. Genuinely, honestly works. Scheming and plotting throws off an odour that most woman will pick up in a nano-second. In my case, I work with undoing my attachment to a fixed outcome. It creates space and freedom for the person I am with - within that space a person is able to freely choose the outcome that truly suits them. The guarantee helps to create the same freedom. "OK," you think, "if this is really a silly decision I can always come back and ask for my money back." That feels safe - taking a risk gets easier. Whenever you are selling something - this is not marketing - you have to hold a person's hand and navigate them through their own biological triggers that resist anything that threatens their status quo. This is biological, not psychological. We are hard wired to protect our resources - whether that be time, money or our partner. We protect. We block. We resist change. Any time you are asking a person to give you both their time and money, you have this problem to contend with. No amount of new age proselytising gets around this. You must guide a person over this gulf or you won't have a new student to teach, you won't grow your practise, you won't have a viable, workable business that sustains you and the people you support. Get real and face these facts - and make a plan for it. How To Write Your Sales Letter - Part Five [NOTE: This second half of my blog is a paid area getting more practical about my general comments above with the other teachers and students in my ATSuccess group. You can join anytime to be part of our discussions.] Over the last four posts, starting here, I have been describing the process of creating a sales letter. For those who wonder "What is a sales letter?" I recommend you read my blog post here. It is the engine of your business, and the smartest thing you could ever do to boost your practise. It's the template for everything else you will do.

Your Sales Letter Check List - Part Two You have caught people's attention with your headline, generated their interest and desire for what you are offering, helped them understand how this is different from anything they have done before and convinced them you are credible: this is actually a real possibility for them. Now they will be wondering - what will this cost me? In money of course, but also in time as we offer a service, not a hard product. How can you rationalize that for them? 5. Rationalize Your Time/Service Cost At BodyChance we discovered that it is difficult to sell an ongoing, open service, but this is what many Alexander Technique teachers try to do. How many times have you been asked the question: "How many lessons does this take?" It's because people are worried about the "cost" of their time. Instead of trying to sell people into a open-ended commitment - which we all know is the final reality - we need to package their time commitment into a bite-sized chunk that makes pedagogical and financial sense to both them and you. Alexander sold a time-limited service: he insisted on a lesson every day for 4 weeks (20 lessons) followed by another 10 lessons twice a week (5 weeks) all costing more than a five star summer holiday in Europe! He had celebrity status working for him - when you get to that point in your niche, you can jack up your price to similar levels. Now you are just getting started! That's the first point - make sure your sales letter is selling a time-limited service with specific outcomes promised. Now to the price. When a person has got this far reading your sales letter, you have a hungry customer. Gary Halbert was famous for saying that all he wanted when he opened a hamburger store was a starving crowd. You have found your starving crowd, now you need to rationalize your price. Anchor Your Price To Something More Expensive The first number they see should be outrageously high. For example, in our sales letter on the Yoga Clinic Month at BodyChance, we talk about how much an operation would cost on your back - $10,000. (The government pays most of it - $10,000 is what's left.) To musicians you might ask: if you wanted to study with Pablo Casals back in the day in Paris - what would that have cost? Can you find something credible to compare with your service that is more expensive? I am stretching out the point here - it might be a one line throwaway in your sales letter. Whatever is appropriate for your market. The point is that you want a person's mind to be anchored to a dollar amount that is above the price you finally introduce for your service. 6. Guarantee Your Service I struggled a long time with this one in Japan - the idea of a refund for a service is beyond common sense for most Japanese. It gives off the wrong odour if you offer something that in our field. However, I've heard stories in America of people buying a big screen TV on a Friday before the Super Bowl, then returning it on Monday for a refund. Or buying a dress for an outing, and taking it back next day. In America, people get the idea of a money-back guarantee! However, it is most likely still an innovation in your field - that could be a great reason to offer it. Or a great reason not to - you can test to find out. In Japan we say: "You can leave any time and we will refund that portion of your fee that you did not use." This makes more sense, and feels realistic and safe - which is the atmosphere you want to create. Another concept we explored is delaying the payment - while still collecting the necessary details and permission to charge them - then suggesting they could cancel anytime before we process the payment. This also felt congruent. What kind of creative way can you create a feeling of safety for your prospective student? NEXT: Get Honest About What You Can NOT Do: Show Your Vulnerability