Marketing Trap #59: Failing To Tell The Buyer What To Do

From 99 Marketing Traps and How to Avoid Them*

Assumption is the mother of all aborted sales.

Assuming that the prospect will know what to do at any point in the buying process will, in most cases, assure that the prospect will never graduate to buyer … and you will have lost not only the immediate sale but also the more profitable repeat sales that are waiting to find your bottom line.

That’s a crime … for both the seller and the prospect. If your offer genuinely matches my need, then I want what you have, as soon as you can get it to me.

You should leave no doubt in the prospect’s mind as to how to order. You should leave no doubt that the prospect should order and be glad he did for the rest of his life.

However, whether you’re looking online or in print, you’ll see direct response vehicles that neglect to show you, step by step, how you are supposed to do business with the seller.

It takes only a single doubt to keep you from completing an order you should want to make. Not knowing how to complete the order is more than enough doubt to keep anyone from buying.


How To Help A Brand That Has Fallen Into This Trap:

If you are producing or approving a selling piece – one whose success will be measured in term of direct sales generated – there is an easy and inexpensive way to stay away from this trap.

Go to someone who is not directly involved with the creation of the direct response piece. Offer that person a dollar and ask for thirty seconds of his or her time.

Slide one of the sheets with the text face down to the person and say, “I want you to read this to yourself.” After reading is finished, say, “In your own words, tell me exactly what it wants you to do.”

Write down what they say … verbatim if possible. After five such tests, you’ll know if you have clear ordering directions. If not, you’ll know how to fix them.

*Available now at Amazon.