You know that feeling when you run a promotional offer… You do all the groundwork to make sure you can handle being inundated. You’ve even written a “Sorry, our website has crashed” message. You publish your big offer and…nothing. The take-up is more like a trickle than a torrent. So what makes the difference between a good offer and an offer people go out of their mind for?
The YES line
I’ve recently heard Derek Halpern (of Social Triggers) talk about the YES line. The YES line is the invisible line people must cross to make a purchase. The tipping point of trust plus value. When your audience trusts you and wants what you’re selling, they are already over that YES line when you present an offer. But that won’t be everyone. A big chunk of your audience will be hovering back from the YES line and will need some enticement to cross. That’s when promotional offers can be incredibly effective.
Types of offers
There are two general types of offers: conditional offers and unconditional offers. Unconditional offers are given freely – no strings attached. Many businesses get a little jumpy about the idea of giving something away (like, totally free?!) but it’s a smart way to build trust and bring in new business.
Examples: free sample or trial, free demonstration, free consultation, free quote, free download (no email address).
Conditional offers have strings attached. They don’t have to be strings like handing over your first born, but you have to do something (like make a purchase or hand over your email address) before you get the goods.
Examples: discounts, payment options, gifts with purchase, buy one get one free, buy now pay later, download (for email address), loyalty/VIP programs, contests.
What makes an offer compelling?
Compelling offers are more than a simple exchange. Compelling offers make it almost impossible to say no. Compelling offers stop someone in their tracks and turn “I might do something about that” into “I’d better do something NOW!”
#1 Offer something people want
The first hurdle in crafting an offer is to make sure there is value in the exchange being made. That means offering something people actually want. It’s a fairly low hurdle if you spend time listening to your customers and your followers.
#2 Consider the objections
The next step is to brainstorm any objections someone might have to saying YES and build counters into your offer.
Perhaps they don’t want to go on your database.
Perhaps the price is too high.
Perhaps they’ll regret the decision.
#3 Be generous
This is the hurdle that many businesses fall over on. The key is generosity. Irresistible offers are so generous that objections simply disappear. Your customers can’t think of a single reason why they wouldn’t say YES. I recently signed up to the Copyblogger Authority program. I was hovering around the YES line for a while now but I wasn’t crossing it. Then they offered a discount on the yearly membership. Which is great. But they’ve done that before and I didn’t bite. This time they made it a lifetime discount. So every year I renew, I get the discount. For. Ever.They also offered a 30-day, if you’re not bowled over we’ll cheerfully refund your money, refund policy. That was enough to push me over the line. With a generous offer they went from getting no money from me to getting an annual income from me. I bet they will earn that discount back many times over.
Meet objections with generosity
So maybe you offer an incredible add-on to your product. Maybe you offer lifetime access. Maybe you don’t collect email addresses every time. Maybe you offer a no-questions-asked refund policy and you really don’t ask any questions at all. Whatever you’re offering, keep adding value until you think: That’s CRAZY! That’s the kind of offer people will scramble for.
