When talking
to prospective customers, many business people
find it very difficult to ask for the sale. They
feel uncomfortable and awkward, are concerned
that they’ll appear “pushy,”
or just don’t know what to say. Unfortunately,
many people make the same mistake when creating
their organization’s marketing materials.
This issue of the Marketing
Minute focuses on the importance of asking for
the sale. As your on-call marketing writer,
I can help your business become more profitable
by creating clear and effective sales messages
for all of your marketing materials. Give me
a call to discuss your next project.
Linda Coss
949-699-2749
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Don't
Forget to Ask for the Sale |
You’ve
seen ads like it before. There’s an attention-grabbing
headline, beautifully designed graphics, and
well-written text that clearly communicates
the benefits of the product or service offered.
All that’s missing is a suggestion as
to what you should do next. They forgot to ask
for the sale!
What
is a "Call to Action"?
A
call to action is a phrase or paragraph that
asks for the sale or requests that the reader
do something. It’s the part of the marketing
piece that tells the reader what to do next
– call now to place an order, click here
to get a free report, email for more information,
enter a survey to win a prize, subscribe to
an online newsletter, etc.
Never
assume that your potential customers will know
why they should act, what they should do, or
when they should do it!
Tell
The Reader Exactly What to Do
Each
of your marketing pieces should include a call
to action (which may be mentioned multiple times,
not just at the end) that ties in with the piece’s
overall goals. If your goal is to sell, don’t
ask readers to call for more information –
ask them to purchase your product today. And
always keep your instructions simple and clear
to make it easy for the reader to respond. Should
they call, fax, or email? Do they need to click
through to something, fill out a short form,
or take some other action? What exactly should
the reader do?
Of
course, it’s not enough to tell the reader
what they should do – you also need to
tell them why they should do it, and why they
should do it now. But the bottom line is, if
you’re not asking for the sale, don’t
expect to get it!
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| Customer Spotlight:
The Wellness Source
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The
Wellness Source in San Diego, California was
created to help people achieve their optimum
and sustainable health. Their flagship product,
the 12 Week Turnaround Program, is a fun interactive
program that helps people who suffer from weight
problems, diabetes, heart disease or other tough
health issues to turn things around and get
well on the path to health and wellness.
The
goal of most of The Wellness Source’s
marketing materials is to persuade prospective
clients to call and schedule a free 30-minute
consultation. Take a look at the brochure,
1-sheet
and website
I wrote for them and see how many calls to action
you can find.
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| ©
2007 Linda Marienhoff Coss |
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About Linda |
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Linda Coss is a freelance marketing writer who helps businesses become more profitable by writing persuasive, targeted and effective messages for their brochures, websites, letters, ads, fliers, press releases, newsletters and other written materials.
Whether you need something written "from scratch" or want a professional to edit what you've created, Linda is your on-call marketing writer.
For more information
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