How to Establish Trust with Your Prospects Through a Powerful Guarantee

Word count: 1,239 FK Score: 6.4

When a prospect reads your sales copy and really, really wants your product, does that mean you’ve made a sale??

No, not necessarily.?

There may be a thousand questions swirling around their mind. And those questions are the very obstacles that lie between your prospect and the sale.?

Will your product or service meet their needs? Will it really solve their problem? Will the benefits outweigh the costs? These questions create doubt.

So where does a guarantee fit into all of this?

A guarantee can obliterate any doubt in the mind of your prospect. After all, a guarantee isn’t merely a promise to return the prospect’s money.

By easing your prospect's concerns, you’ve made it easier for them to trust you, which could help establish a longer-term relationship, as opposed to closing a one-time sale.

A guarantee is an underrated sales tool and says that you stand firmly behind whatever it is you’re selling. Of course, it’s also the last push to make that sale.

I’m going to show you how to implement a guarantee in your marketing to rid the obstacle in the way of the sale. And also establish the beginning of a very beautiful relationship.

Firstly, let's look at how powerful a guarantee can be.

A Legendary Guarantee with Toppings

You may take Domino's for granted. But the iconic pizza brand was on the brink of collapse in the ‘60s. One of the business partners thought enough was enough and sold his share. The other wasn’t ready to quit.

The surviving business partner then came up with this guarantee: “Pizza delivered fresh in 30 minutes or it’s free.” That stroke of genius was so successful that it turned around the company’s fortunes.

Domino's has changed its guarantee since, and that’s fine. Sometimes, it’s about the right guarantee at the right time.

A guarantee simply helps strengthen relationships. That isn't limited to business either. Think about wedding vows. “'Til death do us part.” That sounds like a fairly strong guarantee to me.

Guarantees can help strengthen relationships too.?

I recall one day back in the year 2000. Me and my friend Mike were all set to go to a music festival in Liverpool.?

The problem was that the weatherman forecasted rain, and, in the previous year, the festival was postponed last minute due to the weather. So Mike was concerned that history would repeat itself.

“Well, that’s that then. There’s always next year,” groaned Mike.

“Because of the weather forecast? What are we, a hundred years old?”, I fired back.

I wasn’t about to allow his negativity deprive me of a good time.

I wasn't even a big fan of music festivals. But I'd been sick and had been stuck at home for two weeks. Having been desperate to go out that entire time, this was the one thing I had to look forward to.?

Mike was determined not to go. He didn't want to travel there and have to come back again. And it was a Sunday. It's not like we'd have many alternatives.?

Well, at least I knew what his concerns were. Now I had something to think with.

I simply needed an alternative idea in mind that would involve us not having to return home straight away if the festival was postponed.?

I went online and searched for accommodation, and there was a hotel in the city center with a twin room available for ￡25. I told him I would book the hotel and we could stay there if he agreed to go.?

“It’s your money,” he quipped.

It was perfect. I could still go to the festival. It wouldn't put me much out of pocket. And as Monday was a holiday with no work, we could mooch around the city center all morning and afternoon.

More importantly, Mike was happy. I'd taken care of his concerns, and he was sold.

Fortunately, the festival went ahead, and we both had a great time. The following day, we spent time at the docks and the Beatles museum.

“I don’t know why we didn’t think of staying overnight before.” puzzled Mike.

He even paid for my entry to the Beatles museum because I'd paid for the hotel. Haha!

He even paid for my entry to the Beatles museum because I'd paid for the hotel.?

And it was all because I gave Mike a guarantee that resolved his concerns and established trust.

You see, guarantees work.

And the trust that a guarantee provides?is too important to your marketing and copy not to be given careful attention.

As an experienced freelance writer of over 11 years, I know all too well about the role a guarantee provides in strong, effective copy.

A Powerful Tool

In fact, guarantees are one of the most powerful tools for building trust with your prospects. But you have to go about it the right way, both in terms of strategy and how you integrate it into your copy. Here are three steps to help you achieve both.

1. Start Small, and Test and Track Your Results

Like many other aspects of your copy and marketing strategy, you should never be married to your guarantee. Start with something small and be open to change if it doesn’t provide you with the results you want.

Here's one way to do that. Instead of publishing your guarantee on your site, include it just in one publication you’re advertising in, to begin with. Or in an email to a single segment of your list.

Then make sure to track your results. Have you made more sales since you started to promote your guarantee? If so, how many??

Test two or more combinations of your guarantee to find the one that works best for you. The closer you get to the guarantee that works the best for you and your audience, the more you'll resonate with them and the more trust you'll build.

Tip: Longer guarantees typically work better.

2. Be Very Specific When Defining What Your Guarantee Entails

As you’re the one creating your very own guarantee, you have the privilege of defining its rules. While there needs to be a basic rule so you can easily communicate it in your copy, you also need to define the details.?

It doesn't have to guarantee a cash refund. It could be that you promise to provide a free replacement in the event of a fault or breakdown. The guarantee may not cost you any money, but it will help to ease your prospect’s concerns.?

3. Honor Your Guarantee

We live in a world of cyber communication, in which we send each other messages instantly. You don’t want your angry customers to bombard your inbox with frustrated messages.

Or worse, they may go and share their annoyance with others, harming your online reputation in the process. Not only will they post about how your product didn’t work, but they’ll also add that you failed to live up to your guarantee.

Get Creative and Beat Out Your Competition

The above three steps are the foundation for a guarantee that will ease the concerns of your prospects' minds. Feel free to be creative with your guarantees, and don't underestimate them. They have the potential to give you a strong advantage over your competition.

So now what?

I'd love to get to know you and your business. I can help you get started communicating your guarantee in a way that helps you leap over sales obstacles and make more conversions.?

Do you want copy with a guarantee that eliminates doubt and insecurity in your prospects?

If so, drop me a message?here on LinkedIn,?via my website at?www.jacksonkellycm.com, or email me directly at [email protected].

I have been writing website content that attract eyeballs to the page for over a decade. So I know exactly how to build your inbound marketing machine, fill your pipeline, and generate sales to improve that all-important bottom line.