Your Should-Be Clients Say “No” Because… (Pt. 3)

[Don’t miss Parts 1 and 2 of this series]

It should go without saying that a sales message MUST be believable if it’s going to have any kind of positive effect.

Proof elements like testimonials, demonstrations and scientific or clinical evidence help clear away doubt about whether or not your product does what you say it will.

Most sales pitches work hard to establish the credibility of the salesperson, service provider or manufacturer. They mention degrees earned, awards won, longevity in business and the prestigious magazines they’ve been featured in.

All of this is good stuff. Important stuff. Because people don’t buy when they have doubts.

But credibility itself isn’t enough.

Your marketing message or sales pitch has to strike at the emotional heart of the hearer/reader and create a vision in his mind. For a moment, he has to dissociate from the “real world” and see himself enjoying the benefits he’ll receive after buying from you.

He has to BELIEVE, not just trust.

You have to create a story and help him watch the plot unfold, with himself as the main character.

Eugene Schwartz said this in Breakthrough Advertising:

“Above everything else, advertising is the literature of desire…Advertising gives form and content to desire. It provides it with a goal. These desires, as they exist in the mind of your prospect today, are indistinct. They are blurs—hazy, ambiguous, not yet crystallized into words or images. In most cases, they are simply vague emotions, without compulsion or direction. And as such, they have only a fraction of their true potential power.

“Your job is to fill out these vague desires with concrete images… your job is to show him in minute detail all the tomorrows that your product makes possible for him.

“This is the core of advertising—its fundamental function. To take unformulated desire, and translate it into one vivid scene of fulfillment after another. To add the appeal of concrete satisfaction after satisfaction to the basic drive of that desire. To make sure that your prospect realizes everything that he is getting—everything that he is now leaving behind him—everything that he may possibly be missing. The sharper you can draw your pictures…the more your prospect will demand your product, and the less important will seem your price.“

How do you make him envision that?

Briefly,

• Frame your offer in a way your potential client wants to believe or approach the topic from an angle he wants to believe. Desire forms the basis for vision and belief.
• Paint a visual picture of what the future looks like when he says "yes."
• What’s the “big idea” behind the thing you’re offering? Let the story do the heavy lifting. The statistics play a supporting role.
• Share stories of other people just like your reader who have achieved the dream you're selling. More details are better. Mention their obstacles and doubts... then reveal how they overcame them.
• Make unexpected statements. You have to slap people out of their haze to earn their attention. Then keep earning it, or the audience will tune out. Predictability is boring, like in any other story.
• Dig in for the long haul. Be prepared to use a series of messages, because in many cases, the first one doesn't complete the job. The more a person is exposed to something, the more likely he is to believe it (look up the illusory truth effect and mere-exposure theory).
• Be a character yourself. Strong personalities take us on journeys and activate the imagination. Polarizing figures force us to make choices.

You see how this goes beyond mere credibility and trust.

When your prospect BELIEVES in the better future you can help him achieve, it's hard for him to say "no."

Does your marketing message inspire belief for your potential clients?