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Do your web
pages, sales letters or personal presentations include subtle distractions
that unnecessarily cause you to lose sales?
Sometimes
prospective customers get distracted during the selling process by outside
interruptions. You cannot control those. But many sales-killing distractions
are caused by what you put in your web pages and other sales messages ...or
by what you say in your personal presentations.
Here are 3
unnecessary distractions you may be creating that sabotage your sales - and
how you can avoid them:
1.
Requiring Customers to Make Unnecessary Decisions
Design your
selling process so prospects do not have to make unnecessary decisions.
Some
prospects have difficulty making a clear decision when they have several
options. They often react by procrastinating and never making a decision
...and you lose the sale you already made.
Tip:
Promote only one product or service at a time. You can develop separate
promotions for each product or service you sell. You can even combine
several products and services into one package. But always limit your
prospect's buying decision to "yes" or "no". Don't distract them with a
"which one" decision.
2.
Diverting Your Customer's Attention to Something Else
Don't
include anything in your selling procedure that can divert attention away
from your selling process.
For
example, I often see sales oriented web pages that provide clickable links
to other web sites with the testimonials. Why would any marketer want to
send prospective customers to another web site in the middle of their
presentation?
Some
prospects will never come back. And for those that do, the flow of the
selling process was interrupted - reducing the likelihood of closing the
sale. Clickable links have many advantages ...but not when they are in the
middle of your sales presentation.
Tip: Review
what you usually say in live sales presentations and what you include in
your web pages and other sales messages. Look for unnecessary diversions you
may have included - and get rid of them.
3.
Presenting Unpleasant Surprises
Avoid
including any unpleasant surprises in your selling process - especially near
the end.
For
example: Many websites do not mention shipping charges until the very last
screen of the shopping cart. This unpleasant surprise is one of the major
reasons why customers abandon online orders. You can avoid this by always
including the shipping charge wherever you list the price.
Tip: An
unpleasant surprise can kill a sale. But a pleasant surprise can help close
a sale. For example, adding an unexpected bonus immediately before your
prospect takes the last action to complete a sale will usually eliminate any
last minute hesitation.
Don't ask
your prospects to make unnecessary decisions. Avoid diverting their
attention away from your selling presentation. And don't alarm them with any
unpleasant surprises.
It's hard
enough to get a prospective customers attention once. If you distract them
unnecessarily with something else you may not be able to get their attention
again ...and you will lose a sale needlessly.
Copyright
2004 Bob Leduc. http://BobLeduc.com
Bob
Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and
increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build
Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards ...and launched *BizTips from
Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. You'll find
his low-cost marketing methods at:
http://BobLeduc.com
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