7 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
7 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Objection Resolution

by Alex Cohen
4 replies
Objection resolution is an often over-looked component of a good sales letter.

As the prospect reads your ad, certain reasons not to buy pop into his mind. If your ad addresses them, it will be more effective and generate more sales.

Joe Karbo’s famous ad “The Lazy Man’s Way To Riches” is a great example. Written back in 1973, it was hugely successful. Thanks to the ad, Joe reportedly sold over three million copies of his book.

The ad succeeded for several reasons. It started off with attention-getting incongruency, had excellent social proof and credibility, and used a 31-day hold.

Interestingly, a significant portion of the ad addressed objections. Here are the exact quotes...

It doesn’t require “education”
It doesn’t require “capital”
It doesn’t require “luck”
It doesn’t require “talent”
It doesn’t require “youth”
It doesn’t require “experience”
You don’t have to give up your job

If you’re looking for ways to boost the response of your sales letters, Karbo’s ad is an excellent study piece.

You can see the ad here …

Popular Science - Google Books

Alex
#objection #resolution
  • Profile picture of the author BrianMcLeod
    Ooh. Good topic, Alex. One of my faves.

    Dredging up and overcoming "hidden" objections is,
    to me at least, one of the most potent tools of persuasion
    that we have at our disposal as salespeople in print.

    To be "one thought ahead" of the prospect and drag
    his concern right out into the open, and then stomp it
    to death right in front of him is POWERFUL stuff.

    And yet, so many inexperienced marketers try to run away
    from objections or bury them in a flurry of promises and
    bombastic "proof" elements that do little to truly disgorge
    the objection.

    Sure, it may "overcome" the objection on the surface,
    but underneath that superficial level the prospect remains
    largely unconvinced - she's just momentarily placated.
    But when it comes time to ACT - she balks.

    One of the ways I've dealt with this successfully across
    multiple media is running through a move you might call:

    "What's the WORST that can happen?"

    What I'm doing is trying to get the prospect to go ahead
    and visualize the worst case scenario...

    I want them to acknowledge that the big scary objection
    is not as big a deal as they're making it out to be.

    That even if it proves to be true, it's secondary to the
    opportunity loss of failing to act immediately.

    I want them to give themselves permission to move
    forward ANYWAY...

    1) I dimensionalize the source of their fear.
    2) I contextualize the knowable aspects of it.
    3) I minimize the impact that it really has for them.
    4) I sweep it away having now "tasted" it just a bit.

    "Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

    Following this with a healthy squeeze of the feel-good Greed Gland
    is a remarkably powerful one-two punch for knocking out serious,
    deeply held and "deal-breaker" type objections.

    Looking forward to reading everyone else's take on this issue.

    Good thread!

    Best,

    Brian
    Signature
    Brian McLeod
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2561842].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Andrew Gould
      Originally Posted by BrianMcLeod View Post

      One of the ways I've dealt with this successfully across
      multiple media is running through a move you might call:

      "What's the WORST that can happen?"
      Stunning post Brian, quite possibly the best method of dealing with objections I've come across.

      I'm afraid I've got nothing as deep to follow...

      "Creating a don't want list"

      When researching what your prospect wants, spend a little extra time looking into what they don't want. (If you're selling a traffic course, maybe you'll learn your prospects don't want products based around PPC, PPV or media buys)

      Then, in your sales copy make it clear your product doesn't have anything to do with those things...

      Ninja Traffic Generator has NOTHING to do with:
      • PPC (The fastest way to lose a fortune online...)
      • PPV (Only brings worthless, junk traffic)
      • Media Buys (You will get ripped off by a savvy site owner)
      (The above is a very quick example)

      By doing this you're making it very clear that your product isn't any of the things the prospect dislikes and you're forcing him to read on to discover just what it is.

      You can also use a similar technique in the headline. Add a "without" and then the major concern the prospect has with the market. To continue with the above example:

      How To Generate More Traffic... Without Spending A Dime!

      Straight away, before they even get into the letter, you're overcoming a potentially major objection to your product. It'd be even more powerful with a better headline, preferably one where you're promising a benefit that normally involves the major concern.
      Signature

      Andrew Gould

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2562194].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
      Originally Posted by BrianMcLeod View Post

      Ooh.
      Looking forward to reading everyone else's take on this issue.

      Good thread!

      Best,

      Brian
      Several things come to mind for an "objection resolution"...

      #1 Knowing your market and knowing what sales messages they have come across before.

      It all starts there. For a reminder go to "Breakthrough Advertising"

      #2 An Englishman lifted his advertising response by 1700% by naming the objection in his headline.

      It was for a biz op promotion. He gets highest response using this method for BTB promotions as well.

      #3 If you are going to say something which stretches the readers believability, then you must work your way up to it by getting an agreement early on.

      #4 Never ever say something which won't be believed.

      You probably could put these 4 into the "Sales Killers" basket...not what the prospect bought to the table.

      All the best,
      Ewen
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2562343].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Nathan Alexander
    You can be sure if you're writing copy and you've thought of it, most likely your prospect has too.

    Why run from it?

    Overcoming objections is about dragging the obvious and not-so-obvious out of the closet, "shoving" it under their nose, making them look at it, and trumpeting your answer to it.

    It's saying, "you better believe this is a problem when it comes to products/services/software/whatever like these, but here's why it's not for you..."

    It's saying, "the other guys seem to dance around this if they mention it all. I know you're not rich, and this is a considerable investment (or what have you) but ..." Then you go on to negate the fear they're holding.

    Bring objections out into the open because to do otherwise is to cheat. To "gloss" over them is to pretend they don't exist.

    But to confront them with their fears, as Brian said gives you tremendous leverage. It gives them permission to trust and believe you because of your confidence in understanding what is really holding them back.

    And it's fun to do too.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2564684].message }}

Trending Topics