Increase Sales and Marketing Response with an Irresistible Call to Action
Increase Sales and Marketing Response with an Irresistible Call to Action
It’s probably not just to put pretty pictures into the world...
Or kill trees...
You want to get clients or customers, right?
Sure, a big goal is getting the attention of your ideal client and letting them know what you have to offer. But just doing that is not enough.
The real goal of marketing and advertising is to get people to take action. Whether that’s calling for an appointment, going to your Website, walking in your store, or busting out a credit card and buying something right now.
The thing is, most entrepreneurs forget all about this when they put together their marketing materials. So they spend a ton of time and money creating attractive pieces that are basically just a bunch of company info.
They talk about their company, what they do, how they do it and who their clients are. Then stick their contact info on there, send it out into the world, and wait for something to happen.
Only it never does. Or if it does, the results are nowhere near what you’d hoped for. Sound familiar????
If so then you’re probably asking…
-----
Why aren’t I getting good results?
-----
Well, it could be the benefits of what you offered weren’t clear and compelling.
Or your writing style wasn’t friendly, readable and engaging.
It could also be you didn’t get it in front of the right
People often enough.
But let’s say you did all those things, and still didn’t get any response. There is one more, critical thing that might be missing. And you can add it to every piece of your marketing and advertising to dramatically increase response rates.
What is the magic, response boosting item????
A “call to action”!
-----
What, exactly, is a call to action?
-----
Fundamentally, it’s where you tell someone exactly what to do next if they are interested in getting what you’re offering.
On TV infomercials, it’s where the announcer says “Call 1-800-buy-this within the next 30 seconds to get your super juicer and the special, bonus slicer-thingy for just $9.95”.
In a print ad, it might be “Visit www.dogtricks.com to get your F*ree report 7 Fun Tricks You Can Teach Any Dog”
Or “Call Jennie at 867-5309 and mention this offer to save 50% on your first massage” on a brochure.
On a Website, it could be as simple as “Visit my services page (insert link) to learn more about what I can do for your business...” Even a “Buy Now” button is a call to action.
-----
Why is a call to action so darned important?
-----
I always say, “If you don’t tell someone what to do next, there’s no telling what they might do.”
Life is busy and full of interruptions. Even if someone is ready and willing to buy, they might not be sure what to do next if you don’t tell them. Or they could end up going to the bathroom, answering the phone, or clicking to another Website as easily as calling you.
That’s where a clear call to action comes in!
-----
How do you create a powerful call to action?
-----
STEP 1: Decide exactly what you want someone to do after they read your ad, brochure, Webpage or whatever.
STEP 2: Make them an offer they can’t refuse. These days, a free consultation isn’t enough. A lot of folks think this will just be a sales pitch-filled waste of time. Ditto for just saying sign up for my f*ree e-newsletter.
STEP 3: Tell them exactly what to do to take advantage of your offer. IE: Do X to get Y
STEP 4: Make it painfully easy. Put the phone number, link, Web address or BUY NOW button right there. Don’t assume they’ll take time to find it in the small print on the back of your brochure or your contact page.
STEP 5: Whenever possible, add an incentive like limited availability (only 10 left!), deadlines, or special sale prices. People are busy. The more reasons you can give them to take action now, the more likely they are to do so. Just don’t lie.
That’s it. Give ‘em a good reason to take action…Tell ‘em what to do…And make it easy as pie to do so. You’ll be amazed at how many people take action once you do.
Increase Sales and Marketing Response with an Irresistible Call to Action - To learn more about this author, visit Stacy Karacostas's Website.
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Why do you do any marketing or advertising?
It’s probably not just to put pretty pictures into the world...
Or kill trees...
You want to get clients or customers, right?
Sure, a big goal is getting the attention of your ideal client and letting them know what you have to offer. But just doing that is not enough.
The real goal of marketing and advertising is to get people to take action. Whether that’s calling for an appointment, going to your Website, walking in your store, or busting out a credit card and buying something right now.
The thing is, most entrepreneurs forget all about this when they put together their marketing materials. So they spend a ton of time and money creating attractive pieces that are basically just a bunch of company info.
They talk about their company, what they do, how they do it and who their clients are. Then stick their contact info on there, send it out into the world, and wait for something to happen.
Only it never does. Or if it does, the results are nowhere near what you’d hoped for. Sound familiar????
If so then you’re probably asking…
-----
Why aren’t I getting good results?
-----
Well, it could be the benefits of what you offered weren’t clear and compelling.
Or your writing style wasn’t friendly, readable and engaging.
It could also be you didn’t get it in front of the right
People often enough.
But let’s say you did all those things, and still didn’t get any response. There is one more, critical thing that might be missing. And you can add it to every piece of your marketing and advertising to dramatically increase response rates.
What is the magic, response boosting item????
A “call to action”!
-----
What, exactly, is a call to action?
-----
Fundamentally, it’s where you tell someone exactly what to do next if they are interested in getting what you’re offering.
On TV infomercials, it’s where the announcer says “Call 1-800-buy-this within the next 30 seconds to get your super juicer and the special, bonus slicer-thingy for just $9.95”.
In a print ad, it might be “Visit www.dogtricks.com to get your F*ree report 7 Fun Tricks You Can Teach Any Dog”
Or “Call Jennie at 867-5309 and mention this offer to save 50% on your first massage” on a brochure.
On a Website, it could be as simple as “Visit my services page (insert link) to learn more about what I can do for your business...” Even a “Buy Now” button is a call to action.
-----
Why is a call to action so darned important?
-----
I always say, “If you don’t tell someone what to do next, there’s no telling what they might do.”
Life is busy and full of interruptions. Even if someone is ready and willing to buy, they might not be sure what to do next if you don’t tell them. Or they could end up going to the bathroom, answering the phone, or clicking to another Website as easily as calling you.
That’s where a clear call to action comes in!
-----
How do you create a powerful call to action?
-----
STEP 1: Decide exactly what you want someone to do after they read your ad, brochure, Webpage or whatever.
STEP 2: Make them an offer they can’t refuse. These days, a free consultation isn’t enough. A lot of folks think this will just be a sales pitch-filled waste of time. Ditto for just saying sign up for my f*ree e-newsletter.
STEP 3: Tell them exactly what to do to take advantage of your offer. IE: Do X to get Y
STEP 4: Make it painfully easy. Put the phone number, link, Web address or BUY NOW button right there. Don’t assume they’ll take time to find it in the small print on the back of your brochure or your contact page.
STEP 5: Whenever possible, add an incentive like limited availability (only 10 left!), deadlines, or special sale prices. People are busy. The more reasons you can give them to take action now, the more likely they are to do so. Just don’t lie.
That’s it. Give ‘em a good reason to take action…Tell ‘em what to do…And make it easy as pie to do so. You’ll be amazed at how many people take action once you do.
Increase Sales and Marketing Response with an Irresistible Call to Action - To learn more about this author, visit Stacy Karacostas's Website.
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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