| It's the gold medal of e-commerce.
Getting that coveted sale is what every online business
owner hopes and prays for daily. It's why we fight for good
search engine positioning. It's why we battle with our copy,
making it "just so." It's what pays the bills!
But what if you could get even MORE sales from your order
page? It's really not very hard to do.
What I'm about to tell you is not some big secret. It's
a widely used practice that works. You've probably seen
it before, but never paid it much attention. Well get ready
to listen, because with just a few simple steps, you could
quickly be doing a lot more business.
Will this same tactic work for off-line businesses? You
bet!
I have two ebook sites. One is for my copywriting course
(http://www.copywritingcourse.com) and the other is for
my ezine guide (http://www.creatingezines.com). Like you,
I'd seen this sales practice put into place before…
I'd even bought more of a product or service because of
this tactic. But one day it dawned on me to actually USE
this method to see if it would really work for me. I used
the two products above to conduct a test.
Instead of just linking my "order" or "buy
now" buttons to my credit card processor, I created
a separate order page. And instead of just putting the copywriting
course on the order page of the copywriting course site,
I added a "deal." I offered a $10 discount if
site visitors bought BOTH ebooks at the same time. I have
a link to buy just the copywriting course, and a link to
buy both ebooks at the discounted price. Literally, within
minutes of implementing the change, I began ringing up sales
for both books.
Have you seen this before? I'm sure you have. Amazon.com,
ProFlowers.com, and many other huge online retailers use
this method to boost sales every day. Why does it work?
Simple.
Once people go through your site, read your copy, and check
out your products or services, they make a decision to buy.
By offering them more for less (more products/services for
less money), you take advantage of their "buying mode."
You strike while the iron is hot (so-to-speak). It's a win-win
situation. The buyer gets a discount, and you get more sales.
So how would you implement this strategy for off-line businesses?
Just follow any fast food restaurant's lead.
Have you ever been to a McDonald's restaurant? What normally
happens is a conversation like this:
"May I take your order?"
"Yes. I'd like a Big Mac combo with a Coke."
"Would you like to super size that, ma'am?"
"Sure, why not."
"And how about adding one of our hot pies or an ice
cream sundae for just $1.00?"
"OK"
Without so much as a fuss, McDonald's just added two sales
to your order. One was super sizing of your combo meal…
the other was a sundae. You got a discount - you got more
food for less money - and McDonald's got more profits.
Off-line retailers can simply instruct their salespeople
to ask for more sales. Once customers get to the cash register,
they are officially in "buy mode." While they're
standing there, quickly (and I mean quickly… don't
bombard them) ask if they need shoe polish to keep those
new shoes looking new, or if they remembered to pick up
labels for that box of CDs. It's really that simple. No
hard sale, no pushing, no shoving. Just a simple question
to which the answer is almost always "yes."
So there you have it… the quick and easy way to get
more sales from your order page. Think it's too easy? Try
it and see for yourself.
Most buying decisions are emotional. Your ad copy should
be, too! Karon is President & CEO of Marketing Words,
Inc. who offers targeted copywriting, search engine copywriting,
and ezine article writing. Subscribe to Karon's free ezine
at http://www.marketingwords.com/ezine.html or visit her
site at http://www.marketingwords.com. You can also learn
to write you own powerful copy at http://www.copywritingcourse.com.
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