Agencies, Freelancers, Design, Copywriting & more.: [Copyblogger] How to Get Past No

How to Get Past No

How to Get Past No

No Excuses

Years ago, I worked for a direct marketing company that sold cutlery.

Although I saw many salespeople come and go during my 2+ years working there, most of whom didn’t make any money, I was able to find a way to be successful in this odd niche. I sold nearly $25,000 worth of the stuff.

I wasn’t a natural salesman, and I didn’t use any secret tactics, but I did learn a few things about how to get past no. And some of them can help you take your online business from failure to success.

The natural reaction when you hear a no is to politely oblige and then walk away. No one likes to be confrontational. But if I had accepted a no every time I heard it, I probably would have let 50-75% of those sales slip away, and would have lost many satisfied customers in the process.

It’s About Overcoming Objections

What I learned was how to identify and overcome objections, which in turn taught me that sometimes no doesn’t really mean no. Many times, a customer simply wants you to help them make a decision by answering their questions before they pull out the credit card.

Their first instinct says no, but what they really want is for you to convince them to say yes.

Maybe their budget is tight and they just want to be cautious. Maybe they don’t understand your product and want you to explain it to them.

There are a hundred different reasons why people might initially say no to you. Your job is not to shrug and walk away, but to get to the truth behind the no and find out how you can really meet their needs.

Online, it’s your copy that must do the job of getting past no by knocking down every objection.

Here are some simple tips for getting past no online:

Break the ice with a cheaper version of your product as a lower-risk purchase. They’ll get to know a little bit more about you and will feel better about buying more in the future. Even making a tiny purchase, say a $7 special report, makes it much more likely for that customer to buy from you again.
If your product is expensive, offer a payment plan. $39.99/month for three months looks much cheaper than $119.97. Any good shopping cart program can handle this for you.
On your landing page, go ahead and confront the most prevalent objections head on. Don’t be afraid to mention them . . . your customer has been thinking about them from the moment they clicked on your link.
In addition to your sales page copy, use additional tools like case studies, FAQs and testimonials to address objections in an "under-the-radar" way.
Make the offer too good to refuse. Billy Mays did it by tripling the offer. Our cutlery company did it by offering a forever guarantee. Some marketers pay people just for trying their product. Regardless of how you do it, find a way to make your offer remarkable.
If the customer doesn't buy, give her the opportunity to sign up for terrific free content by email. (Remember that this type of email content needs to be highly beneficial to the reader, not just a thinly-disguised sales pitch.) This kind of "last chance" offer is a good way to use an exit pop-up window from your sales page.

Triggering the Buying Response

The simple reality is that we all have different buttons that need to be pushed before we buy. When I walk around a store for an hour trying to make a decision, it isn’t because I don’t want the product. I wouldn’t be there if I didn’t.

Instead, I’m secretly trying to find a reason to help me feel good about pulling the trigger. Buying releases endorphins . . . it feels good.

Still, we’ve all learned from bad buying experiences that have left us feeling empty after the initial high wears off. This is where the job of the sales person becomes increasingly important.

You need to not only help your customers understand and appreciate the need for your product, but you need to make them feel good about buying it. This starts from the initial pitch and should continue even after the purchase.

Don’t be pushy, but don’t be afraid to explore what reasons stand in the way of a sale. Have the confidence to stand behind your product when you know that a customer could benefit from it. Even if they ultimately still say no, at least you’ve been given the insight of another objection to tackle down the road. Marketing is a learning process, but you can’t sell yourself short.

And giving up at the first sign of no is doing just that.

About the Author: Nathan Hangen is a webrepreneur, social media consultant, and triathlete. You can read more at the Webrepreneur Blog or by following him on Twitter.