There’s a reason selling information is one of the most difficult selling jobs out there…
And why the copywriters who write sales letters and other marketing pieces that sell information are among the highest-paid in the world…
It’s because selling information is hard. Much harder than selling a physical product.
There are more objections you must overcome.
If you can overcome all the objections that come up in selling information — including the biggest objection of all — you can sell pretty much anything.
First, the comparison…
With a physical product, it’s visible, tangible. It can be touched. It doesn’t rely on interpretation…
Take a musical keyboard for example.
Now, it’s not necessarily going to teach you to play.
But if you buy a keyboard, you can reasonably expect that you can push the keys and have notes come out of it.
Yes, there can be other features, but they all relate to being able to interact with it and get a clear and expected result — in this case, sound coming out of it.
And as long as that keyboard makes sound when you bang on it, it’s a relatively easy sale. Find people who want to bang on keyboards and make sound come out, and offer them your keyboard.
The biggest objections are quality, features, and price. If it does what it says it’s going to do, will keep working and won’t fall apart, and is a reasonable price that fits the prospect’s budget, you’ve got a sale.
Compare that to selling information on using that physical product…
Let’s say you want to go from selling keyboards… To selling a course on how to play keyboards…
Suddenly you go from something visible and tangible, to a product and promise that’s abstract and hard to pin down.
Yes, you’re going to teach them how to play… But how are you going to get from here to there? What will the clear end result be? Why are you qualified to teach?
The questions — and objections — go on and on…
Your success in selling — and especially, selling information — will be defined by your ability to overcome objections…
… There’s the “I don’t have time for you” objection that we have to overcome with a compelling sales hook.
… There’s the “Okay, but what’s in it for me?” objection that we beat with a targeted and compelling promise.
… There’s the “But why should I believe you?” objection that we overcome with proof and credibility elements.
… There’s the “Is it really a good deal?” objection we overcome with a compelling offer weighted toward the buyer.
… There’s the “But what if it doesn’t work out?” objection we overcome with a strong and generous guarantee.
… There’s the “Okay, but why I should I take action now?” objection we overcome with limited time sales, limited quantities, or other scarcity methods.
And yet, there’s a deeper objection that’s easy to miss, easy to ignore…
The biggest objection: “Yes, but will it work FOR ME?”
You can walk your prospect through all the objections above — answering every single one — and still they don’t feel compelled to buy.
Something nags at them. A doubt pulls their hand away from their wallet.
While they feel stimulated — on some level — about the possibility your offer presents… There’s a deep uncertainty that plagues their decision-making process.
There’s subconscious memories of false promises and past failures threatening to bubble up to the surface…
“I’ve seen it all before…”
“I’ve tried stuff like this, and it never worked out…”
“Sure, that might work for YOU, but my situation is different…”
Somewhere… Subconsciously… Semi-consciously… Or even in passing thoughts or the voice of their “conscience”…
They feel they can’t make the leap between believing “that works for them” and “that will work for me.”
All the testimonials and proof points in the world won’t overcome this objection…
Many copywriters think that by trotting out success story after success story, they’re overcoming this objection. And yet, they probably aren’t.
Here’s the best ways I know for busting down this final barrier to making the sale…
— First, if you or your spokesperson are cut from the same cloth as your prospect, overcome this objection with “I’m like you” stories and images. Shared backgrounds, interests, hobbies, language, whatever… If you’re like your prospect, and it worked for you, they’re more likely to imagine it working for them.
— Or, overcome it with targeting. I was looking into “learn to play piano” books recently. I discovered a line of books specifically targeted to folks 70+. Now, if I’m 70+ and looking to pick up piano, am I going to buy that, or am I going to buy something more generic or even targeted as a piano starter book for young learners?
— Finally, this objection can be overcome with a very well-crafted guarantee. I regularly present my guarantees as a “trial.” I’m not guaranteeing the sale. I’m offering you an opportunity to try it for yourself, and prove for yourself that everything I’m saying is true. The burden of proof is on me, to back up everything I’ve told you with real results, in YOUR experience of the product. Otherwise, you’re out nothing. This is an incredibly powerful approach. And it’s worth noting that when you take this approach, longer the guarantee period, the better.
No matter what you’re selling, your results will improve by learning to overcome objections — and if you’re selling information or knowledge products you MUST learn to overcome this most critical objection!
Yours for bigger breakthroughs,
Roy Furr
