by: Bruce Carlson

One of the more difficult things for inexperienced copywriters

seems to be how to deal with possible objections that a prospect

might have about a product or service.

It can be hard to make the leap into your prospect's mind like

that...

And so, the objections sometimes just don't get dealt with in the

copy.

Which means you lose sales.

In this short article, I'd like to show you a simple technique for

dealing with your prospect's objections. Using this method will

clear the way for you to start making a lot more sales with your

Web copy.

1. Make A Nice Big List

Before you even begin to write your copy (including your headline

or lead copy or bullets), sit down and write out a list of ALL the

possible objections your prospect could have about the product or

service you're pitching.

Every single one of them...and then some.

Get silly about it. Come up with far-fetched and off-the-wall objections.

Brainstorm like crazy. Get your friends and family involved. Turn it

into a game. The more outside help you can bring in the better.

You see, it's really easy to develop a kind of "tunnel vision" when

you're writing, especially when it's your own product you're dealing with.

This means you lose your objectivity. And when you lose your objectivity,

you lose sight of your prospect's core emotions.

Which can cause you to lose sight of the real reason they want your

product.

So start by making an exhaustive list. And do your best to get outside of

yourself and become more objective. Bringing in outside help will make

this easier.

2. Prioritize Your List

Once you have an exhaustive list, you'll need to take a look at which of

your prospect's objections carry the most weight. The weightier objections

should be at the top of your list, with minor and less vital ones below them.

An example of a heavy-duty objection might be that it's too expensive,

especially if your product or service costs substantially more than your

competitors' versions. You'll have to come up with a pretty strong argument

about value, and show some clear examples of what they get when they buy, in

order to deal with this one.

Another weighty example might be the believability factor. Particularly if you

don't have testimonials clearly interspersed in your copy or else overflowing

on a separate page with a clear link to them.

As far as lesser objections go, depending on what your product or service is, you

might be faced with things like the fact that your service isn't delivered on-site,

or that your packaging isn't "hot" Madison Avenue style or that your color selection

isn't wide enough.

Keep your list at hand the entire time you're writing your sales copy. Refer to it

often, and see if you can come up with a way to either directly or indirectly address

each and every objection on your list, starting with the most important ones.

3. The "FAQ Approach"

If you can smoothly and effortlessly answer your prospect's objections within your

sales pitch, then more power to you. But those major objections I mentioned above

sometimes require a little extra fire power in order to be laid to rest.

One way that's very effective for really singling out specific objections, and which

some very good Web copywriters (Lorrie Morgen-Ferrero, Paul Myers, and Charlie

Page come to mind) use well, is what I call the "FAQ approach".

This is where you put your prospect's possible objections in the form of a question

right smack dab in the middle of the copy (But Can't I Get It Cheaper At Wal-Mart?).

You then follow up with your answer right there (Yes, you can, but you won't get the

hand-stitched quality, the designer fashion look, and the 1-year guarantee).

How you present them is up to you. Different copywriters have different styles. I like to

list the questions as separate sub-headlines, especially if they're really heavy, followed

by the answer. If they're not quite so heavy, I'll just use bold-faced type for them within

the body of the copy followed by my reply.

If you want, you can even use an actual FAQ section right in your sales letter and it works

very nicely.

**Take Your Prospect By The Hand And Lead Them To The Sale**

Remember, your prospect needs to be taken by the hand and led carefully through your

pitch and onto the sale.

By being clear and keeping things simple concerning their objections, you have a much

better chance of leading them down that rosy path to the order form. By dealing straightforwardly

and effectively with every possible objection they might have, you reassure them.

Which builds trust. And which, in turn, leads to more sales.

So try out my advice the next time you write sales copy for your Website. Make a prioritized list

and deal clearly with each objection, using the FAQ approach. You'll see better numbers for your

efforts.

Copyright (c) 2006 by Bruce Carlson