There’s never been a better time to buy!

Get yours now before the sale is over!

Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Heard it all before? Of course you have. Businesses everywhere are using phrases like these because they’re trying to create what’s known as a compelling event. Put simply, a compelling event is a business pressure or influence that forces an action. It’s something in the moment that makes you think that now is the time to buy, and it’s effective because given the option to think things over, people usually pass. You have to compel them to take action right then and there.

We’d like to arm you with all of the compelling events in the world but for the sake of brevity, today we’ll share our top 5 favorites.

Here are 5 compelling events that you can use to drive sales:

  1. Limited time offer: This invokes the scarcity principle in psychology which is a primary motivator of human behavior – if we think we might lose something, we jump on it! By coming up with just such an offer, whether that’s an add-on product, a buy-one-get-one-free, or something new that you’ve cooked up, you’ll compel people to buy now rather than later. A great example of creating scarcity in this fashion was McDonald’s McRib® which was sold on limited time offer and whipped demand up into such a feverish pitch that inspired a rabid following worthy of an entire Simpson’s episode.
  1. Expiring sale: The first rule of having a sale is give it an end date. If it doesn’t expire, what’s stopping people from buying next month? Next week? Next year? Assign a deadline however and you’ll find people flocking to take advantage of it.
  1. Inconsistent Supply: In talking to your potential customer, educate them on how if they don’t purchase right now you can’t guarantee that you’ll be able to locate new stock, get it to them on time, or may be so busy that if they don’t book you now they’ll have to wait a full month! This compels them to act for fear that they won’t get what they want on their terms. Of course, be careful about speaking in finalities and instead of saying “definitely” use “may not” or “might not” so that you leave the door open in case the compelling event does not work.
  1. Fear, uncertainty, or doubt: This is a classic in insurance sales and plays off of our relatively poor understanding of probability. We humans are much more motivated by things we can actually visualize, which is why shark attacks are higher on people’s list of fears than car accidents. It’s the emotional connection that matters. And so it is in sales that you can play upon people’s fears (while being ethical) of things like natural disasters, robbery, and car wrecks.

To use this, ask your customers about the worst-case scenario if they don’t buy whatever it is you’re selling. If you sell tires or roof repair, talk about the rain storms that are coming. If you sell telecommunications gear, talk about what will happen if their point of sale (POS) system goes down. If you sell pool cleaning, talk about mosquito dangers. If you sell insurance, well, just about everything is fair game!

  1. ‘My boss would kill me’: This is a unique twist on the “limited time offer” event where you play up rapport with your client to then offer them a discount that you assure them you wouldn’t normally be allowed to offer. It need not be entirely true, but it often convinces clients that the offer is certainly one-time-only and worth taking advantage of.

How do I know when to use which one?

Experiment to find out. Compelling events are much more of an art than a science and it depends on your customer. If you have the opportunity and chat with them to do a little qualification, you’ll find that you can match up compelling events with their actual needs for the ultimate persuasive sell.

Well, what are you waiting for? Your offer shouldn’t wait any longer than your customers should! Log in and create a postcard campaign that uses a compelling event today and unleash a flood of highly-compelled buyers!

Let us ask you, could you use a little advice?

Nobody should have to market alone, that’s why Opportunity Knocks specializes in custom marketing campaigns that drive astounding results. Call them at 1 (866) 319-7109 today and get yours running!

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