One of the best copy leads I have ever read was that in a small brochure created by SW to promote his consulting practice.
The brochure was written in Q&A format, and began with this unforgettable lead:
Q: Why should I hire SW?
A: Perhaps you should not.
Whoa! What chutzpah! “Perhaps you should not”?
The nerve of this guy! Who sells anything by telling you not to buy it?
Plenty of smart marketers, it turns out.
Human psychology is funny: the more you tell somebody they can’t or shouldn’t have something, the more they want it.
The technique of applying this psychological principle to sales and marketing is called “the takeaway close”.
In sales, it works this way: if the prospect is hesitant, and you are not getting anywhere, start to pack up your sample case, papers, or whatever, while telling the prospect in a serious, sincere, even somber voice: “Maybe this isn’t right for you.”
As soon as you do, most prospects immediately say—”Wait, hold on a minute!”—and ask you to continue your presentation, much more interested than they were only seconds ago.
That’s because as soon as you tell people they can’t or shouldn’t have something, they want it.
Seaman’s, a local retailer near my office in northern NJ, (now out of business), once ran radio commercials to announce sales using a variation of the takeaway close.
The radio announcer began by thundering a command to the listener: “DON’T buy furniture today…”
It catches your attention, because you expect to be told to buy…not to be told, “DON’T buy.”
He then finished the sentence: “DON’T buy furniture today…wait until Saturday for Seaman’s big half-price sale!”
Applying the takeaway closing technique to your marketing is easy. Often simply adding the words “order today—supplies limited” is enough to get the phone ringing off the hook.
Or, in a lead generation campaign, change the phrase on your reply element from “for more information” to “to find out how you can qualify”—implying that receiving what you are offering is not a sure thing, but only granted if they pass your criteria.
Another variation is ads for home study courses which offer a free booklet with a test to judge your writing or artistic talent, implying that you can’t take the course unless you pass the test.
Remember, people want what they can’t—or think they can’t—have or get.
Even in relationships, singles who date know that one way to attract the interest and attention of members of the opposite sex that they like is to play “hard to get”—to make them call you, rather than you call them.
Conversely, when in pursuit of your soul mate, the worst strategy is to leave 48 messages on his or her answering machine. It demonstrates you are eager and needy, and actually makes the other person less interested.
Time-limited offers are yet another variation on the takeaway close.
In the case of time-limited offers, the product or service is available, but only if you buy now. Later, it won’t be.
Direct marketers know that, almost without exception, adding a time limit or expiration date to a promotion lifts response rates.
In service industries, telling prospects you can squeeze them in a week from Thursday makes you seem desirable.
On the other hand, if you tell prospects, “I can see you now,” they worry: who wants to go to a professional who isn’t in demand?
The late Howard Shenson, a consultant and author, called this the Busy Dr. Syndrome, noting that people want to do business with those they consider busy and successful, not those who seem desperate and in need of the work.
Why does the takeaway close work? Why do people, upon hearing they can’t have something, want it more?
Perhaps the motivator is scarcity, an imbalance in the supply and demand equation: the shorter the supply of something, the more it is valued.
That is why gold has a much higher price than copper, even though copper has many more practical uses.
Whatever the reason, the takeaway close often works like gangbusters.
To test this, tell half your inbound sales leads that your product or service is available right away.
Tell the other half that it’s not available until December, but you might be able to slip them into the schedule earlier.
Then measure the closing rate between the two groups, and let me know the results of your experiment. You can e-mail me at rwbly@bly.com.
Bob Bly is the author of “World’s Best Copywriting Secrets” and has written copy for more than 100 companies including IBM, Boardroom, Medical Economics and AT&T. He is the author of more than 75 books and a columnist for Target Marketing, Early To Rise and The Writer. McGraw-Hill calls him “America’s top copywriter”.
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