Tell Visitors Why

By Akinori Furukoshi
Posted Tuesday, January 11, 2005

People need reasons to act. We work because we have to make a living. We eat because we are hungry. We have hobbies because we want to have some fun. Furthermore, people need reasons to buy from you. If you tell people why they should buy from you, you will dramatically increase sales.

--An Experiment--

Harvard social psychologist, Ellen Langer, conducted an experiment. She asked people waiting in line to use a photo copier if they would allow her to go ahead of them in line.

When she used the phrase, "Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine?" the success rate was 60 percent. When she used the phrase, "Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I'm in a rush?" the rate climbed up to 94 percent. This makes sense, doesn't it? But here is a surprise. When she used the phrase, "Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I have to make some copies?" the rate still clicked 93 percent, even though her reason didn't make any sense at all!

--Just Tell People Why--

This result is weird, but it reflects how people behave. Also, this experiment tells you that you don't have to make up any reason to attract customers. Just tell people an honest reason, whatever it is. For example, you may not want to tell people you are having special sales because it is a slow month. Don't be shy. We all have busy days and slow days. If you don't tell, people might wonder if you are offering a special deal because there is something wrong with your products. Tell it like it is and remember that any reason works better than no reason. In the photo copy machine experiment, "because I have to make some copies" worked as well as "because I'm in a rush." The important part is giving a reason, not the logic.

--Answer All the Imaginable Questions--

If you receive inquiries from every potential customer and reply to all of them, you will be writing e-mails all day long. Instead, you should answer all imaginable questions on your site. Making a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page is one way. The best way is putting all the reasons in the sales copy. As visitors are reading the copy, all of the reasons are given. Thus, when visitors finish reading the copy, they are ready to buy.

You need to give prospects a reason to buy from you, but you don't have to be creative. Just tell people honest reasons. Even though those reasons might not sound right to you, they will work way better than nothing.

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Article by Akinori Furukoshi of (http://www.thatswise.com)
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