You’ve designed your powerful offer, but now you have to get over the next hurdle. Why should anyone believe you? You probably heard the same statement I heard when I was growing up, “If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. You would think that people would jump at the chance to get a totally free lunch, but no one believes you. Everyone of us has been lied to and cheated enough times by other businesses not to believe everything we hear or read. People will think you have some ulterior motive to whatever you’re giving away or that you’re not telling them the whole story.



If you don’t believe me, try this test. Put a classified ad in the paper. Tell people to send $10 to a fictitious business name at some PO Box. Tell them you’ll send back $100 bills to everyone who replies. See how many people take you up on this offer if you don’t provide them with any other information. Would you reply? I’ll bet you wouldn’t. You wouldn’t believe it no matter how good the offer was. You’d need a lot more proof before you’d take action.

Whenever you make any great offer, you have to tell your prospects and clients why you’re making this offer. You’re giving away a free lunch, but why should I believe you. What’s your angle? Here’s a novel concept. Tell them the truth!

Tell them you’re giving away free lunches because your restaurant is brand new to this area. You know that a large percentage of people who try your food will love it. They’ll say it’s the best Mexican food they’ve ever tried. They’ll become regular customers. So instead of requiring the customers to bet on your restaurant, you’d take all the risk. They get a free meal and you’ll only profit if your food is so good they can’t resist coming back in the future.

You may be holding a grand opening sale with prices so low you won’t make a dime. The reason why you’d be willing to do this is to generate customers who you know will come back once they see just how high quality your items are. You may be having a car sale with every car priced under invoice because its tax time and you have to pay extra for every car still on your lot. You may be having a private sale for your clients because you know how much they’ll appreciate it and you just received 75 new dresses from France – and you know they won’t last long once they go on the floor.

The more you tell, the more you sell. Tell your prospects and clients the whole story. You may be having your sale because new inventory comes out next month. You have $100,000 tied up in the current inventory and you’re letting everything go for 50% off of what people would have paid only 1 month ago. Tell them how high quality the items are and how you love to keep selling these same garments, but you have to make room for the new inventory. Your loss is their bargain.

For a continuity offer, you could simply say you have all these tree trimming workers who you have to pay 40 hours a week. You often end up with large surges of business at specific weeks of the year. By offering your clients the 4 times per year deal you’re able to schedule your workers to more consistent hours. So you’re willing to charge much less for this deal since you save money on it yourself.

Below are 8 possible reasons why you could be making such a wonderful offer. You’re not limited to just these methods. They are simply idea generators. Every offer must include a unique benefit, scarcity, and a reason why. If you get these items in place, your ad copy is already mostly written for any sales piece. Neglect these steps and the best copywriter in the world won’t be able to produce for you.

Reason Why #1: Grand Opening or Generating New Customers/Clients

It’s the grand opening sale or the new customer/client drive. You’re making your incredible offer to generate new clients for your business. You understand the value of every client in your business, and you’re willing to make their first purchase an experience they’ll remember. You’re willing to lose some money upfront and invest in them. Once they try out your “product/service" they will have to come back for more. They won’t get a deal like this anytime soon.

Reason Why #2: Customer Appreciation

You appreciate your loyal customers. They’re the ones who have made you successful in your business. You’re making this deal available only to your best clients as a thank you for shopping or doing business with you. They shouldn’t share the letter, postcard, or coupon you’ve sent them with anyone else. It’s exclusively just for them. You may have just received one hundred new items into your inventory and you know how much they enjoy high quality widgets.

Reason Why #3: Need Surge of Income

Your business needs a surge of income. You’re making this offer available to generate the income you need to do ____________. It may be something in your personal life such as paying for your eighteen year old child’s college education. It could be your wife wants a new kitchen or your husband wants a fishing boat. It may be that your business needs a new truck or to expand its location.

Reason Why #4: Going out of business or Clearing Out Inventory

Going out of business sales and inventory clearance sales are extremely profitable. These are powerful “reasons why" that appeal to all bargain shoppers. Clothing stores sell seasonal merchandise or fashions while car dealers sell off last year’s models. All types of stores clearance off discontinued products. If you mess up and order too many of something, you can hold a liquidation to clear out that inventory. Be honest with your customers/clients and tell them why you’re making the offer.

Reason Why #5: Inventory tax time

Inventory taxes (or inventory time) are coming up. Whatever you don’t sell, you’ll pay additional taxes on. If people buy now, you’ll pass on the savings to them. A variation on this could also be that you just were hit with a large tax bill because your accountant made a mistake. You must pay the bill immediately or you’ll face stiff fines and interest. Your customers save from helping you out quickly.

Reason Why #6: Scratch and Dent Sale

A mail order company may sell products which were returned for a discount price. The appliance dealer had a poor delivery person who put small dents in several items which now can’t be sold at full price. The furniture store had heavy winds and a hole in the roof let rain in causing slight damage to several items. Some items at the retail or clothing shop may not measure up to their exacting standards.

Reason Why #7: Need Testimonials and case studies for new product/service

You may have hundreds of testimonials in your overall business, but you’re launching a brand new product/service. You want to get a “test market" of people using it and giving you feedback. For people to receive this special offer, they must give you back feedback on the exact results they get from using it. The “marketing test" reason why is another variation of this. You’re making the offer as a marketing test because a marketing coach named Terry Dean suggested it and you simply don’t know what kind of results you’ll get or how busy you’ll be.

Reason Why #8: You want to Celebrate

It’s your 30th anniversary. Your daughter just graduated college. Your dog had its first litter of puppies. Your girlfriend said yes when you asked her to marry you. The high school team won the state championship. The Indianapolis Colts won the Superbowl. It’s a celebration. You’re excited about what happened and you want to share it with your customers by giving them a special, “She Said Yes" event. This technique makes you seem more real and personable as a business owner.