How to Address Objections in Your Copy
There is very little that can be accomplished if you don’t make your reader/prospect feel at ease.
That means when you know they have an issue, you can’t skirt it in your copy.
Joe Sugarman, one of copywriting’s legendary leaders in direct response copy, frequently aired the dirty laundry of the products he was trying to sell.
And, surprisingly, it worked. He successfully sold ugly thermostats, BluBlocker sunglasses and more because he didn’t dance around the reader’s concerns.
They were often the first thing the reader would read about.
It helped that Joe’s style was Uncle Joe...much the way you might feel when you read Frank Kern’s copy.
It was his tone coupled with his deep knowledge of the buyer and the product that made his sales successful.
The questions then become…
Do you understand your product and your buyer as well as you think you do?
And are you afraid of bringing up those objections?
Assumption is the killer of sales
In the personal development industry, the first thing coaches assume is an objection is pricing.
But pricing is not always THE biggest objection...especially when you address the value and have earned the trust.
Sometimes, it’s social proof.
Sometimes, it’s lack of trust.
Sometimes (many times), it’s a combination of factors. And they are usually not even brought up in the copy.
What is the secret to uncovering and addressing your reader’s objections, then?
Step One: Become a detective.
Release yourself from the habit of assumption and tap into your inner Sherlock Holmes. Allow yourself to run beta tests and find out what works and what doesn’t. Talk to people about their reasons for not buying.
Hold your product at arm’s length and look at it from top to bottom, from left to right, from inside to outside. Note everything you see that is wrong with it.
Ask yourself if someone else was offering this product why would *I* not buy it?
And give yourself enough lead time that you have time to do all this inquisitive work.
Oh, and one more thing. Do not wear your heart on your sleeve when you ask these questions. Do not allow your own bias and emotion to jade your investigative work.
Create an exhaustive list of every objection your digging uncovered.
Step Two: Give them weight.
After doing your research, list out all the objectives you uncovered. Then bring to mind your ideal client to mind (this is code for: Pull up the recon files you have on your ideal client...don’t wing it from memory like most do. Because when you are in the midst of the mental storm that you’re in, you’ll forget some details OR you’ll replace facts with your own mental bias. So, use your notes.)
Now, begin to give weight to the objections you uncovered.
What are the things that have affected your ideal client’s buying decisions in the past? What factors have helped push them toward the yes?
For example, value might weigh more than social proof, so you want to make sure you address them in that order.
Step Three: Throw it all onto the page.
Literally, I don’t need to remind you to write your shitty first draft, I know. But I’ll say it anyway.
Rather than letting your fear of doing it wrong, sounding stupid, or not being perfect stop from putting anything on the page, allow yourself to screw it up.
A shitty first draft is a better foundation than a blank page.
Now, bring all the objections you discovered front and center.
If your ideal client has made decisions to buy based on social proof, you’ll want to make sure you have loads of that in there.
If they buy based on value, then you’ll want to make sure that the argument is completely spelled out.
If they buy based on ease of use, then make that your star.
The elephants are in the room, just go ahead and address them
Going back to Joe Sugarman, he was on QVC trying to sell his BluBlockers and the host stepped on the sunglasses, as per their normal demonstration, but this time, they broke.
Joe coolly pointed out that he’d been telling production that the hinge was the weakest part of the construction, but not to worry because if their glasses ever broke, all they’d have to do is return them and they’d get a brand new pair.
Take a page out of Sugarman’s playbook.
“Hey, really, why would someone want to spend $10,000 on coaching?? Because they are tired of living the cycles that they have been living in. (Alternatively: Because they are ready to reach their goals without friction and frustration.)
BOOM! Of course...it’s not that simple because there are many other factors that need to be in place, like trust and perceived authority, etc...but this is a MASSIVE step in that direction that cannot be ignored.
Knowing your product and your ideal client inside out will help you bring out those objections and put them to rest right away. Because when your reader sees that, they feel like you are running around inside their heads... and that means they can trust you.
Need help making sure you hit those all-important high notes? Join the Copy Arena, the free Facebook group for talking up the most powerful tool in your owner’s toolbox, copywriting.