Business
I would like to introduce you to a concept that is extremely
valuable as it relates to marketing your company. It is a phenomenal tool to
demonstrate your unique experience. It is a fast growth tool because it
makes it easy for a maximum number of people to “sample” your service.
The tool that I’m referring to is called, “The Free Trial
Offer.” This concept gives your prime target market the opportunity to
experience your product or service before purchasing it. In the best case, it
is an actual sample of a product or a service. For example, Chick-fil-A began
to offer a free trial in shopping malls. Now everyone does it. If you own a
residential cleaning business, you would clean a room for free. If you own a
golf facility, offer a free round of golf to attract new prospects.
Did you know that Lexus has a free trial offer? When you go
to the Lexus dealership and express interest in a car, they encourage you to
take it home for the weekend. If you say, “I’m not sure I can get it back in
time,” they say “Don’t worry! Bring it back when you can.” You may say, “We’ll
I’ve got to go out of town this week.” “Don’t worry. We’ll fill it up
with gas. Take the car on the trip with you,” they say.
What’s happening here? They want you to take that car home
with you because once you “experience” how it drives, you are going to want to
keep it! And when you see how it looks in your driveway, now you really fall in
love with it. But the kicker is when your neighbors come over and begin to ooh
and ahh over it—there is no way that car is going back! Especially if you’re a
male! You know how that male ego is!
Zig Ziglar called that the “puppy dog” close. You know how
it is when you bring a cute little puppy home. You fall in love with it and
that little dude ain’t going nowhere!
You might consider offering a free consultation, a free
report, a free CD, video, webinars, or a free newsletter that offers tips and
solutions to your prime target market’s biggest frustrations and insights into
helping them fulfill their biggest desires.
Make your free trial offer as impactful as possible. You
want it to be informative, emotional, and you want it to get them to buy
without pressure. This is a wonderful way for them to experience your product
or service in action.
Instead of trying to take someone from suspect (someone who
may or may not be a good prospect) straight to paying customer, the free trial
offer takes them from suspect to prospect and allows you to do a very important
thing—collect their contact information! Now you’re in control of the follow
up, not them. Plus, they have “raised their hand” for more information so to
speak. They are telling you, “Hey, I’m a prospect! I’m interested!” All too
often, prospects are skeptical and they want to “check you out.” The free trial
is the perfect way for them to get to know, like, and trust you.
What if people take advantage of your free trial? What if
you have a free trial offer and it costs you money to provide the free product
or service? What if there is a cost in delivering or installing the
product? If you are a restaurant, a free meal costs money. How do you know if
they will come back? You don’t. But your goal is to create so many more clients
as a result of your free trial that even if you get a few “freebies” who take advantage,
you are still making more money.
Important to Note: Don’t
confuse the concept of the free trial with a discount! This is a completely
different concept. A discount is “conditional” and causes prospects to respond
to get a “deal.” They still have to buy. The concept of a free trial offer is
different because it allows them to experience you without risk.
If
you need help in creating systems to work in your business, I want to help you!
I want to meet you at one of my business growth conferences. For
more information, click here.
Howard
Partridge is Ziglar's Exclusive Small Business Coach. Get Free Business-Building Resources from Howard!
No comments:
Post a Comment