A bucket list… dreams… things to do before you die
Just about everybody alive maintains a bucket list. The list may evolve, but the price?
Ha! One-in-a-lifetime events are absurdly expensive. That’s not gonna change, even if Richard Branson thinks coach class seats on spaceships is feasible.
Which means that if you sell bucket list items for a living, you have to continually battle sticker shock.
Yes, sticker shock, even though prospects expect the giant price tag.
Of course bucket lists are subjective. What one person — Working Class Joe — considers astronomical is pocket change to another.
Either way, selling bucket list items can be real um,… satisfying. Satisfying in the 300% markup kinda way (standard for vintage wine).
So the question for all bucket list sellers is this. How do you make “tomorrow,” today?
How do you hurry a financial decision that borders on… decadent… excessive… maybe insane?
A bucket list item requires a full sales presentation
There are two primary ways to move the sales needle. Both come straight outta the direct response playbook: risk reversal and testimonials.
They fit together like PB and chocolate.
RISK REVERSAL is a simple trade-off. You’re absorbing the buyer’s risk by guaranteeing their happiness.
Money-back guarantees are the easiest way to do this. Better still if you make it “no questions asked.”
Anyone considering a bucket list item will search for a money-back guarantee. Without it, they’ll hesitate.
Taking a loss is a scary thought, do doubt. But overall, risk reversal is a money-maker. That’s because if your product is good — even decent — refunds are extremely rare.
The more prominent you make the guarantee, the better. Jay Abraham, the marketing legend, even suggests making the guarantee the centerpiece of your offer.
Be aware that legalese and fine print undercut the strength of the risk reversal proposition. While you probably can’t avoid the stuff altogether (industry requirements and all) you CAN minimize the damage.
How? By keeping the focus on your product. That is, not ceding the EXTREME confidence you have in it to state regulators, who have much lower standards for customers.
You want to make the fine print look like a formality… something imposed on you by authorities.
Better than satisfied
Now obviously, honor whatever guarantee you make. Like I said, if your product is good, few will ever ask for a refund. Still, whatever happens, never lie or change the terms of the contract. It’s wrong and it will do lasting damage.
Risk reversals are more potent when you go beyond mere “satisfaction.” Why? Because “satisfaction” is trite and vague. Nobody really knows what it means.
Instead, do again as Jay Abraham suggests, and denominate the outcome of your guarantee. In other words, paint the picture.
For example, imagine an Alaskan cruise line offering this kind of guarantee:
“If the smell of the salt water… the midst on your skin… the pristine glacier views… the giant pine trees on Kodiak Island… don’t leave you speechless… awed… humbled… if the high summer sun… the air that’s so pure it tickles your lungs… the Orcas playing in the waves… doesn’t find a permanent place in your heart, to be treasured, protected, and replayed over and over… we will refund the full price of your ticket plus all related expenses as our way of making it up to you.”
See what I mean?
Free gifts are always a good way to reverse customer risk. The customer keeps the gift regardless of satisfaction level.
Customers who accept gifts are more likely to praise you and less likely to complain. It’s the Cialdini principle in action — reciprocation.
Just make sure the gift is appropriate for a bucket list product. Clock radios and umbrellas won’t cut it for a for a $10K Alaskan cruise.
But a $150 pair of binoculars for studying the wildlife? Now you’re getting warm.
A bucket list testimonial must be believable
TESTIMONIES are praise blurbs from customers. For bucket list items, wary prospects need to see someone who LOOKS, SOUNDS, and THINKS like them to be persuaded.
That’s why your testimonials should use real language (fragmented), real (untouched) photos, and real names and hometowns.
Because, while someone can dream and save religiously for an Alaskan cruise, when it comes time to actually sign on the dotted line…
… anything can happen.
The big question they ask themselves is, what if. What if something goes wrong? Then what?
That’s what your testimonies smooth over, the “what if” questions.
- One grandmother convinces another grandmother
- One guy — deathly afraid of heights — convinces another with the same fear.
- One guy — a tightwad — convinces another tightwad… from the same city!
You get the picture. With bucket list items, the more (believable) testimonies, the merrier. Or, in copy terms, the more you tell, the more you sell.
As always, I’m here if you need to up your sales game. No, I won’t get on the phone and call your leads personally. Trust me, you wouldn’t want that anyway… not with my Noo Yawk accent.
Instead, I’ll presell your product, so that by the time you or your reps speak to leads, they’re much further along the decision path.
What’s better than that? Go HERE to get the conversation started.