THE BEN FRANKLIN CLOSE FOR THE CINCHER IN PRESENTATIONS AND SALES LETTERS
Here`s a very effective sales technique I used with great success 90’s when I sold Insurance with Metropolitan Life.
I also believe it can be incorporated into sales letters and ads as well.
It`s called The Ben Franklin Close.
It`s also known as The Balance Sheet Close.
Here`s how it works:
You`ve just finished making your sales presentation to a prospect, but the
couple is on the fence and can`t make up their mind. You`ve tried everything in
your arsenal of sales closes, but can`t still get them to commit.
Suddenly you say, "You know, Benjamin Franklin was one of the wisest and
most respected men in history. Wouldn`t you agree?" (It`s important to get
the prospects to agree with you.)
"Whenever he was faced with a tough decision - much like you are today. He
would take a plain piece of paper, draw a line down the middle and put a plus
sign on one half, and a minus sign on the other.
He discovered that by listing all the positive elements on the plus side of the
paper, and the negative things on the minus side, the answer would become
obvious. That makes a lot of sense, wouldn`t you agree?" Again, it`s
important to get the prospects to agree.
"With your permission, I`m going to borrow Ben Franklin`s method for just
a moment. Since you`re having a tough time making a decision, lets list the
benefits--some of the reasons you should make this purchase. Then we`ll list
the negatives. Fair enough?" Once again, get the prospects to agree.
Now simply list all of the positive qualities of your product or service.
Better yet let the prospect list most of them. Whatever the prospect writes
down will obviously be the main points of interest to him or her. Make sure you
develop a complete list.
After you`ve listed all of the positive points, let the prospect list the
negatives." Don`t say a word while the prospect is listing the negatives.
The list of negatives will always be shorter than the list of positives. Why?
Because usually the only negatives prospects can think of have to do with price
or affordability.
So how can you incorporate the Ben Franklin close into a sales letter or ad?
Here`s how I would do it:
Knowing that the average website only closes 1 or 2 percent of first time
visitors, at the end of my sales letter I would have a link that says,
"Read this only if you`ve decided not to order today."
Then I would have a separate page summarizing my product or service again,
using The Ben Franklin Close.
It`s definitely worth testing!
Sue & Shawn Kelly
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