Seven Words Increased the Order

                         By Ann Barr

When you are selling service and multiple consumable products, there are opportunities that come up every day to offer add-on products after you make the sale.

What would happen to your sales if each order were increased by 20 percent?

This is a true story about how seven words increased an order - and it is easier than you may think.

Mike’s favorite dinner is a New York strip steak, so when the direct mail letter arrived from Omaha Steaks - with a special price for New York strips (a time-limited offer, of course) - Mike immediately called to order.

The Right Words Make a Difference

With just seven words, the customer service person at Omaha Steaks got Mike’s attention - and caused him to order more than he intended to order.

When he called to order the steaks,  Mike intended to order only that;  just the New York Strips and nothing else.

But after he placed his order, the customer service representative said something that caught his attention.  After thanking him for the order, she said:

“Because you placed your order today, I have been authorized to offer you a special – ‘today only’ - price on the pork chops and hamburgers.”

Key phrase:  “I have been authorized to offer you . . .”

This is much more effective than “do you need anything else?”  or “would you like to order pork chops or hamburgers?”

The customer service rep continued with the special price which was lower than the regular price.

Mike placed the order and ended up spending 20 percent more than he intended.  But he was happy because he felt the value was there.

Different Words – Same Results

Something similar happened to me when I called Quill to place an order.  After I gave her my order, the representative at Quill thanked me and then said:

“Because you placed your order today, you are entitled to hear about a special – ‘today only’ - price on file folders and Pilot Pens . . . “  

Then she quoted the price (including the dollar amount of the savings over the regular price) and the key phrase was:  “You are entitled to hear about . . .” 

This sounded like something very special and I couldn’t resist.  After all, file folders have no shelf life and the pens offered at the special ‘”today only” price were exactly the type of pens we had ordered in the past.  I was already in a buying mood and taking advantage of this offer seemed like the logical thing to do.

This can also work with an outbound call after the customer places an order.

Try this for the next five days and see what happens.  I’ll bet your sales will increase!u

Ann Barr is a consultant and sales trainer who has written eight books on sales and marketing.  You can sign up for Ann’s free Weekly Sales Tips e-mailed newsletter at her web site www.sellingsupplies.com