"hard sell"

DocNum: 0000150



Texas NSA Network

2005-07-06 15:06:20
URL: http://ideabook.com/hardsell/hardsell.htm
Type: Business Articles and Resources; Marketing Ideas; Publications;
Title: "hard sell"
Comment:
Don't be fooled by the terminology -- for most of us, "hard sell" conjures up a less than pretty picture. You might even go so far as to say it smacks of intimidation, of someone trying to sell something we wouldn't buy unless we were talked into buying it. That is not the kind of hard sell I'm going to talk about here.

I want to talk about the honest hard sell. Techniques for grabbing attention. For confidently presenting the compelling benefits of an idea, a product, or a service. And for asking a prospect to take a specific action in their own self interest. The honest hard sell does not overstate the facts. It does not deceive. It does not intimidate. It deals with the truth.

It might help, too, to define the opposite of the hard sell -- the soft sell. The soft sell is something quite different. It says "Welcome, come look around. Get a feel for who we are and how we can help you." A soft sell advertisement, for example, might sell the look and feel of a store, where a hard sell would list specific items and sale prices. A soft sell brochure might present an overall view of a service, where a hard sell makes specific, actionable offers.

To my way of thinking, a hard sell hopes to initiate a sale with one time exposure to the message, while a soft sell hopes of cultivate a customer over a series of repeated exposures. So why wouldn't you opt for the hard sell all the time? Wouldn't you spend less money for more action? Not necessarily. A hard sell might move a particular product or service but it does not necessarily create long-term customers.

All that said, as with any type of marketing, there are no universal rules -- only universal possibilities. Your business situation, your market, and your tastes make your situation unique. Can you expect hard sell strategies to work in your situation? The answer is a definitive -- always, sometimes, and never.

Hard sell headlines speak in the language of benefits -- When a prospect reads your ad (below), you hope they will find a compelling reason to buy. Instead of listing features and information about your organization, concentrate on presenting the compelling benefit of the product to the prospect -- and state it in clear, accessible terms.

Hard sell typefaces match the "voice" of the message -- Think of a typeface as a way to establish tone of voice you would use if you were telling someone about your offer. To me, a bold typeface, such as the Frutiger Ultra Black used for the "Try your vacation...," headline is clear, strong, and confident. Raleigh Gothic, used for "Yucatan Mexico" is a bit exotic.
AddedNotes: [None]

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