Dear Direct Response Letter Subscriber: The higher the price of your product or service, the more the prospect is likely to experience " sticker shock " -- a resistance to paying that much money, no matter how much he wants what you're selling. Sticker shock is that unpleasant moment when the prospect gasps
(aloud or silently), and thinks: "It's THAT much money? Why??"
When the prospect immediately rejects the price as too high,
that's sticker shock. Fortunately, there are a number of sales and marketing techniques
that can help us overcome sticker shock and get people to pay the
hefty prices we are asking for our products and services. One trick that works is to talk first about higher-priced
products than the one you are selling. Then give your price that,
while substantial, is still less than the numbers you've been
throwing out. For instance, if you are selling reading specs by mail, mention
in your ad that laser eye surgery is $1,000, new eyeglasses can
run $300 at an optician's, but your mail order reading specs are
just $19.95. If you are selling an options trading course on video, first mention your $1 million minimum private managed accounts ... your $5,000 trading advisory ... and your $2,000 live seminar. By the time you get to the videos, the prospect will actually be relieved that they are only $299. Retailers know this trick well. If they want to increase sales of
the $50 sweaters, they put the sweaters on a table so that when
the customer walks down the aisle, he sees the $150 sweaters
first. Then the $100 sweaters. When he gets to the end of the table, $50 for a sweater seems
like a bargain -- and he buys one. An aluminum siding salesman always asked his prospects, "What do
you think it would cost to side your house in solid oak?" After
the prospect made her guess, the salesman then said: "Now let me
tell you 10 reasons why aluminum siding is better than solid
oak." Of course, the buyer was relieved to hear that this superior
aluminum siding cost much less than she thought the oak would
cost. This is an example of another proven sales technique: making an
apples-to-oranges comparison. For instance, ads for Georgetown's
American Speaker, a loose-leaf course on public speaking for
executives, compare the $297 subscription price to the $5,000 a
top speechwriter would charge to write just one speech. Spreading out the payments can also help eliminate sticker shock.
Rodale and Franklin Mint are well aware of the appeal of several
smaller payments vs. one large lump sum. The Franklin Mint was selling a chess set by the piece, with each
piece costing $17.50 and advertised as a collectible figurine in
its own right. A collectible figure for $17.50 sounds reasonable enough, until
you realize that a chess set has 32 pieces, and therefore the
full set sells for a hefty $560 - a price that would give all but
the wealthiest chess enthusiasts a bad case of sticker shock. When selling big-ticket items, offer leasing as an option and
quote it up front. A sticker price of $10,000 may be too much for
the customer's budget to handle. But with financing, you reduce
that cost to a low monthly payment of only $322. State the price in terms that make it seem smallest. Even if you
want full payment up front, state the price in your promotion in
terms that make it seem smaller. For instance, a term insurance policy with a $350 annual premium
gives you protection and peace of mind "for less than a dollar a
day." A $100 membership in a trade association brings you all the
benefits for a small daily fee that's "less than the price of a
first-class postage stamp." Value the component parts of the product you are selling. If you
are promoting a set of tools in a nice toolbox, list the
individual tools in the set. Show that the retail prices of each,
when added up, come to much more than the package price --
therefore the buyer is getting a great deal. Even better: Position one or two of the product elements as
premiums the buyer can keep even if he returns the product.
Offering "keeper" premiums usually increases response. For our toolbox example, you could throw in a couple of free
screwdrivers or wrenches. Or make the toolbox free. Or say you sell how-to audiocassette programs. Instead of selling
your 8- CD audio album for $69, say it is a 6-CD album for $69.
Then position the other two CDs as premiums. People will think
it's a better deal because they are getting two CDs free. Sincerely, | 
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