However great your product or offer, often you may be surprised the persuasive copy in your sales letter fails to generate the desired response from your target audience. While there could be many reasons for this, what’s often overlooked is addressing the objections running through your prospect’s mind.

Although the main focus of your sales letter is to demonstrate how your product or service will solve a burning problem, in a highly competitive environment it’s not enough to clinch the deal. Once you’ve stated the problem, stirred the emotions of the reader and offered a solution, you need to be able to tick off all the objections they may have to buying from you. While there could be several reasons for your prospect to avoid making a buying decision, generally there are four most common ones you need to consider. There may be offshoots of these, but generally they fall into these categories.

1. The Product or Service is Unaffordable

This is one of the most common reasons why people hesitate to pull out their credit card and make a purchase. Even if they are convinced that your product or service can help them overcome a problem they may be facing. If they can't affordard your product they can't afford it.

While crafting the copy, you need to effectively communicate the value being offered, leaving no doubt there’s nothing else in the marketplace that comes even close in comparison. Offering bonuses with a high perceived value is another way to elevate the worthiness of your product or service in the mind of the customer. Many astute marketers offer bonuses with a combined value that exceeds that of the main product or service being promoted.

Another tactic used is to broaden the frame of reference. For example if the product is a back-pain remedy, explain how much more expensive it would be to continue with medication that isn’t working in the long run. Perhaps show a table which indicates the savings that will occur in say a year or two years by using the back-pain remedy.

2. An Unreasonable Time Commitment is Required

A common objection, especially for busy individuals and business clients when the solution you’re offering involves some form of commitment on their part to execute a task which could eat into their busy lifestyle. One of the most effective ways to overcome this objection is to use a technique known as future-pacing.

Explain why it’s important to dedicate a little time now, to gain peace-of-mind or whatever benefit you offer. It helps to break down the task in bite-sized chunks, so the time commitment does not appear overwhelming and can be easily managed.

Say for instance the task requires a person to spend four hours a week, the copy could read – it just takes an hour a day, four times a week. It’s also a good idea to remind the prospect that everyone in the world has exactly the same time. World leaders, elite sports persons and industry giants don’t have even a second more than anyone else on earth.

3. The Prospect Does not Believe You

Unless you’re really well known, it’s unlikely you will be believed at face value, especially if you make some tall claims in your sales letter. Many online marketers continue to make absurd claims about miracle cures and software tools which can help turn around the fortunes of businesses overnight.

There are two ways to get prospects to believe you. The first method is to use proof elements such as testimonials and published reports in credible publications. When using testimonials use written as well as video testimonials, as the latter are more believable. The other method is to offer an incredible guarantee no one else is offering. This takes the risk away from the buyer and even if they’ve never heard of you or your business, they have nothing to lose by giving you a try.

4. The Belief That the Product or Service is not Relevant to their Situation

Sometimes a prospective customer may feel, the solution you’re offering may not work for their particular situation. Take for example a business situation, where the proposed solution is a new approach which may lie outside the comfort zone of the business owner. The best way to handle this objection is to use stories in your copy. Relate one or two short stories of people in completely contrasting situations whose lives or businesses saw a complete turnaround when they took advantage of your offer.

If you a good job with objection handling in your sales copy the chances of improving your sales conversions will be greatly improved. While sales copy that focuses on solving a problem, prospective customers may be facing, it’s important to clarify the niggling doubts which may be keeping them from placing an order. Keep this in mind the next time you need to craft a compelling sales letter.

In Conclusion:

Roadblocks in a customer's journey will happen and are sometimes difficult to overcome depending on the situation; however, you might be able to overcome the situation with effective sales copy. With that said, continuing to focus on providing key insight and answering customer pain points is the best approach to solving potential issues.