You Must Convince Them That It Is Legit
Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2025 8:23 am
A Sales Trick As Old As Time
Is the “today only” offer effective and justifiable in creating urgency in sales?
For as long as sales has been a profession, salespeople have used special “today only” offers to try to create buying urgency so that the customer will resist the natural tendency to procrastinate and instead make a decision to buy on the first sales call.
One could easily imagine early humans offering to sell two bananas for the price of one, but only if the prospect would buy those bananas today, or the inventor of the wheel throwing in the fourth with the purchase of three, but of course, today only.
Urgency Saves Them Money and Saves You Time
While the technique is effective to some degree, it has become less so over time as it is increasingly recognized as a sales technique and not a legitimate business proposition.
And that is what it should be, a legitimate business proposition that helps a customer save money on something that they want and need by helping the salesman reduce the money and time it takes to sell it.
We know that orders placed on the first visit eliminate the cost of additional visits and save time that could be better used to meet with other prospects. By simple economics we know that when the cost is lower, the price can be lower.
Why Buyers Do Not Believe “Today Only” Offers
While in that sense it is justifiable, the problem is that it is ivory coast telegram data effective only to the degree that it is believable, and fewer and fewer people believe that the “today only” discount is actually for today only.
Why? Because fewer and fewer salespeople use it correctly.
If you use a “today only” offer in your sales presentation, and the prospect does not buy that day, would you offer the same pricing if they called you back the next day?
If you wouldn’t, then you are in the honest minority, but it is that majority of salespeople that would offer the same pricing at a later date that have taught prospects that the “today only” offer is not a legitimate business proposition, but exclusively a sales tactic of high pressure selling.
So can a “today only” offer be an effective sales technique?
Is the “today only” offer effective and justifiable in creating urgency in sales?
For as long as sales has been a profession, salespeople have used special “today only” offers to try to create buying urgency so that the customer will resist the natural tendency to procrastinate and instead make a decision to buy on the first sales call.
One could easily imagine early humans offering to sell two bananas for the price of one, but only if the prospect would buy those bananas today, or the inventor of the wheel throwing in the fourth with the purchase of three, but of course, today only.
Urgency Saves Them Money and Saves You Time
While the technique is effective to some degree, it has become less so over time as it is increasingly recognized as a sales technique and not a legitimate business proposition.
And that is what it should be, a legitimate business proposition that helps a customer save money on something that they want and need by helping the salesman reduce the money and time it takes to sell it.
We know that orders placed on the first visit eliminate the cost of additional visits and save time that could be better used to meet with other prospects. By simple economics we know that when the cost is lower, the price can be lower.
Why Buyers Do Not Believe “Today Only” Offers
While in that sense it is justifiable, the problem is that it is ivory coast telegram data effective only to the degree that it is believable, and fewer and fewer people believe that the “today only” discount is actually for today only.
Why? Because fewer and fewer salespeople use it correctly.
If you use a “today only” offer in your sales presentation, and the prospect does not buy that day, would you offer the same pricing if they called you back the next day?
If you wouldn’t, then you are in the honest minority, but it is that majority of salespeople that would offer the same pricing at a later date that have taught prospects that the “today only” offer is not a legitimate business proposition, but exclusively a sales tactic of high pressure selling.
So can a “today only” offer be an effective sales technique?