On Saturday, April 13th, 2019 aviation history was made. It wasn’t a faster plane. It wasn’t a higher flying aircraft. It wasn’t even a new space vehicle. It was simply an airplane that was larger than any other in history. Its name is Stratolaunch. With a wingspan of 385 feet, it’s wider than a football field is long.
But why build such a massive aircraft?
To send rockets into space much more quickly than we can now. A typical rocket can take years or months of preparation before launch. Stratolaunch will be able to launch a satellite into orbit in less than 24 hours.
The massive time and preparation for a rocket launch is a cost few people consider. When we give out a free offer, we often fail to recognize the costs that our audiences may perceive. Not dealing with these costs can result in far fewer people accepting the offer.
Let me give you an example. Let’s say you meet someone at a networking event who has written a 50-page ebook and will give you access to it in exchange for signing up to his newsletter.
Do you jump at the chance for a free ebook? Or do you have some questions?
What is this ebook about? Why would I need it? What’s this newsletter I’ll be subscribing to? Can I unsubscribe if I don’t like what you send me? Will I hurt your feelings if I unsubscribe? What if I never read your emails, will you hold it against me?
You might think that these questions sound like they come from a worry-wart.
But these are actually the questions that rapidly run through many of our minds in this kind of situation. Fortunately, you can answer every single one of them when you make your free offer. I’ll show you how with an example.
After a presentation, you can make an offer by bringing up a problem:
I’ve given you three powerful ideas that can help you boost your sales this year. However, this leaves us with a problem. It’s hard to remember everything you’ve been taught just when you need it. And even if you took notes, they may not be as organized as would be most effective for learning and implementation. Fortunately, I’ve created a document that includes all the main points and all the stories and examples in great detail. You can get it by filling out the form under your seats which asks for your email address. Fill out the form and give it to me and I’ll email you the notes and add you to my newsletter. The newsletter is once a week chock full of insights about how to improve your sales. You can unsubscribe if you don’t like it and I won’t hold it against you. I’m totally used to that.
Notice how this answers all of the questions above. Why get the notes? Because you may forget. What’s in the newsletter? Tips on increasing sales. Will you hate me if I unsubscribe? No, I’m used to that.
With these questions answered, you can be much more at ease saying yes to this offer. And when you answer them for your prospects, they’ll be more likely to say yes to you as well.
To sum up, we’ve discussed that your prospects need a strong reason to say yes even for a free offer. And that they may have questions that need answering before they can say yes. Give both of these to them and they’ll be more likely to accept your gifts and become your clients. As a result, your free offers will start to take off like a rocket released from an airplane at 35,000 feet.
