The Irresistible Offer....
Business Book Review – Mark Joyner – The Irresistible Offer
Subtitle: How to sell your product or service in 3 seconds or less.
I have to admit I love this book. I used to follow Mark Joyner online and he is one of the original online marketing gurus. He used viral techniques to sell and had some great success in the early days.
In “The irresistible offer” he offers a formula for making an offer that will sell in today’s high speed world. The premise is that media is saturated with offers. We have to make ours stand out and sell in under 3 seconds.
He therefore suggests that we all create our own irresistible offer; easier said than done. I remember after I first read this book a few years ago, I wandered around the stores looking for such an offer. They are few and far between.
An irresistible offer is one that is just that; irresistible. You can’t pass it by. On the web these days it has to be free – and even then you will not get many takers as free is often just not good enough value.
This book is not long and it is based around only one thing which it goes into in depth. Someone said to me at a network meeting recently that they didn’t go in for the American business help books because they tend to make one point at the beginning and then just go over it for the rest of the book.
Well this is one of those such books. However it is such a good point that it deserves a closer look.
The irresistible offer as Mark would have it is made up of 3 things:
1. A high ROI offer
2. A Touchstone
3. Believability
If you are missing one of the three, or even one is a bit lacking, you will fail.
Irresistible offers do not need sales people to explain them. They sell themselves. If you can create one you will then just be an order taker. I for one would be happy with that.
Let’s have a quick look at this in practice with my business; Holiday Lodge group.
1. We have a high ROI offer – lodge ownership that gives over 10% return plus cheap holidays
2. Touchstone – The luxury holidays that make you money
3. Believability – we are a new company and concept so this is a tough one
If you see our touchstone you may be curious – but you will not buy.
One campaign that did work was Dominos Pizza – 30 minutes delivery or it’s free. People would order and then hope that it would be late; if it wasn’t then you got a fresh pizza; if it was you didn’t mind because you got a free pizza. They sold a lot of pizza.
Mark Joyner explains each part of the offer; what it needs to succeed and how to build your own. It doesn’t matter if you are in retail, online or business to business – we all can benefit from an irresistible offer.
I will keep working on mine, good luck with yours.
*** Stars – well worth looking out second hand or online
I already gave you the formula – but the book helps you put it to work in your business.
Mark also asks of your offer:
How obvious is the customer’s need?
How genuine is the need?
How common is a solution for the problem?
Can you show a ROI?
How emotional is your offer?
How timely is your offer?
How does yours stack up against the known opposition?
How do you compare with the known completion on price?
All the answers to these questions affect your offer and its effect.
Word of mouth marketing is the goal – Language is a virus – William S. Burroughs
Subtitle: How to sell your product or service in 3 seconds or less.
I have to admit I love this book. I used to follow Mark Joyner online and he is one of the original online marketing gurus. He used viral techniques to sell and had some great success in the early days.
In “The irresistible offer” he offers a formula for making an offer that will sell in today’s high speed world. The premise is that media is saturated with offers. We have to make ours stand out and sell in under 3 seconds.
He therefore suggests that we all create our own irresistible offer; easier said than done. I remember after I first read this book a few years ago, I wandered around the stores looking for such an offer. They are few and far between.
An irresistible offer is one that is just that; irresistible. You can’t pass it by. On the web these days it has to be free – and even then you will not get many takers as free is often just not good enough value.
This book is not long and it is based around only one thing which it goes into in depth. Someone said to me at a network meeting recently that they didn’t go in for the American business help books because they tend to make one point at the beginning and then just go over it for the rest of the book.
Well this is one of those such books. However it is such a good point that it deserves a closer look.
The irresistible offer as Mark would have it is made up of 3 things:
1. A high ROI offer
2. A Touchstone
3. Believability
If you are missing one of the three, or even one is a bit lacking, you will fail.
Irresistible offers do not need sales people to explain them. They sell themselves. If you can create one you will then just be an order taker. I for one would be happy with that.
Let’s have a quick look at this in practice with my business; Holiday Lodge group.
1. We have a high ROI offer – lodge ownership that gives over 10% return plus cheap holidays
2. Touchstone – The luxury holidays that make you money
3. Believability – we are a new company and concept so this is a tough one
If you see our touchstone you may be curious – but you will not buy.
One campaign that did work was Dominos Pizza – 30 minutes delivery or it’s free. People would order and then hope that it would be late; if it wasn’t then you got a fresh pizza; if it was you didn’t mind because you got a free pizza. They sold a lot of pizza.
Mark Joyner explains each part of the offer; what it needs to succeed and how to build your own. It doesn’t matter if you are in retail, online or business to business – we all can benefit from an irresistible offer.
I will keep working on mine, good luck with yours.
*** Stars – well worth looking out second hand or online
I already gave you the formula – but the book helps you put it to work in your business.
Mark also asks of your offer:
How obvious is the customer’s need?
How genuine is the need?
How common is a solution for the problem?
Can you show a ROI?
How emotional is your offer?
How timely is your offer?
How does yours stack up against the known opposition?
How do you compare with the known completion on price?
All the answers to these questions affect your offer and its effect.
Word of mouth marketing is the goal – Language is a virus – William S. Burroughs