How to Write Blockbuster Sales Letters

Chapter Thirty-Four
Force an answer
Do everything in your creative power to get your reader to respond
in some way.
Ask your reader to send back an answer to your letter—”Yes” or
“No.”
Asking for a response one way or the other requires the reader to
make a decision. You want to give your reader reasons for needing to
answer now—to make a decision.
The worst answer for a salesman is “I’ll think about it and get back
to you later.” That means the answer is “no.”
But the prospect is also keeping his options open. The easiest
answer for your prospect to give is “maybe.”
By requiring a “yes” or “no” answer on the spot, you are forcing
your prospect to face a moment of truth. “If I answer no, I’ll miss this
opportunity forever” is the thought you must create in the mind of
your prospect. The last thing you want your prospect to think is:
“There’s no hurry. There’s no need for me to make a decision right
now.”
I’ve seen women take exactly this approach with men. “You either
ask me to marry you now, or that’s it. No more waiting. Tonight we
will go out to dinner. If I don’t have a ring on my finger by the end of
dessert, I’m gone. Finito. You’ll never see me again.”
“Yikes!” the guy thinks. “I guess she’s not going to let me string
her along for another eight years. I better rush out and get that ring.”
A weak salesman does not like to force this moment of truth, or
require a “yes” or “no” answer on the spot. A weak salesman believes
that if he does not get a “no” answer, he still has a chance to make the
sale later.
Wrong.
He has very little chance of making any sales with this
approach...because most people would rather never commit until they
absolutely must. A strong salesman knows that forcing a moment of
truth and requiring a decision on the spot will certainly produce more
definitive “no” answers. But he will also force many more “yes”
...Blockbuster Sales Letters 73