How to Write Persuasively So That You Sell Every Time


September 19, 2016

How to Write Persuasively So That You Sell Every TimeJan is a novice entrepreneur she has been doing her homework on everything she needs to consider to start making money in her business. With most of the pieces in place, she has come to the point where her success is a matter of her ability to persuade. For Jan, and other entrepreneurs at all stages of business, this means writing a sales script that will work like a salesman to convince her readers that what she’s offering is a great deal and they should part with their hard-earned cash.


As you can imagine, this isn’t always easy. So how do you go about writing an effective sales script? Let’s take a look at what Jan discovered…


The first goal of a sales script is to grab attention.


Jan knows that she is facing a lot of competition to get her target customers attention. There are over a billion websites on the internet today by most estimates. The number is difficult to track because it changes so rapidly. These stats from The Atlantic illustrate the magnitude of the issue:



  • Most web pages die after a couple of months. The average lifespan is something like 100 days.
  • Various estimates say about three-quarters of websites are live but inactive.
  • Most of these sites exist without being seen. The average person doesn’t venture very far across the web, only visiting 96 separate domains per month.

That’s a lot of “noise’’ to compete with for attention! But Jan is also fighting the natural inclination we all have to move on to the next new, shiny thing. So how do you stand out during someone’s busy routine?


Sales Script - get their attentionOne way is to use a narrative structure. That means structuring your sales pitch like a story, which in turn often means that you’re going to tell your story of how the product or service your selling helped you.


People naturally love stories and when we see something laid out like a story, we find it very hard to switch off. It’s a great way to get more sales!


Jan is a health and fitness coach so her story tells how she went from an unhealthy, overweight, middle-aged woman to participating in triathlons. This will grab her target customer’s attention and make them want to learn more about Jan’s journey and how they can make the change themselves.


Formatting tip: To further help retain your visitors, you should make sure that your script is ‘skimmable’, meaning that it should be split into lots of smaller paragraphs and sections.

Your sales script needs to build authority and trust.


Next, Jan needs to build authority and trust. She is selling the dream of health and fitness. She is promising the reader to help them realize the dream for themselves. The competition in the health and fitness industry is steep. How can she let her audience know that they can believe what she’s saying?


You can help people to trust you and remove risk by:


Using social proof like reviews and testimonials.


We tend to believe the words and recommendations of others. And social proof influences purchases. This is one reason many people turn to social media to research purchases before they buy.


Testimonials can be woven throughout your content and can be extremely effective as long as they are relevant to the information you’re sharing. Jan should include recommendations from others she has helped on their fitness journey.


Using money back guarantees and other safety measures that make the buyer feel safe.How to Write Persuasively So That You Sell Every Time


Customers will be more willing to purchase if you lower the risk. If you sell a service this may be more difficult. Jan decides that she will offer a money back guarantee if her customers cancel within 48 hours of purchase. This allows for ‘buyers remorse’ and builds trust.


Appealing to stats and statistics – such as studies that back up your claims.How to Write Persuasively So That You Sell Every Time


Jan can easily find studies regarding health and fitness by doing a simple Google search. Make sure the studies you use are from a reputable source and check the information from different sources. Always give proper credit to your source within your document.


Referring to figures of authority and thought leaders in your niche.


Authority marketing is an entire category of marketing itself. An example many of us will recognize comes from TV commercials that feature a distinguished looking man in a white coat who says, “I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV.” You should be very familiar with the leaders in your niche. Using quotes by those leaders, even if you don’t know them personally, will add to your credibility.


Providing your own credentials


If you’re new to the business, this can be a tough job. In Jan’s situation, she could list triathlons she’s competed in and fitness or health certifications she’s earned. If you don’t have any credentials, you may consider taking an online course.


Sell the Dream


The next thing you need to do is to sell your dream. That means selling your ‘value proposition’ and making your product out to be something that can genuinely help with people’s lives. What is most important of all here, is that you focus on the emotion and make sure that people are actually dreaming about how your product is going to make their lives better.


Jan focuses on the benefits of being healthy and fit. This could include looking and feeling younger, being healthy enough to enjoy grandkids, or reducing the effects of chronic health issues such as diabetes.


Add Scarcity and Urgency


How to Write Persuasively So That You Sell Every TimeWhat is key to understand when selling is that people buy based on their emotions and not logic. This is the reason that the whole ‘value proposition’ concept is so important: if you try and sell based on logic alone then people will often realize they don’t really need what you’re offering and talk themselves out of it.


But if you convince them based on emotion, then they’ll feel strongly compelled to buy and will find it hard to resist that temptation. The difference is huge and ultimately leads to more sales.


This is also why it’s often a good idea to try and get people to imagine owning your product and to make it seem desirable in its own right: in particular, this means using the right language: words like ‘feel’ and ‘looks’ help to really paint a picture and are often used by the likes of Steve Jobs and others when selling products.


The key is to get people to act on that emotion while it is there, rather than going away and coming back. To do this, you can introduce scarcity and urgency. That means pointing out that your audience needs to buy right now, or risk missing out entirely. You can do this by stating that you only have a very limited number of products or time for services left for sale, or by introducing a limited-time discount. Your readers will then conclude that if they are at all interested in what you’re offering, they should buy right away rather than risk missing out on the opportunity. That way, they’ll act on their emotional impulse, rather than leaving and deciding against it!


Jan decides to offer an introductory offer for a health and fitness evaluation. This will be low cost and will help her learn more about the customer while gathering valuable feedback. It also provides them the next steps to take in order for them to live their dream. And that is her up-sell: helping them through the next and every step as a partner in their health and fitness journey.


Do you have a “formal” sales funnel? If not, it’s time to get busy, get one on paper and put it to use. Let me know how you are doing in the comments.

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Author: Karen Repoli


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