There’s one statement that does more to stand in the way of clients and customers investing in you and your clients’ offers and the Buy Now button than any other.

“What if …?”

That tiny little phrase is dangerous to a campaign. The difficult part is, the “what if’s” creep in subtly. Once the “what if’s” begin, a person who could have become a client or customer may walk away from the very thing that can help them the most.

The offer.

You can prevent this from happening. The key to keeping the “what if’s” from taking over in the minds of the target audience is to identify and address common objections before the reader even has a chance to raise them.

In this article, I’m going to describe what I mean by objections and why addressing them in sales copy is so important. Then I’ll walk you step-by-step through how to effectively handle some of the most common objections that pop up. These objections occur in all types of campaigns, no matter what the offer is.  

What is an objection?

An objection is any reason the target audience may have NOT to buy. It can come in the form of a concern, a fear, a challenge, or a question. 

Basically, an objection is anything that stands in the way of the sale, and it’s your job as the copywriter to knock them over, one by one.

Why is it important to address objections?

Have you ever had a concern or an unanswered question? Did having someone tell you not to worry about it or to stop thinking about it help? 

How about ignoring it? Did that help?

Here’s the thing – objections exist, and if you don’t address them with the truth in the sales copy, the reader will make up their own answers. Guess what? You’re not going to like what they come up with on their own. One of the laws of physics discovered by Sir Isaac Newton states that objects at rest are likely to stay at rest. People can be like that too.

People will stick with the familiar pain of their same old, same old problem more often than taking a chance on the unfamiliar. That means addressing the objections and questions they have that might keep them from buying is absolutely VITAL and will always improve the results of campaigns.  

What happens if you DON’T address objections in the sales copy?

The short answer is nothing. Nothing will happen. 

A segment of hot audience who already knows and trusts the offer and person behind the offer buy, but you will convert considerably fewer warm audience members. When you don’t address objections, you miss the opportunity to show your audience that they can trust you.

The Four Big Objections

There are four main types of objections people come up with no matter what the offer is:

• What if I can’t afford it?
• What if I don’t have time for it?
• What if I can’t do it?
• What if it doesn’t work? 
• What if I need help?

Let’s take a look at each one and uncover some ways you can address each one. 

“What if I can’t afford it?”

There are a couple different ways you can deal with price objections. For example, let’s say your client is selling a course on becoming a medical transcriptionist that costs $997. That can seem like a lot of money to a buyer, so you have to come prepared with a well thought-out answer. 

Here are some strategies you can use:

1. The Cost of Missed Opportunity – Remind them how they’ll be gaining a valuable set of marketable skills they can use to generate income. If they invest in the course, yes, they’ll be paying $997 … but if they DON’T, they’ll be losing MUCH more in terms of future revenue.
2. The Cost of the Alternative – Remind them what the alternatives to this course would cost. Do your research. Do a cost analysis on other courses. It would cost them so much more than $997 to go to college. They’re gaining valuable skills while actually saving money over other alternatives.
3. The Cost of Everyday Extras – The truth is, people find a way to spend on the things they want to spend on. Remind the audience how much they want this, and provide some ideas on how they could trim their budget for things that aren’t necessities to make room for the course. Would they be willing to put their Starbucks habit on hold temporarily in order to obtain a long term benefit?

Should I have a payment plan? Another item to consider when it comes to price objections is the idea of a payment plan. Sometimes a buyer desperately wants what you’re offering, but they genuinely don’t have the whole amount available to make the purchase today. Consider splitting the price into three easy payments of $397 instead of requiring that they pay all at once. That can help ease the sting of the price tag and lead to an increase in conversions.

“What if I don’t have time for it?”

It’s not always the price that holds people back. Sometimes they just don’t know how they’ll fit one more thing into their day. Let’s be real though – just like people find a way to spend money on what they really want, they also find a way to make time for what they really want. My business coach calls it “voting with your time”. This is one of the most powerful concepts in life. 

Be upfront about how much of a time investment the course is. It’s probably not as time-consuming as they think. Let them know that they CAN do it – it IS possible – and give them some suggestions on something they could spend less time on to create more space in their schedule. For example, they could trim down their time on social media or listen to modules while they’re in the carpool dropoff lane at school.

“What if I can’t do it?”

Sometimes it’s hard for people to see how they could get from where they are now to the end results. Often, they fear they won’t have the ability or talent to achieve what they know the offer can help them with. In the case of our medical transcription course example, the prospective buyer might be thinking something like this:

Wow, that looks like an amazing course, but I’m not sure I could do it. It looks hard. What if I can’t keep up? What if I don’t understand the terminology and fall behind? Maybe I’m just not cut out for this.

It’s your job as the copywriter to make sure they know that they CAN do it. You can do this in several ways.

1. Show them everything they need in order to have success in the course is already provided for them within the offer. Make sure you detail the benefits and resources that are available with the purchase of the offer. If you offer weekly calls, a Facebook community, an extended warranty, now is the time to mention those things.
2. Remind them they’re taking the first, most important step just by believing in themselves. They don’t need to know everything right now. They just need to be willing and ready to learn.
3. Testimonials, testimonials, testimonials. Good testimonials are GOLD. Make sure you have some written by people who are members of the target audience. Testimonials build trust and connection by showing that people just like them had great results.

What if it doesn’t work?

Let’s face it. Some people are skeptics. I personally fall into this category. I’ve written sales copy long enough that getting me to believe in a claim about something is HARD. Other people likely to be skeptical about an offer include those who have been disappointed by things they have purchased before that didn’t work. 

Being let down by a previous offer is so, so common, unfortunately. The offer you’re writing for, however, isn’t going to be like that, right? Time to show the reader clearly all the things that make this offer different than the others. 

Another thing that makes a difference to people with this objection is including a guarantee or refund policy. It’s so comforting to people to see that you stand behind your offer enough to give them their money back if they’re not satisfied. The terms of guarantee or refund policy are up to you, but I highly recommend having something in place.

Conclusion

When you show the audience that not only do you anticipate and understand their objections, but know how to answer them and put their minds at ease, you’re one step ahead already. You’ve just taken those objections and knocked them over, removing things that stand in the way the purchase. Not only are you going to have happy clients when their conversion rates increase, but you’re helping those who need what your clients have to offer.

Not sure how to figure that out? I have a FREE resource you’re going to love. It’s called the 8 Must-Have Questions for No-Fail Copy that Connects & Converts. It gives you eight questions I ask all my 7- and 8-figure copywriting clients before I ever write a word. These questions will help you dial in on exactly what the audience needs to know before they buy. Click here to download the free guide now.