Attracting a prospect’s attention does not help if they disappear: if you want to make a sale, you need to direct your prospects to take some kind of action.

Your prospects can’t read your mind. If you want your prospects to take the next step you’re encouraging, you need to tell them exactly what to do. The most effective marketing messages give the recipient or prospect a single, very clear, very short action to take next.

Think about a roadside billboard that says something like “Tony’s Hamburgers are the best.” What will people who see that message do? Probably nothing. They weren’t asked to do anything.

Give them a Call-To-Action like “take exit 25 and turn right for the best burgers in town,” and soon Tony will be serving more hamburgers to hungry travelers.

A Call-To-Action directs your prospects to take a single, simple, obvious action. Visit a Web site. Enter an e-mail address. Call a phone number. Mail a self-addressed stamped envelope. Click a button. Purchase a product. Tell a friend. Ask them to DO SOMETHING!

The key to presenting an effective Call-To-Action is to be as clear, simple, and obvious as you possibly can. The more clearly you present your proposal, the higher the probability your prospect will actually DO what you suggest.

If you’re encouraging someone to enter their e-mail address to sign up for a newsletter, say that verbatim multiple times, and make it immediately clear WHERE to enter the e-mail address, WHY they should fill it out, WHAT to click once they’ve entered their e-mail, and WHAT they can expect to happen when they do. If you think you’re being too obvious, you’re doing it right.

The best Calls-To-Action ask directly either for the sale or for permission to follow up. Making direct sales is optimal, since it makes it easy to figure out whether or not your marketing activities are cost-effective. Asking for permission is the next best thing, since it allows you to follow up with your prospects over time, dramatically decreasing your marketing cost and increasing the probability of an eventual sale.

Ensure that every message you create has a clear Call-To-Action, and you will dramatically increase the effectiveness of your marketing activities.

Ready to develop new elements of your marketing plan? Call 931-456-4910 and ask Bonnie to book an appointment for us to meet and we’ll do just that!