Go out and get your great deal TODAY… only we won’t tell you where.

Want to know how to kill a sale REALLY quickly?

Don’t tell them where to buy.

You might be chuckling to yourself, wondering who would ever make such a silly mistake.

Who has two thumbs and has done that very thing?

This dork:

Once upon a time, I worked in-house for a VERY high-volume retailer. Meaning we were cranking out copy and signs and weekly ads and emails and broadcast scripts like nobody’s business.

Almost always slammed, almost always running up against the clock.

And one day, I had to write a radio script for a sale.

It was for bark – a fantastic deal, a great water saver, and super popular at the height of the California drought. The spot would play on drive-time radio, when we knew we’d have plenty of homeowners as our captive audience.

I was driving into the office one afternoon and heard it. As the end neared, I started to panic.

SAY THE NAME FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PLEASE DON’T TELL ME I FORGOT TO INCLUDE THE FREAKING BUSINESS NAME OH JESUS.

Sure enough, the spot ended. No name.

Great info on the water-saving benefits of bark (seriously, that stuff is amazing). Phenomenal pricing.

And we didn’t tell them where to buy the damn thing.

Now, I could have taken the easy way out.

The ad ran for one week at a time.

I was hearing the spot toward the end of the week.

No one else brought it up to me.

Sure, I hadn’t written the name into my script, but no one else caught it either… so not my fault, right?

WRONG.

Absolutely my fault. Just because no one else caught it doesn’t mean I didn’t make the mistake.

I tell you this story for a two-fold reason…

1) Always make sure you tell them where/how to buy.

Even if they’re on the page where they make the purchase, the “how” might not be as obvious as you think.

It takes just a few seconds to add “scroll down to place your order” or “click here to place your order”. Plus, it alleviates any potential confusion, thus greasing the slide and removing friction between the sales process and the end goal of the sale.

2) Always own up to shit you know you’ve done wrong, even if it was an accident.

You’ll help teammates and colleagues avoid similar mistakes.

You can create processes and checklists designed to catch those errors before they go out into the real world (where at best they’d be a waste of money and at worst, could cost you your reputation and/or get you sued).

You’ll also build immense credibility with your colleagues, supervisors, clients.

When I screwed up, I owned it.

You know why?

Because when I did NOT screw up, I was instantly believed and therefore never had to defend my work.

I didn’t cover up my errors in an attempt to save face, and it wound up building my reputation as someone of integrity, who could be counted on.

So don’t be afraid to screw it up every once in awhile.

I told people about a great deal and forgot to include where to buy it.

It was not a career wrecker – it was pure career growth.

(and I went on to make millions in sales for that company to make up for my mistake 😉 )

 

Have you ever done anything like this in your sales copy or marketing mix? Share the infamy with me below.