Life is a Song68856

In the 1970s, television commercials were forever changed when the first Ginsu Knives commercials aired (yes I am that old). They had a campy, kitschy tone to them that became fodder for late night comedians and newspaper columnists.

Some of the phrases from these commercials quickly became part of our cultural language like, but wait, theres more, or now what would you pay?

One of the reasons these knives sold like well, hotcakes, was the add ons that the sellers kept throwing in for no extra cost.

Every time viewers thought they were seeing the entire package, the announcer would say, but wait, theres more. Then a new freebie was tossed into the offer.

It started when the creators of the commercials wanted to add in a premium, and heard about a little gadget that made decorative peelings out of apple and potato skins. By itself, this little product was so inconsequential it would have been hard to promote. But as a free premium, it was perfect because it could be visually demonstrated and only cost the sellers about 50 cents.

But I think one factor that contributed to the success of these commercials is not readily apparent. Instead of just adding one new freebie after another, there was a pause each time a new add on was announced.

By pause I mean the announcer would summarize the entire offer as it stood so far. The voice would go back over each product, the benefits and the add ons. Then, the voice would say, now what would you pay? Then a few possible prices (all of which were higher than the actual price) were flashed on the screen to get the viewer thinking along that price range. Then when the actual price was announced as being below those suggested prices, it made the actual price seem very small.

And then, once the viewer began to assume the offer was complete, the announcer would say, but wait, theres more and throw in another free add on. The total effect of these add ons was to make the price seem ridiculously small compared to the value received.

Now remember that each add on cost the seller very little, but at the same time represented a significant value to the customer.

Can you do the same thing with what you sell? What if you threw in a free booklet, a free CD or some other tool that related to your primary offer?

Selling anything is about created a favorable return on investment (ROI) for the buyer. When your free add ons increase the value side of the scale, the price side seems to diminish.

By the time a viewer had seen all that came with their Ginsu Knives for such a low price, they almost felt guilty for taking advantage of these dolts who were offering so much for so little.

Your aim, no matter what you are selling, is to work the ROI by increasing value every chance you get. To do this, you have to come up with your own version of, but wait, theres more.

COPYRIGHT(C)2006, Charles Brown. All rights reserved.

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