Devoted to lead generation, lead generators, and successful lead gen campaigns

I was talking about an article by Bob Bly over at LandingTheDeal earlier today that was talking about how to use the "takeaway close" to land more deals.

Bly also has some thoughts on how to effectively use the "takeaway close" when you're looking to generate sales leads.

Here are his ideas:

In a lead-generation campaign, change the phrase on your reply card from "for more information" to "to find out how you can qualify" - implying that receiving what you are offering is not a sure thing, but only granted if the prospect meets your criteria.

Another variation of the takeaway close is used in ads for home-study courses that offer a free booklet with a test to judge your writing or artistic talent ... implying that you can't take the course unless you pass the test.

Remember, people want what they can't - or think they can't - have or get.

Time-limited offers are yet another variation on the takeaway close. In this case, the product or service is available ... but only if you buy now.

Direct marketers know that, almost without exception, adding a time limit or expiration date to a promotion lifts response rates.

In service industries, telling prospects you can squeeze them in a week from Thursday makes you seem desirable. On the other hand, if you tell prospects "I can see you now," they worry. Who wants to go to a professional who isn't in demand?

The late Howard Shenson, a consultant and author, called this the Busy Dr. Syndrome, noting that people want to do business with those they consider to be busy and successful, not those who seem desperate and in need of the work.

The technique works in personal relationships, too. Singles who date know that one way to attract the interest and attention of members of the opposite sex is to play "hard to get" - to make them call you, rather than you calling them. When in pursuit of your soul mate, the worst strategy is to leave 48 messages on his or her answering machine. It demonstrates that you are eager and needy, and makes the other person less interested in you.

Why does the takeaway close work? Why do people, upon hearing they can't have something, want it more?

Perhaps the motivator is scarcity, an imbalance in the supply and demand equation. The shorter the supply of something, the more it is valued. That's why gold has a much higher price than copper, even though copper has many more practical uses.

Whatever the reason, the takeaway close often works like gangbusters.