Order Form Timing

The timing of the distribution of your order form is equally critical to your success. Seeing your order form before you have created enough value dooms your sales. It’s just as bad, maybe even worse than seeing your materials before you’ve given enough value. The order form leaves no doubt that you are selling something and if your audience sees the price before they perceive value, there’s not much you can do to win them back.

I distribute my order form toward the end of my sales presentation—after I’ve talked about the gap between information and implementation, after I discuss the benefit of lifelong learning, after I review the materials and the huge amount of information they contain, after I’ve added in the extras and the “air”, after I’ve discussed the price, the discounts, the payment options and the money-back guarantee.

You’d want to wait to distribute your order form even if your materials were free (let alone at your price.) Looking at order forms distracts your audience from your message about implementing your ideas, benefits, discounts, easy payment options and guarantees. Your spoken word is a stronger salesperson than your order form so don’t distract from it.

Get lots of help distributing order forms so you don’t lose pacing waiting for the last row to get theirs. I try to anticipate the number of chairs and rows ahead of time and paper clip the little pile to speed distribution. Because I spend a few more minutes talking about my materials after distribution of the order form, I want them delivered quickly.

Once the order form is distributed, I take a few more minutes to refer to the side of the order form which bullets all the content, the benefits, the outcomes of the information inside the materials. The list is lengthy and I walk the audience through the highlights of it—building value upon value upon value.

As soon as I finish the sales presentation I say, “OK, let’s get back to giving you more marketing ideas to make you more successful.” I’ll even try to avoid taking questions about the materials and order process so as not to prolong the sales presentation, mess up my timing and cheat the audience out of the content and value I give them in the time remaining.