To Shrink or Not to Shrink

…that is the question. But the answer’s easy. Don’t think, shrink (wrap). I’m not a psychologist but there’s something about limiting access to your materials that makes people want them even more. When you go to the bookstore, how many books do you page through before you decide on one? I don’t want my potential customers flipping through my manual trying to make a price/value decision based on what it looks like.

Shrink wrapping your manuals eliminates a non-buying decision based on what your manual “looks” or “feels” like. You want the decision to be based on the information in the manual, not on the package the information comes in.

Here’s what I want to avoid—when someone makes a decision to buy based on thumbing through the manual, they are likely to view the manual as a book and question your price. You want them focused on the content and since they aren’t reading content when they are browsing through the manual, they aren’t likely to perceive its value.

Plus, there’s something mysterious about the manual they can’t sample when it’s wrapped in clear plastic. When I break open the seal during my speech to reference the manual (and I take my time) my audience seems to pay closer attention. It’s like unwrapping a gift…they can’t wait to see what’s inside.

Because I want the information in the manual to sell the manual, I print the entire catalog of contents on the order form so when someone asks if they can look at the manual I refer them to the contents listing on the order form. I’ve used shrink wrap two different ways and both produce results. Most often, I shrink wrap individual manuals. I also shrink wrap a “pile” or “stack” of materials as one package. For example, I have one package consisting of 2 manuals, 2 books and a set of three audio tapes. The entire pile of materials shrink wrapped in clear plastic makes a very attractive presentation to the prospective buyer. They can easily see how much value they’re receiving for their investment.

I only shrink wrap the entire package when I speak locally as it’s really hard to pack the unevenly piled wrapped package for an airline trip or ground shipping and it’s awkward to handle.

You may be tempted to invest in your own shrink wrap machine and wrap your own materials yourself. Frankly, I think that’s a waste of your time and money.

My printer charges only 25 cents to shrink wrap my individual manuals and only 75 cents to wrap my entire packet of materials. For that small cost, you don’t have to buy and maintain a machine, purchase rolls of plastic, or curse when the machine doesn’t work—and waste precious time punching holes in piles of paper and wrapping your own materials.

Sell manuals upfront vs. post-speech 

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