How to Sell High Ticket Items in a Dwindling Economy

Sure, the words “disposable income” aren’t on anybody’s lips these days – but that doesn’t mean higher priced goods and services no longer have a market. While your competitors are undercutting each other’s prices – you can still come out on top and make more money than all of them without getting dragged into a price war.

Unlike a few years ago, where the most compelling reason to own a more expensive product or service was the brand itself and the way it distinguished you, these days people are starting to shift more toward “practical luxury”. Every feature is examined, every possible comparison is made, and every benefit is played over and over again in the customer’s head.

With this in mind, consider updating the focus of your copy to promote the usefulness of what you’re trying to sell. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a diamond ring or a marketing course. Everyone is looking for a good deal, so you’ll need to write in a way that plays to the customer’s initial expectations of “there’s no way I can afford that”, and then reverse them. Here’s how:

Show Them How Much Money They’ll Save

And that doesn’t mean putting some puffed-up value on a simple e-book or adding a copious amount of zeroes to the end of a dollar sign. Put into real, concrete numbers how much someone might spend looking for and buying all of the services or pieces needed to get something comparable to what you’re offering.

The mattress and bedding industries do this beautifully with their more expensive products. They outline how much you’d really pay – not just monetarily, but in terms of poor sleep, nagging aches and pains and chiropractor’s bills. Then they highlight the benefits of their product and add a free in-home trial or a coupon on top of the offer, giving the reader more than enough serious reasons to take action.

You Might Think You Can’t Afford It, But…

By telling them what they expect to hear right from the start, your potential buyer will let down their guard a bit and become more receptive to your offer. This works especially well when you show them how easily they really can afford it. For example, paying in installments or taking action quickly to get a cheaper price are all sales tactics you can use to project your offer as an investment in themselves rather than a one-time purchase.

Compete with the Cheaper Alternative

If there’s a cheaper version of your offer out there, you can still compete with it in other ways than price alone. You also want to resist the urge to put the competing product in a negative light as this will only reflect poorly on your offer. Instead, adding a phrase like “Isn’t it worth a little extra now to avoid _____ later?” is a good way to point out the quality and assurance that your product brings versus your competition.

As you can see, high-ticket items still have a place in today’s eccentric marketplace. It’s how you approach their presentation that counts. With the copy, you’ll effortlessly appeal to your customer’s bargain-hunting instincts while avoiding the cut-throat price battles that plague so many of today’s luxury e-tailers.

About the Author: Sherice Jacob is a web designer, copywriter, and author of Get Niche Quick. Don’t forget to follow Sherice on Twitter.