Want people to buy from you? (Or buy more from you?) Here’s a quick thing to check – are you asking for the sale?

Truly, it can be as simple as that. Yet I can’t tell you how many ads, Web sites, brochures, sales letters, etc. are floating around out there that aren’t asking.

So, what is a call to action? It’s telling people what action you want them to take. Typical calls to action include:

• Click here now.
• Hurry in today.
• Visit now.
• Buy now.
• Call now.

Nothing terribly sexy, I agree. However, if you want to see an increase in your customers, leads, income, etc., this is an essential component.

But, you might be thinking, isn’t it obvious? Why else would you be running an ad if you didn’t want people to buy what you’re selling?

Good question. And it’s true, people do know (if they stop to think about it) that you would probably like them to buy from you.

However, the unfortunate truth is your potential customers aren’t going to spend that much time thinking about it. People have too much going on in their lives to spend very much time and energy on your business. If they do read your ad or promotional material and it doesn’t contain a call to action, they’ll likely say, “Oh, that’s nice” and go on to the next thing.

And even if they were interested in purchasing your offerings, they may not know what their next step should be. Do they pick up the phone? Go to a specific Web page? Visit a store? And if they don’t know what they should be doing, chances are they won’t do anything at all.

So you need to tell your potential customers what you want them to do. (Remember, people are busy, and if you don’t make doing business with you easy, they probably won’t do business with you at all.)

About the Author:

Michele PW (Michele Pariza Wacek) is your Ka-Ching! Marketing Strategist and considered one of the hottest copywriters and marketing strategists around. She helps entrepreneurs attract more clients, sell more products and services and boost their business. To find out how she can help you take your business to the next level, visit http://www.MichelePW.com.