The marketer sold you something. You weren't interested at first, but then he's talking about another competitor's product and explained its features, its benefits and so on. Since he's not talking about his own product, you listened in for a while. Oh yeah, what the company is offering sounds like it would make a great bargain! Wait. you mean it's not good enough? I'm already intrigued, you actually mean you have something better? No way! Then he pulled his offer out and present it to you. You're SOLD before you're sold.

Well that's the power of comparison selling. Michael Masterson, in his book "Ready, Fire, Aim" once talked about his experience working with a boss who sold aluminum sidings. If you've ever seen Barry Levinson's film "Tin Men," you know that the siding business is no walk in the park.

For one thing, the product you're selling isn't something you can port around in sample case. It requires imagination. Not just on the part of the prospect, but on the part of the salesman who has to paint the picture of a newly finished home. What's more, the price was high.

It could cost as much as $2,600 to cover a house in aluminum siding. Remember, this was at a time when the median annual salary hovered around $5,000. Here's how it would work. Michael's boss would run through his pitch for covering and protecting a house with siding and then he would throw a question to the prospect. "How much," he would say, "do you think it would cost to cover your house in oak?" Oak? Did he say oak? "Yes, oak.

handsome, effective, oak. How much would that cost to cover the whole house? I can tell you. It would cost you about $10,000." "Now oak is a great choice. It would really do the job nicely. But now let me show you why aluminum siding is BETTER than oak.

" That is how comparison selling can work for you, too. Now if that isn't enough, sometimes you can also add bonuses or premiums to your offer to further amplify the value you deliver to customers. And, done right—by explaining how valuable the bonuses are on their own, your prospects would hold their cash right in front of you like a hungry wolf waiting to be fed. Of course, this' a metaphor. Have you tried applying comparison selling to your sales message before? If you haven't, you can start with some of your competitor's offer competing with yours.

Explain why yours is better, and how it can trump your competitor's in value. And yeah, sometimes it doesn't have to be something you uniquely have. It could be some of the most obvious facts in the industry. If you haven't heard of Claude Hopkins' stories about how he sold Schlitz beer, it would worth at least a close read. You could make it your unique selling proposition, you could use it to turn your prospects' objections into benefits you can sell, and you can do so many things with this strategy to sell much, much more products in return for a wealth of fortunes. Use it, but remember—don't go overboard on exaggeration in the comparison.

Ultimately, it's enough proof and trust that help prospects hand you their credit cards and hard-earned money. Copyright (c) 2008 Quick Turn Marketing International, Ltd.

A former college dropout, Dan Lok transformed himself from a grocery bagger in a local supermarket to a multi-millionaire. Dan came to North America with little knowledge of the English language and few contacts. If you're ready to take your online business to the next level, go to: http://www.websiteconversionexpert.com/more.html