A few years ago I had the privilege of discussing sales with IBM’s general manager for the healthcare sector. After acknowledging that IBM was neither the cheapest supplier nor necessarily a pioneering innovator, he asked a rhetorical question: Why do his customers buy from IBM? “Because they know that if anything goes wrong,” the manager said, “the sky will rain blue suits.”

There’s some truth to the old adage that no one has ever been fired for buying from IBM. People know that when things go wrong, IBM shows up immediately and stays as long as it takes to set things right. That makes IBM a safe choice. It makes potential customers feel secure — and secure people who feel safe sign contracts. Big, fat contracts.

As in sales, so too in direct mail — which is, after all, salesmanship in print. Often enough, the last obstacle inhibiting response is fear, uncertainty or doubt. Or all three. Everything you can do to overcome fear by offering security — by making the response the emotionally safe thing to do — will improve results.

Here’s how to weave a warm security blanket for your potential customers.

Set ‘Havahart-style’ traps Many annoying, invasive pests, such as squirrels or raccoons, are also smart animals: They won’t enter a baited trap unless they can see an exit out the opposite side. For that reason, the people at Havahart designed ingenious traps that are open on both ends. When the critter moves into the middle to take the bait, the spring-loaded doors at both ends slam shut.

Prospects are much like those smart critters: They want to see an exit before they accept your offer. Your virtual Havahart is the no-questions-asked, no-hassle, unconditional 30-day money-back guarantee. Psychologically, it’s a “way out” that enables otherwise wary prospects to move in and take action. Many states require the 30-day guarantee anyway, but actively promoting it builds customer comfort. Afraid of the additional cost of returns? Time and again, tests have shown that the resulting increase in sales far outstrips the expense of a handful of returns.

Suggest safety in numbers People have a herding instinct. Although blindly moving with others may be contrary to good reason, people feel safer doing what those around them do, and find individual initiative to be far riskier.

That’s why, if substantial numbers have already purchased from you, it pays to say so. And if you can combine this statement with an even better deal for your current prospects, you can create an especially compelling call to action: “Millions have purchased the Kitchen Wizard for $24.95. Now it can be yours for just $19.95 — if you act now.”

As an adjunct to sales figures (or a replacement when they are either unimpressive or unavailable) and if your company has been established for quite some time, state how long you’ve been in business. The longer you’ve been around, the more stable you’ll appear — and the safer it’ll seem to be to do business with you.

Apply cold, hard statistics While almost all of the motivation that drives response is emotional, most customers require a logical rationalization to justify their impulses. These are the facts you offer — the elaboration of benefits, the description of features, the “logical” argument you construct to validate the purchase.

Of all the proof of value you can present, there’s little as objective and reasonable as hard numbers and cold statistics. Prospects take comfort in knowing that your widget works 54% faster, runs on 23% less gasoline, or saves an average of $3,214 per year. The old cliché holds that “numbers don’t lie” and many people believe that’s true — especially when you take care to use credibly specific numbers, such as “48.9%,” rather than common, rounded figures, like “50%.”

Let customers speak for you Direct’s “Curmudgeon-at- Large” Herschell Gordon Lewis is right: We live in an age of skepticism in which customers are inclined to believe we’re out to get them by lying. The more forcibly you make your claims, the greater their resistance. Our word is not bond.

For that reason, testimonials — in which you let customers speak on your behalf — can be an exceptionally powerful way of lowering defenses and increasing security.

The testimonials you’ll want to use should be steadfastly specific. Instead of, “They give great customer service,” you want to use the one that says, “They patiently explained everything I needed to know about my scooter, and even stayed on the line while I tried it for the first time.” Instead of, “I made lots of money with their system,” you want, “In just two weeks, I got my first check for $1,523!”

The best testimonials have a “conversion” quality to them in which your new prospects can see their objections and concerns mirrored in the testimonial — and resolved. They usually follow a “I once was skeptical, but am now a true believer” format, such as, “I’ve been burned by other real estate plans before and I was hesitant, but with the money-back guarantee I figured I had nothing to lose. Well, this time I came out a winner — to the tune of $23,436 in just three months of easy weekend work!” Consider your ‘cover’

We’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but we all do, all the time. In lieu of your actual, physical presence, your mail represents your company. And your prospects will judge you by the look and feel of your mail, including the quality of the design, the paper stock you choose, and the sophistication (or lack thereof) of the format itself.

Simpler and less expensive products may not require anything fancy in order to establish credibility. But as the stakes get higher — more complex sales and/or more costly offers — the quality of the mail itself must increase as well. If the package looks shabby, the prospect may assume the same about your business, too. Articulate the consequences

Your final security play is possibly the strongest: As a counterweight to the “risk” of taking action, clearly and carefully present the negative consequences of not acting. If you’ve done a good job of painting the benefits of your offer, then the prospect of losing it — even if it only exists as a picture in the prospect’s mind — is threatening. You can make it even more so by talking about missed opportunities and lost chances. Or increasing costs in the months ahead. Or, in a business-to-business pitch, the possibility that the prospects’ competitors will take (or already have taken) action and will advance ahead of them.

You may not be able to defeat all of your prospects’ potential objections, but you can anticipate anxiety and overcome them by creating a safety net — a web of security that includes tactics from money-back guarantees to peer testimonials and more — that will help them make the psychological leap toward action.

Jonathan Kranz ([email protected]) is the principal and chief copywriter of Kranz Communications and the author of “Writing Copy for Dummies.”

A few years ago I had the privilege of discussing sales with IBM’s general manager for the healthcare sector. After acknowledging that IBM was neither the cheapest supplier nor necessarily a pioneering innovator, he asked a rhetorical question: Why do his customers buy from IBM?