Don’t confuse your reader. Try to avoid “rabbit trails” of copy that take off in their own direction and have little or nothing to do with the prospect’s final buying decision.
There are two types of closing questions which can be used throughout your copy. One is the open probe, such as “What would you think of someone who allowed their family to get into this kind of mess?” The open probe should only be sparingly used in written copy, although it’s an excellent probe for customer service and sales to use to narrow down a customer’s interests, issues, needs and desires.
The second type of probe is a closed probe, or a “Yes, No” question. Rarely will you want to use a negative (“No”) question. You want to keep the conversation positive and get them in the habit of saying “Yes!” Make sure to pepper your copy with plenty of closed, “Yes!” probes. Get them in agreement early on, on small things, and keep adding more items for them to agree on throughout your piece. This helps to keep them on the track that leads to your sale. Don’t let them wander off in other directions and expect them to come to an agreeable close with you, when you’re ready.
Guiding the customer this way is especially important online, but in a different way. Visitors want to wander around your site, and you can make it easy to explore and do their “due diligence,” while guiding them towards the final destination: a positive decision (to leave their name or make a purchase, or to call or email for more information).
