Use Rhetorical Questions to Close Sales

A rhetorical question is a yes/no question to which the answer is felt to be so obvious that no reply is necessary. Examples include "Wouldn't it be fun to have this couch in your living room by tonight?," and "Do you want to miss this wonderful opportunity?" You can use rhetorical questions in ads and in personal selling. They can help close a sale.      But be careful. Researchers at University of Kansas and Ohio State University find that rhetorical questions truly work only with customers who are already feeling favorable. Then the customer will often answer the question inside their heads, if not aloud, with the result that they'll be thinking more about what you've been telling them. If you've been telling them the advantages of purchasing the product, they become more likely to make that purchase. When they're already feeling favorable, rhetorical questions help the customer convince themselves they're making an excellent decision.      However, if a customer has nagging doubts about the product, service, store, or salesperson, then rhetorical questions make them feel all boxed in. They'll have a sense that you're trying to manipulate them, and they'll want to escape from the purchase. You'll lose the sale. Use these types of questions only sparingly, if at all.      This means that in your advertising, you should start out with a rhetorical question only if you are confident that most of your readers already largely support whatever it is you'll be asking them to do in the rest of the ad. They're almost sold. If this isn't the case, the research findings suggest, give your convincing arguments in the ad before asking any rhetorical questions. In personal selling, use rhetorical questions only after you sense that the customer wants to make the purchase, but needs a bit of a nudge. Click below for more: Soften Rhetoricals Around Cautious Shoppers Use Closed-Ended Questions Selectively Ask Shoppers for Reasons to Buy