The Tim Tebow and Denver Broncos Phenomenon by Brad Richdale for: Brad Richdale Wiki

I think the Cinderella story of this year is Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos.  I did think after they smacked the Pittsburgh Steelers in Mile High that they might do something stunning against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots but wasn't surprised that the New England Patriots slapped them around in Foxboro to move on to the AFC championship.

You do have to admit that there is divine intervention going on here where the Tim Tebow phenomenon has caught fire globally. In 54 years I've never seen anything like it nor anyone so committed to their beliefs.  Tim Tebow could give Governor Mitt Romney, or President Obama a run for their money.  It would be nice to see more Tebowing in Washington, DC.  They also disclosed more of this at Brad Richdale Business.

                             written by Brad Richdale Author copyright 2012 all rights reserved
                                          blog founded by Bradford Richdale
                                story also found at Brad Richdale Customer Reviews
                       

Brad Richdale for: Brad Richdale Direct Marketing Offers, Hard (1 Step) and Soft (2 step) Offers

Employing direct marketing terminology there are only two types of offers, a hard offer and a soft offer. What’s the difference? That’s simple, one asks for money to be paid now whereas the other asks for a qualified inquiry which will then be followed up by a telemarketer or in person sales appointment where the salesperson will ask for payment on one or subsequent calls depending on the type of ad.

Let me go over the type of offers you will see on hard offers. Let me take my own experience in selling millions of books and tapes globally using a hard offer with a price point of just under $50.  In this case there was a crescendo effect during the process of asking for the order (through video) this is called a “push” where the spokesperson asks for the person to make a call and have their credit card in hand to order the offer.

Now let’s take the alternative where all that is sought is a qualified inquiry.  I’ll give you a great example that you should easily comprehend if you are in North America, the Select Comfort offer for more information which is FREE if you call in response to the TV advertisement. Once you call your phone number is recorded along with your address. Once the response is logged you will be sent a DVD with a nice brochure to help take you from a prospect to a customer.  The ultimate goal in the “soft offer” or a “two step” offer is to get you to call in and order the Select Comfort bed over the phone or get you to walk into a Select Comfort showroom (usually located in shopping malls) and order without any additional salesmanship.

Of course there is a second group that is inherent to the prospect class of the “soft offer” or “two step” offer, that’s the prospect that needs to be asked to buy (in this case via telephone).  Only testing will tell you what the mix is between those that are sent information and call or walk in to a showroom to buy and those that need a push to purchase over the phone or through a walk in to a showroom. 

It’s not uncommon to combine a “hard offer” with a “soft offer”.  For instance you might be selling an initial starter product and then direct mailing, e-mailing, or outbound telemarketing a subsequent sale from the customer. 

Testing is the element that determines the approach best to take.  Hard offers and soft offers are in front of you ever day, it’s up to you to decipher the two and then study and model them to create the approach that ethically creates a profit for your business.

written by Brad Richdale copyright 2011 all rights reserved

Bradford Richdale is a medical devices professional

Bradford Richdale is the founder of this blog and a biotech company