How to Get Customers to Buy $200 Rocks

TL;DR: Old school sales tactics aren’t dead, even in this digital age. Making your audience visualize having your product in their hands still works as a powerful sales tactic.

A new Kickstarted campaign is yet again turning heads. It seems like there’s nothing too silly for customers to throw money at.

This popped up on one of those exclusive Facebook groups that shares insider marketing tips:

Forge Solid KILO: Denser than solid uranium.

That’s… a boring headline. Who cares? The video isn’t great, either.

So why does this stupid campaign have almost 4000% of its goal?

Because it’s got can’t-resist lines like this:

Here is a conversation I have almost daily at my desk:

Passer-by notices cube: “What is that, it looks cool/awesome!”
Me: “It’s a solid tungsten cube”
Passer-by tries to pick it up: “What the #$%# why is it so @#$@ heavy!!???”

It is almost impossible not to imagine the heft, the feeling of the cool metal in your hand as you try to pick it up… and it’s unnaturally heavy.

There’s an old sales tactic where you place whatever item you’re trying to sell in the hands of your prospective customer. This causes a powerful psychological reaction. The customer won’t want to give up something that’s already in their hands.

Thus, closing the sale is much easier.

If you can let your “feel” what it’s like to already have your product in their hands – or in their lives – closing a sale is as easy as asking them to click a button.