Busy Signal Breakthrough

Craig Clemens shares a story about a revolutionary change in infomercial marketing.

"When infomercials first aired, the call to action was 'please call now, operators are standing by.' There was a female copywriter - I wish I could remember her name - who created something that changed the entire world of infomercials and I think the entire world of selling.

She changed that line to 'please call now, if you get a busy signal please call again.' If you think of the picture in your mind of operators just standing there waiting for the phone ringing, no one's buying this thing. But 'call now, you probably get a busy signal, please keep calling, please keep trying, the offer is gonna stay around for this many minutes' - it just gives the image of phones flying in the room and everyone's trying to place their orders. It creates high demand.

It gets you excited, and when you get through and hear that person answer, you're relieved. You're like, 'Oh I got through! I'm gonna get the special offer! Is the special offer still available?' 'Yes, it is still available.' It's like that feeling of relief. That was a big line."