How Irresistible is The Irresistible Offer?

Another book I had an opportunity to read while relaxing on the beach was The Irresistible Offer – How to Sell Your Product or Service in 3 Seconds or Less by Mark Joyner. I thought the title was catchy enough, so I went ahead and gave the book a try.

All things considered, I thought this was a pretty decent read. Although much of the information given is kind of common sense, Joyner does a good job of presenting the information from the viewpoint of both the buyer (your customers) and the seller (you).

Without going in to too much detail, Joyner believes that in order to turn a potential customer into a paying customer, you have about three seconds to capture their attention and make them believe your product or service is just as valuable (or more valuable) than the money you want from them.

The reason behind having such a short amount of time to convince a potential customer is because consumers are so bombarded with advertising and product information, they have instinctively learned to tune out items that are of little or no interest or offers that are just plain awful.

Most of The Irresistible Offer focuses on what an “irresistible offer” is and how to go about creating one.

Again, without going in to too much detail, according to Joyner, an “irresistible offer” consists of high ROI offer (a customer will get more from owning your product than they would just keeping their money or buying someone else’s product), a touchstone (something that quickly explains what you’re selling, how much it costs, why the customer should buy and why they should believe you) and believability (people know that if an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is).

So, if you can bring these items together, you have put together an irresistible offer and will have a much better chance of making a sale.

Joyner’s classic example of an “irresistible offer” was the old Domino’s Pizza “30 minutes or it’s free” guarantee. According to Joyner, the offer had a high ROI (if you’re hungry, you don’t have to wait long), a touchstone (you’re getting pizza in 30 minutes or less, or you don’t pay anything) and believability (Domino’s followed through on the offer).

All things considered, I thought this was a pretty good basic marketing book. While I don’t know if I will be rushing to add this to my own personal collection, it was certainly worth grabbing off the library shelves.


  1. Keith Johnson says

    This book is a good read, very true. I agree with your conclusion, and also the conclusion of the writer, that you have a very short time to convince the consumer that your product is worth what it is priced for. So, you have to have a presentable vehicle (cover for a book, for example) and also some kind of credibility along with that, all for a fair price. And of course don’t forget the reality of demand, because you could have the best product, but if there is no demand, then it won’t sell. Overall, nice review, thanks.

  2. Hey, here’s a genuine comment: This blog entry made me buy the book! I hope it’ll be as good as it sounds.

  3. Mark Joyner has a gift for taking complex ideas and making them simple and that’s what he has done with the Irresistible Offer.

    It is also available for free as a pdf which helps make it very accessible. I recommend the book to a lot of people and the feedback is good.