Receivables are promises of payment you've accepted from others. There's a catch: receivables don't translate into cash until the promise is fulfilled. Many businesses have closed with millions of dollars of "sales" on the books. Debt is a promise you make to pay someone at a later date. Debt is attractive because you can benefit from a purchase now while holding on to your cash until later. The later you pay, the more cash you have at your disposal. Debt can be useful, but there's also a catch: debts cost additional money in the form of interest. Very often, you'll also have to pay back a portion of your debt over time, which is called "debt service," which you can treat as another type of expense. If you can't cover your debt service, you're in trouble.

Transitional call: 2. Create reciprocity. I've never worried about giving away too much free information. In fact, the more generous a brand is, the more reciprocity they create. All relationships are give-and-take, and the more you give to your customers, the more likely they will be to give something back in the future. Give freely.

Transitional call: 1. Stake a claim to your territory. If you want to be known as the leader in a certain territory, stake a claim to that territory before the competition beats you to it. Creating a PDF, a video series, or anything else that positions you as the expert is a great way to establish authority.

Us: Will you marry me? Customer: No. Us: Will you go out with me again? Customer: Yes. Us: Will you marry me now? Customer: No. Us: Will you go out with me again? Customer: Sure, you're interesting and the information you provide is helpful. Us: Will you marry me? Customer: Okay, I'll marry you now.

At StoryBrand we recommend two kinds of calls to action: direct calls to action and transitional calls to action. Direct calls to action include requests like "buy now," "schedule an appointment," or "call today." A direct call to action is sornething that leads to a sale, or at least is the firat step down a path that leads to a sale. Transitional calls to action, however, contain leus riak und usually offer a customer something for free. Transitional calls to action can be used to "on ramp" potential customers to to an eventual purchase. Inviting people to watch a webinar or download a PDF are good examples of transitional calls to action.

There should be a "Buy Now" button in the top right corner of your website, and it shouldn't be cluttered with a bunch of other buttons. The same call to action should be repeated above the fold and in the center of your website, and again and again as people scroll down the page.