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WHAT YOU'VE GOT TO DO BEFORE YOU WRITE ANY MARKETING COMMUNICATION -- FLYER, PROPOSAL, AD, COVER LETTER, ETC. OR DOING THE HOMEWORK THAT PRODUCES THE MARKETING COMMUNICATION THAT GETS YOUR PROSPECT TO BUY WHAT YOU'RE SELLINGAll of a sudden that familiar feeling comes over you... you've got to have a new brochure... there's that deadline for the ad... you promised you'd have that flyer done by, when?You sit down, write as fast as you can, rush through the job just to get it finished. You give your finished work a perfunctory perusal, realizing that it may not be great, but at least it's done. And off to the printer it goes. Isn't this just about the size of it? BUT THIS IS NONSENSE. AND YOU'VE GOT TO STOP "WORKING" LIKE THIS Let me remind you of something: you don't create a marketing communication -- any marketing communication -- because you've got to; you create a marketing communication because you want to get a designated prospect to take immediate action, an action which leads, now or in predictable sequence, to a sale of your product or service. Marketing communications produce sales, and to get these sales is the only reason for producing marketing communications. YOU MUST NEVER FORGET THIS! Getting The Sales You Want From Your Marketing CommunicationsTo get the sales you want from your marketing communications, all you need to do is follow this simple series of steps:
Who Are You Talking To? Who Do You Want To Take Action?Marketing is about action. It is not about the objective presentation of information. It is not about educating prospects. It is about motivating designated groups of people (your prospects) to take the fastest possible action and so do what is necessary to acquire what you're selling. So, I ask you. Who are you selling to? Be as specific as possible in answering this question.. or, rather, these questions:
You've got to bring this same level of specificity to the creation of all marketing communications. The person reading your brochure, your ad, your cover letter or proposal has got to be able to look at that document and say, "Hey, you're talking to me!" There can't be any doubt that he's the prospect... that he knows he's the prospect... and that he knows you're talking to him. Thus, one good way of starting to write a document is to write down the name of the person you're writing to (or at least his job title). As specifically as possible. Thus, instead of writing "nonprofit executive," it's better to write "executive director of nonprofit hospices in Middlesex County, Massachusetts." All the latter are, of course, in the former category; but the former category is far too broad to give you the specific focus that you need, the focus that lets the prospect know you're talking exactly to him and to no one else. Good marketing, remember, is specific marketing. Determine What You Want Your Prospect To DoTake a look at most ads or flyers or brochures. The first problem is that they're about the marketer rather than about the prospect. Second, it is not absolutely clear what you want the prospect to do... and when you want him to do it. This is fatal.Your prospect has to know that you want him to:
The best marketing communications have both elegance and simplicity. They say, "Hey (designated) you. Here's what you should do... and here's when you should do it." That's all. Remember, each individual marketing communication can have only one point. Getting the prospect to do this single thing at the earliest possible moment is what the document is all about. What Your Prospect Gets From You When She Takes ActionNow ask yourself, despite the fact that you want the prospect to take immediate action, why should she? What's in your marketing communication that makes the prospect want to take the action you've determined she should take in the period you've determined she should take it?At this point, you should take a look at some brochures, flyers, cover letters, or proposals in your office. You're going to find -- as I, to my chagrin, regularly find -- that the marketers who created this garbage have focused their documents on themselves... not their prospects. They tell you about who they are, what they're selling, where they went to school, provide a picture of their establishment, give you a corny logo, etc., etc., etc. This is the worst -- and most typical -- kind of marketing. So that you don't provide it, and waste your money and your prospect's time (if they decide to give you any, which is highly doubtful), write down just what the prospect gets from you. Start each sentence with these two words, "YOU GET..." Now, I'd like to share a secret with you. Each "you get" needs to be as specific as possible. Thus, you can't write "you get thinner." This doesn't differentiate you in any serious way from all the thousands of other products that may help the prospect get thinner. The best marketing documents are specific documents. Using this illustration, they tell you how much thinner you'll be when you use the product/service. But, you say, I can't promise results. I have no control over the prospect's habits. I don't want to make a promise that I can't keep. Fine. Then put in some "weasel words," words like "up to," "as much as," "nearly," etc. These words say, in effect, "If you follow the directions, you can achieve results this good, but I can't guarantee them because I can't be there every minute to oversee what you're doing." Get it? Now let the juices flow now. Don't inhibit yourself. Write down every benefit the prospect gets when she uses your product/service. Just remember to start each benefit with the magic words YOU GET.... Now, arrange the benefits in priority order. For the person/group you've targeted, which benefit makes the most sense? Which benefit will get this person's attention fastest? Which benefit does she want now? Of course, there's a certain amount of subjectivity in all this, but it's not entirely subjective. You know your market, right? You should constantly be asking your prospects which benefits are more meaningful to them. By asking, by surveying, by deducing, you'll soon come to know which benefits your prospects are attracted to first, which second, etc. Creating An Offer That Gets Your Prospect To Act NOW If you look at most marketing communications, the person who's created it acts like it doesn't matter to him when the prospect responds. Take a look at any professional brochure... or proposal... or flyer. Is there a reason to act NOW? Or is it as if the marketer simply didn't care whether the prospect acted today, next week, or ever? Sadly, it's the latter. But not for you! You've got to create an offer, a circumstance that the prospect will find sufficiently attractive that makes him want to act NOW -- not later. In my book CASH COPY, I've listed dozens of offers that you can use. Here are just a few:
It's important to keep in mind that a large percentage of people who decide to purchase your product/service will be doing so to get the offer as much as the product/service itself. If you want them to take faster action, therefore, you'll stress the offer... which means positioning it prominently in all your marketing communications. Gather Testimonials Proving That Others Have Benefitted When They Have Used Your Product/ServicePlease remember that your prospects are nervous. They have limited amounts of money (and even less of it in recessionary times) and have made bad buying decisions in the past. They are thus cautious about investing their money in what you're offering. Do they really need it? Or are they about to be ripped off -- again? This is where testimonials come in.A testimonial is your opportunity to say to the prospect, "Look, here's a person just like you, who had the same problem you have, but who has gotten meaningful benefits from our product/service." Testimonials diminish prospect anxiety ... excite prospect interest about what he can expect when he uses what you're selling. Your job, therefore, is clear: you've got to find people who are
And how many of these testimonials do you need? My rule of thumb is that you should have at least two testimonials per page of marketing communications -- or at least one in a space ad. Note: by asking for testimonials regularly, you will get them regularly. Or when people say good things about your product/service, write down what they say and get permission to use it. Personally, I enter all these comments in a special file in my computer and draw from it when I need quotes for my marketing communications. I also send these testimonials to people who are considering hiring me as a professional speaker; they get a list of recent testimonials, all fully attributed, that's over 7 feet in length and is made up of hundreds of testimonial quotes. You can believe the person getting this gigantic testimonial finds it impressive, and I get a lot of comments on it! Special Note For People Selling A ServiceIf you're selling a service, there's another section you're going to have to worry about: your biographical details. If you examine professional brochures you'll find that most of them include a section listing biographical details about the service provider, details about where he went to school, how many years he's been in practice, his professional credentials -- even details about his hobbies and family.Now I ask you: if this information about the service provider? Or about the prospect he's trying to get to take action? Put this way it's obvious, isn't it? And to the extent that it's about the service provider, it's futile and pointless. All biographical information must be refocused from being about the marketer to being meaningful to the prospect. Thus, say you've been in practice for 12 years. This fact in itself is of no possible interest to the prospect. What's of interest is that during these 12 years you've helped hundreds of people achieve results like (now give some of the results). Remember, the prospect wants the results you can help him achieve; your being in business 9 or 10 or 59 years is of no possible value compared to the results you can help him achieve. And it is these results which induce him to call you, not your years of devoted service. So focus on those results. Each fact in your biography must be changed from an "I am" into a "you get" fact. You get a person who's helped achieved these results; you get a person with this professional qualification, as a result of which you can get the results you want, etc. In short, each element of what you create must be about the prospect, even the biographical details about you! ConclusionAfter you've completed these tasks, then and only then are you ready to create your marketing communication, whatever it is, for only now have you shifted the focus of your work from yourself to the only important person in the equation: your prospect. You cannot make yourself rich. Only your prospects, acting in sufficient numbers to achieve your objectives, can make you rich. Never forget this. That is why you must never again, no matter what the time constraints, rush to put together any marketing communication without having followed the steps outlined in this report. Without completing these tasks, your marketing communications will inevitably be focused on your company, your product, your service... and not on your prospect. When you have completed these tasks, however, you will produce the kinds of client-centered marketing communications that get your prospects to do what you want them to do -- even if you have to work under the tightest deadlines.Join the tens of thousands of businesses worldwide profiting from Dr. Jeffrey Lant's marketing methods. Learn the secrets of creating documents that get your prospects to respond in his 480-page book CASH COPY: HOW TO OFFER YOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES SO YOUR PROSPECTS BUY THEM... NOW! And create a marketing plan that helps you reach your sales objectives with the new 2nd Edition of his 286- page book MONEY MAKING MARKETING: FINDING THE PEOPLE WHO NEED WHAT YOU'RE SELLING AND MAKING SURE THEY BUY IT. 50 Follen St., Suite 507, Cambridge, MA 02138 or with MC/VISA from (617) 547-6372 |
