Chapter 7. Selling
Persuasion
If you don’t win the prospect over to your side, you’re nowhere. You won’t even have a side to not be won over to.
You, you, you
In your copy, say this:
“You need our product.”
“Here’s where you’re having a problem.” “You have a job to do.”
It’s all about the you...what the short story writers call the “second person.” Storywriters don’t use the second person much, but as a copywriter, your y, o and u keys should get worn out first.
Reasons you works:
The? prospect wants to hear about himself more than anyone else.
It? forces you to be relevant. When you’re putting you into every other sentence, you’ll stay on the topic.
Telling no one nothing – don’t do it
Jabberty Jabberty thinks he can merely toss out 10 product features, and the prospect will...
1. Pick out the three features she needs
2. Connect them to her situation
3. Respond
Hey, Jabberty – you’re making the prospect work a lot on your behalf. Rather, you should...
1. Select three features you think she needs
2. Relate them to her life
3. Give her an incentive to respond
Limit the number of “scene” ads
A “two people talking to each other” ad can seem desirable…mostly because we see them so much. But it can easily fail, because nobody is talking to the prospect. She’s ultra-likely to overlook the message.
So, if you want a response from your prospect, talk directly to her.
Reference: “Tell second person stories,” on page 99.
Give a rationale
Oftentimes the prospect wants to go your way, but you need to give him strong reasons. In fact, you and he are working for the same outcome. You just need to be on his side – not selling to him.
For example, if you’re trying to get a homeowner to take out a second mortgage, don’t just throw that offer out there. Give him a rationale he can embrace. Say this: “Your home has increased in value over the years, and that’s money you’ve earned – but you’re not using. Take out a home equity loan for the amount of extra value in your house, and make other wise investments – like college for your kids.”
Then, your prospect will have his money and his reason for it.
Bridge from the agreeable to...
If you have a tough sell, start with some points the prospect agrees with, then “therefore” him to the statement that’s harder to buy.
Agreeable statement: “Beaches are too polluted.”
The bridge to the tougher sell: “Therefore, our organization plans to melt Antarctica, lift the oceans by 40 feet, and shape new shorelines. Will you help us make a clean start?”
Move the prospect
Let’s make a point so basic that nobody says it: The prospect hasn’t purchased your product. There is little chance she will. You wouldn’t be needed if she were falling all over herself to get your product. However, she is not budging.
It’s your job to cause a significant change in the prospect – enough that she makes a move toward your product.
So: When, where, why and how will your prospect experience this change?
Samples of persuasion
Someone is out there, and you need to pull him to you. How? There are hundreds of ways, and here are six:
? Subtlety
Warmth?
? Sincerity
? Expertise
? Humility
? Reasoning
To do: Think about the forms of persuasion that you’ll use to attract the prospect.
Framing
For example: Your product is strong on reliability and weak on speed. You have a snag, because the prospect doesn’t care about reliability and desperately wants more speed (no jokes). Q: What should you do?
A: Turn reliability into speed. Since your competition’s fast product is unreliable, it breaks, and then it’s not moving at all. Is that quick? No. You should say, “Our product is fastest over the long haul.”
The truth
The truth is everything. Tell the truth.
However, don’t do it poorly. Framing the truth properly is a skill as old as humankind, and America’s greatest practitioner was Honest Abe Lincoln. The truth of the matter is: There are dozens of ways to express something truthfully, and your job is to do it the right way.
“Hey!” Rex Ridgid barks. “There’s only one way to tell the truth, and that’s to say it!” Calm down, RR. Deep inside, you’re determining how to say something the right way, but it’s so ingrained you don’t notice. Those who communicate for a living devote lots of attention to the “How should I say it?” question. So, the options come to the surface more.
Extra: Successful people like to blurt out, “I just say what I think!” But sorry – they don’t just say what they think. Listen closely to how they use language and phrasing. As successful people, they are calculating what they say. They simply don’t show it.
The right touch
Definition: The right touch is the ability to phrase sentences in ways that win
the prospect over.
You should have the right touch or a desire to develop it. Reason: Situations are thrown at you all the time, and you have to express your way through them.
The controlling hand
There’s an art to knowing when to hold back and when to give it your all.
Lucky for you, you’re in advertising. Mostly, you’ll give it your all. That’s easier.
Enhance
For example, if you advertise a shoe store, tell the prospect she can meet with your shoe counselors. To be sure, they are shoe counselors.
Success
Adding up to success
What is the combination of somethings that will put you in the winners circle?
The following list should get you started. You can figure out the percentages, and add your own factors. Here goes:
80/20
If your product has loads of distinct advantages, put 80% of the emphasis on the advantages and 20% on creativity. Also, if you can mix creativity into those advantages then you’re a superstar.
Vice versa that as well. If you have few advantages, go strong on the creativity.
Restrain yourself!
Sure, Getit Allin wants you to put a bunch of new junk to the ad. However, you’ll turn off your prospect, because she doesn’t want to dig through a crowded mess. Fight to give your prospect the right number of selling points.
Rule of thumb: You’re better off presenting too little rather than too much, because a spare ad is more inviting.