Yesterday, April 25, 2006, 7:00:46 AM Troy White
1) Be more specific - generalities do not sell... society as a whole is very skeptical of anything non-specific.
If you use numbers in your promotions (like 10% off or see a 50% return) - you are much better off using unusual numbers (like 12.7% discount or see a 49.79% return). They stand out and make people pay attention - and attention is the first step in getting people involved in your copy.
Or rather than selling a winter coat - you sell a microfibre, fleece coat made from the down of the Northern Artic Muskox which lives in winter weather of minus 60 for months on end. Hand stiched and wind sealed against even the harshest of climates.Which sounds more believable to you?
2) Testimonials - this is nothing new - you've probably heard it many times before. Are you doing it? Are you asking clients for good solid, believable testimonials?
None of the "your service is excellent!" J.B. type of testimonial.You need to press them (or give them guidance on exactly what to write - as long as it is true).
You want a testimonial like: "Your Diamond Club service saved me 12 hours last month alone on my marketing - considering that I bill out at $450 an hour - you save me $4,500 in my first month of using your service! Considering it cost me $795 a month - I have already paid for the first 5 or 6 months! I would recommend this service to anyone who wants better results in their marketing." John Befur, ABC Company, Dallas, Texas
Now THAT is a good testimonial - one you should push for.One I received that I use everywhere I can: "
Troy, thanks for all your great work. Your copy is energetic and engaging and touches deep into the soul of the exact audience we are targeting. Your last piece created over $47,857 in revenues for us, within the first 48 hours... not only that... it all happened during the weekend which is absolutely the worst time to launch a new web campaign like this. Thanks again
Troy, I look forward to many more successful product launches with your expertise at my side." Joel Christopher, Best Selling Author
3) Before and after - case studies. Probably the most powerful way to show exactly how you help people improve their lives and or their business.
The best way to do this is to arrange to do case study interviews with your best clients (or hire a copywriter to do them for you).
Call them up and find out:a) what was life like before the problem was fixed?
b) what kinds of problems were they faced with when life was like that?
c) why did they want to fix the problem? What emotions come up when they think back to how life used to be?
d) what was the process they went through to find a provider?
e) what was their criteria in choosing a supplier?
f) how has the problem been fixed? How did the process work?
g) how is life now that the problem is fixed forever?
h) what advice would you like to leave people who are experiencing the same types of problems you used to?Record the call... have the notes transcribed... and convert it into a really powerful case study... complete with pictures if at all possible.
Even better - have the audios converted into an online audio file - or compile a bunch of them to put on cd.
4) Tell the entire story behind the product making, or finding of the product.
You may have heard the Schlitz beer story - or you may not have. Many decades ago, Schlitz beer was sitting near the 10th place in the market for beer companies.
They hired one of the grandmaster copywriters to help them gain marketshare.
After spending quite some time touring the factory, he came up with a plan (notice the difference here - a non-direct response type of ad firm would come up with yet another beer ad with girls, boys, and everyone having a party).
He went into the CEO and said "I would like to write an advertisement telling all the details on how you both filter your water and how you clean your bottles"
To which the CEO flat out said "NO! All our competitors do it that way... bad idea"
When questioned further, it became evident that yes, their competitors all do it relatively the same way but no, noone had ever told the buyer public that.
So they created some full page, all text, no girls, no parties, all educational style ads. Telling the complete story behind the filtration process, the cleaning process - everything that their competitors did but were afraid to talk about.
What happened?From 10th in the marketplace to 1st - in 6 months.
All by telling the facts on how they do what they do... and being the first to tell the complete story. Of course, after a while their competitors caught on (when their marketshare plunged in relation to Schlitz)... by then it was too late.
So tell the complete story behind how you build what you build, your background and why it is important to them, if you bring products in from out of country - tell how you find those products - the process you go through - the number of flights you take in a year - the staff that goes shopping for you - the evaluation process you go through... tell them EVERYTHING
|The difference? More sales, significant profit gains, and a much more educated buyer.
Part II to come tomorrow
About Me
- Jeffrey Summers
- I am the expert you call when you need to learn how to increase top line sales, lower your operating costs, increase your profit margin, hire and train better managers and staff, evolve your operation into more and better ways of doing business, buy or sell a restaurant, improve your service, engineer (or re-engineer!) your menu, market your business better and less expensively, keep yourself from going nuts because you have no life anymore, open more and better restaurants, don't want to have to give up your first born child to pay a consultant and have more fun! My mission is to enhance the quality of life for my clients by providing the best products and services to help them achieve their personal and professional goals. I take great pride in my clients, my company, my commitment to service and the products I sell. I am a recognized expert in the hospitality industry with over 24 years of success at planning and executing strategies for delivering dramatic results, a former "GM of the Year" for 2 major, full-service, franchises, an Award winning Multi-Unit Executive with 2 of the largest restaurant chains in the U.S., published author, husband and father of two.