Chime School

Posts Tagged ‘selling’

“Are You Insane?” That was the headline of perhaps the greatest letter I ever penned, my famous “Insane” letter. This 1 page letter alone is responsible for over 5 million dollars in income but here is the REAL beauty of it. I have used the same letter for almost 15 years with the same staggering results in a number of different businesses from my own resort management firm to selling franchises in the karate industry, to software in the golf business. I even used it to sell my own online marketing book that was recently published.

The reason this letter has been so successful is very simple, the concept and the copy resonates with the readers. Albert Einstein’s Theory of Insanity is: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, meaning the same letters you have been sending for years expecting higher response rates is, in fact, INSANE!

This type of connection and understanding of human nature, motivation and purchasing psychology is what separates a five hundred dollar sales letter writer from a five thousand dollar or even a fifteen thousand dollar sales letter writer, with a corresponding boost in response.

There is NOTHING, I repeat NOTHING, more powerful than a well-written letter! By well-written I do not mean grammar, spelling, punctuation and all the things I seemed to have missed by quitting high school education at the age fifteen. What I mean is a letter that connects with a PROSPECT at the soul. A letter that speaks the language of your companies’s prospects, not the corporate speak language that some Madison Avenue type THINKS that your prospect must speak. And very probably, NOT THE LANGUAGE THAT YOU SPEAK!

It’s that connection that makes your copy work and it’s the lack of that connection that makes it fail, whether in a letter, brochure, postcard or Web site.

Here are ten tips for connecting with your audience; check your copy to see how it rates:

1. Always write your letters like you’re writing them to a friend.

2. Never use complex language, keep it simple!

3. Try to avoid excess use of superlative words.

4. Every single headline and subhead ABSOLUTELY MUST have maximum impact and interest to the reader’s SELF INTEREST or curiosity!

5. Don’t say what everyone else is saying; be different, ASTONISHINGLY DIFFERENT, if at all possible.

6. Attempt to paint a picture with your words and make the reader of the letter want to jump into that picture with you!

7. Connect the readers of your sales letter with a story; do not just give them the cold, hard, FACTS.

For example, if you were advertising for Loch Lommond Golf Club in Scotland, you could say that the golf course was designed by renowned player Tom Weiskof. A great piece of knowledge, but of little impact. However, if you say, Loch Lommond was one of the last golf courses Tom Weiskof ever got to redesign; you lead right into the story of your letter… While drifting around one morning in the gentle Scottish mist, while designing the course, Weiskof stepped up to his neck in quicksand and remained there for several hours before being discovered. Is there any question why the seventeenth hole is so special for him?

8. Always use visual, aural and feeling references to reach people of different information processing persuasions. (How many copywriters do you think even know of this important fact, let alone actually use it? Precisely, not many but it is smart little tricks like this that can make or break a sales letter.)

9. Always make sure your piece readable on 3 different levels to accommodate the bobber , the skimmer, and the studious. That is to say, for the skimmer: the headlines, captions and underlines alone MUST ALWAYS tell your story. The studious will read the entire letter, while the bobber will zone in on subheads of specific interest and ignore the rest of the letter.

10. Make the readers take action. Amazingly one of the most common mistakes in any marketing literature of all kinds is simply failing to provide clear action steps on what you want the prospect to do next! For instance, if you want great sales copy that motivates people to ACTION, call me now at 1800-827-1663!

Well, there it is sports fans; how to connect with your business’s prospects.

Oh, and I know that someone at your company will still sabotage your next brochure or letter with well-meaning corporate speak. But, at least, when you read the sales letter, you’ll have the pleasure of knowing in advance, why your results will be so predictably poor!

One of the top small business networking trainers is an entrepeneur named Jon Berghoff. Jon is founder of Global Empowerment Coaching and has a history of training leaders, building sales, and causing entrepreneurial success through ‘harmonic influence,’ which gives you control over yourself, your customers, and the world in general. Jon Berghoff is speaker and bestselling author of the “Cutting Edge Sales Book.”

This post is a response to a question that came in from Mike in Fredericksburg, VA, after listening to the telephone seminar, “Becoming Wealthy During Turbulent Economic Times”. To listen to the replay, go to www.geconnection.com/turbulance.html.

To get the FREE gifts that are listed during the teleseminar, go to www.geconnection.com/testimonial.

How can I use your tool of “farming” to breakthrough my current plateau of sales in my job?

“I really learned a ton from your perspective on hunting vs. farming as a way of attracting new prospects and customers. I’m really stuck though because I always have believed in the concept of giving value first, asking for business second, yet my annual sales revenue has stagnated and I can’t seem to break through to the next level. My question is, how can I use this “universal” or “spiritual” principle to really grow my sales again, not just to feel good about what I’m doing?”

Mike B. CPA, Fredericksburg, VA

ANSWER: Jon Berghoff

Mike, you are completely correct in searching for a way to use this spiritual principle to grow your business.

Most important is knowing that it takes creativity, proactive effort, and old-fashioned hard work to provide value for others. It can’t simply be an emotion or an attitude. The feeling, or attitude is required, but only effective when backed up with action. You might remember in the teleseminar that I mentioned the importance of behaviors, not just thinking, to elevate results.

I would ask you this question:

What are some ways that you could be creating value that are simple to do, that you have allowed to become easy not to do?

This is a good starting place. If this triggers anything, than put it to work. You might take the three areas from the call: problem solving, gift giving, and distributing information, and ask yourself; what are the fastest, easiest ways you could apply these secrets. I use the words “fast” and “easy” because most people over-complicate the process of farming (giving value first, asking for business second).

It might be as little as making sure your assistant answers each phone call in a positive and uplifting way, vs. an unmonitored non-emotion-inducing approach.

It could be the difference between sending out a packet of free, applicable info to your prospects before you meet them for a sales presentation, so they are conditioned from the start to see you as an authority or expert.

Maybe it means hosting a telephone conference call for everyone in your sphere of influence, teaching them 4-7 ways to save money during tax season, or the 5 most common mistakes made by others in their field.

One of the top small business networking experts is an entrepeneur named Jon Berghoff. Jon is founder of Global Empowerment Coaching and has a history of creating sales, building leadership, and causing entrepreneurial success through ‘harmonic influence,’ which gives you control over yourself, your business, and the world in general. Jon Berghoff is speaker and bestselling author of the “Cutting Edge Sales Book.”

This article is a response to a question that came in from Mike in Fredericksburg, VA, after listening to the telephone seminar, “Becoming Wealthy During Turbulent Economic Times”. To hear the teleseminar, go to www.geconnection.com/turbulance.html.

To receive the FREE gifts that are given away during the teleseminar, go to www.geconnection.com/testimonial.

How can I use your technique of “farming” to breakthrough my current plateau of sales in my accounting firm?

“I really learned a lot from your perspective on hunting vs. farming as a way of attracting new prospects and business. I’m really stuck though because I always have believed in the concept of giving value first, asking for business second, yet my annual sales revenue has flattened out and I can’t seem to break through to the next level. My question is, how can I use this “universal” or “spiritual” principle to really grow my sales again, not just to feel good about what I’m doing?”

Mike B. CPA, Fredericksburg, VA

ANSWER: Jon Berghoff

Mike, you are completely correct in searching for a way to use this spiritual principle to increase your success.

Most critical is knowing that it takes creativity, proactive effort, and old-fashioned hard work to create value for others. It can’t simply be a feeling or an attitude. The feeling, or attitude is required, but only useful when backed up with action. You might remember on the call that I mentioned the importance of behaviors, not just thinking, to improve results.

I would ask you this question:

What are some ways that you could be creating value that are easy to do, that you have allowed to become easy not to do?

This is a good starting point. If this triggers anything, than put it into practicez. You might take the three areas from the call: distributing information, problem solving, and gift giving, and ask yourself; what are the easiest, fastest ways you could apply these tips. I use the words “fast” and “easy” because most people over-think the process of farming (giving value first, asking for business second).

It might be as little as making sure your assistant answers every phone call in a positive and uplifting way, vs. an unmonitored non-emotion-inducing approach.

It could be the difference between sending out a packet of free, valuable info to your prospects before you meet them for a sales presentation, so they are conditioned early on to see you as an authority or expert.

Maybe it means hosting a teleseminar for everyone in your sphere of influence, showing them 4-7 ways to save money during tax season, or the 5 most common mistakes made by others in their field.