I use absolutely everything I can think of to get into my prospect's mind.
I make up a profile of the ideal prospect...
Age:
This gives you a ton of insights into how people think. If you're a baby boomer you'll know who Bob Dylan is and the Rolling Stones. You're also more likely to trust sales messages more.
You probably still feel like your capable of doing anything even though when you look at your body in the mirror it tells you something completely different.
If you're from the X generation then you're as sceptical as hell and you don't trust sales messages from anyone you don't know very well.
It's no suprise to you that a president lies - in fact there's a good chance you think that whole Bill Clinton, Monica Lewinksy lying scandal was stupid. Of course our presidents and authority figures lie.
Interests:
Some products imply certain interests. If you're in the internet marketing niche that means you've been exposed to the jargon in the niche.
Using jargon - the language of a niche - helps you communicate more effectively in that niche.
There's more but I won't list the whole profile sheet here.
I also try to call as many of the ideal prospects as I can for any product I'm writing copy for.
Or I'll talk to them in person which is even better.
That's a VERY fast way to get to know your prospect.
I will work out what their objections are and go through the process of convincing them this is a great product or service they should have.
I go through this process in the live 59 minute audio "How To Find A Hungry Market Online". You can download the audio free at http://www.copywriting1.comI had many, many years of one-on-one sales experience and I can't recommend that highly enough if you want to write copy.
It's the best way to get a deep understanding of the sales process.
As I discover and confirm where the main triggers are I'm also looking at how to deliver the necessary sales message.
That's marketing skill.
A single sales letter can be very inefficient - especially online.
You need to analyze where price resistant starts for your unique group of prospects, the level of confidence required to buy and a whole pile of other factors.
Then you create a marketing process that's most likely to create the maximum number of sales.
That might include email autoresponders, reports (free or paid), telemarketing, online chat forms, direct mail reports, sales letters, magalogs etc, postcards, online video, DVDs, audio CDs and more.
If you assume that the way you're selling now is NOT the most effective then you're on the right track.
Think about it.
If the average online response rate is 0.5% to 10% then it should be obvious that there's a HUGE potential for increased sales.
Most salesmen would get fired if they made a 10% response rate - which is getting towards the upper end of the response rate online.
I've had 19% and 20% response rates but even that would be considered pretty poor for most salesman.
Finding those key places in your sales process where you can increase response rates with a different kind of approach to your prospect is the next generation of online marketing.
Combining online and offline marketing effectively.
Ari Galper at unlockthegame.com does over $40,000 in sales every month with very little traffic.
He gets impressive sales numbers by using online chat boxes and having highly trained live staff who engage and call prospects on a real live telephone.
Ari has found a key point in his sales process and increases his response by using live telemarketing instead of trying to close the sale online.
And even though he's outperforming most of the online marketing industry there's still HUGE room for improvement in Ari's marketing process.
The fundamental core of creating that marketing process and the sales copy and material along the way is in gaining an intimate knowledge of your prospects.
Also read...
How Do You Research Your Sales LettersJ Walter Thompson Knowing Your Prospect
Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh
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If you haven't heard Web 2.0 is using the interactive nature of the web to improve the user experience.
Marketers are now racking their brains trying to come up with a multitude of ways to cash in on this Web 2.0 phenomenom.
So how do you make money online using Web 2.0?
I think the problem here is we’re trying to find ways of making money out of web 2.0 instead of trying to find ways to improve and enhance our service to our clients using web 2.0.
When you focus on the end point - the ultimate outcome you want for your clients and the steps they need to take to get there then you can find a multitude of ways to use emerging technology.
I fundamentally disagree with what is currently believed to be the “bottom line” in business - financial profit measured in dollars.
Business was designed to serve people.
We should not be servants to business (or profits).
When you design your business with the fundamental of serving people in mind even if you don’t always make substantial profits you do always give something very valuable back to your society.
And ironically you’re far more likely to create profits and stability in a business that is centered around giving service to people.
Web 2.0 is not another way to make money - it’s another tool to serve living, breathing, loving people.
Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh