We’ve all been burnt before; having been seduced into buying something, we were left disappointed, frustrated and maybe even a little angry. It’s the same with our customers. None are virgins when it comes to being ripped off. As a marketer, as a persuader, you must never lose sight of this fact:

People are sceptical and they do NOT believe a word you say until a level of trust is reached.

Trust is the biggest barrier to any sale. This is what stands between you and the money.

Here’s a big point to keep in mind. They want to believe you; especially when your pitch is perfectly targeted. You’ve whet the prospect’s appetite and she desperately wants to believe that this time it will be different; that this time the product will be as promised and she will get the results on offer. If your copy hits her passionate sweet spot (as Carlton would say) she will suspend her disbelief and be compelled to order.

However, there is one over-riding factor burning away inside her that may stop her buying at the last moment. It’s a sales killer. A murderer of profits that must be overcome. You see, above all, she is scared about making the wrong decision. Especially if that wrong decision causes embarrassment or loss of face. It’s a powerful foe we as marketers must banish.

So, you have to tackle this head on. Proof, case studies, testimonials, guarantees, admitting slight flaws in the product, telling stories, all help build the trust needed to make the sale.

Remember, we never sell to virgins.

Our customers have been disappointed before and they expect to be disappointed again. This is what we are up against every time we make a pitch.

But it’s not insurmountable. Just keep in mind your customers are like frightened deer coming out to graze in the early morning sunshine. Any noise, anything out of place can cause them to stampede.

It’s the same with your prospects. It’s called their Bull Shit Detector and for most it’s running on high every time they think they are getting pitched. If they spot something not quite right then you’ve lost and they’re gone.

Your number one job is to build trust first, before you start selling. Keep it in mind.Related Posts:

• They Gotta Feel You’re Real…
• You Need Your Own Dynamic Story
• Association… Tarred With The Same Brush
• The Travelling Speaker
• The ONE Simple Technique to Closing More Sales

While watching the local news the other night I was once again reminded of the prevailing attitude for never accepting responsibility of one’s actions and for laying the blame squaring on someone else. Hence, “It’s Not My Fault.”

As a copywriter, it reinforced in me the need to use this “copy click” more often. It validated my reasoning for using this click and I could clearly see how powerful it really is. (If you’re selling anything that improves your prospect’s life, taking your prospect to a better place whether physically, emotionally, financially and so on, you better use this click.

Basically, you’ve got to lift the blame from your prospect’s shoulders and let him or her know it’s not their fault. NOTE: Don’t you dare start thinking this way about your own life, not if you want to be rich and successful that is.)

Anyway, a bit of background.

I live in Mackay, a booming coastal town on the Whitsunday Coast. West of us out in the dry interior are dozens of coal mines bringing thousands of workers and families into Mackay each year. Now, even a rudimentary bit of research would tell you a few important facts about this town.

1. Rental property is scarce. There’s a 99.9% occupancy rate.
2. Getting a job in the mines takes more than rocking into town with a backpack and saying “here I am…give me a job.”
3. Property prices have soared in recent years. Some reports say 300% in the last few years.
4. Food and petrol prices are high compared to other southern cities.

Okay, that’s just a bit of background. Basically, if you’re a young family trying to buy a house in Mackay, and you’re on the average wage, you’re going to do it tough.

So here’s the news story that pricked my attention.

They had this guy on who had recently moved to Mackay with his family. He was seduced by the thought of BIG money at the mines, quit his job, and moved up here only to find his dream turning into a nightmare. He didn’t get a job… in fact, he and his family are living in a caravan on unemployment benefits.

Here’s where it gets interesting. Here’s just a taste of his comments during the interview.

“I heard it was easy to get a job up here so I quit my job. Now look at me. My family live in a caravan, everything is so expensive, I can’t get work. If they would have told me it was going to be like this I would have never moved. It’s just not fair.”

The angle taken by the interviewer was sympathetic, almost apologetic, and damning at the powers that be that have condemned this man to a life of poverty.

Wow! Can you believe it?

It’s no wonder this epidemic of “It’s Not My Fault-Itis” is sweeping the country. The media plays on this… pandering to the masses reluctance of accepting responsibility. And look, before you start wailing at me for being some unsympathetic snob, let’s look at the facts.

He chose to quit his job. He chose to move his whole family here.

He chose to ignore a little bit of research about the place he was moving to.

So who is to blame here?

Tell me, would you at least do some research before quitting your job and moving your family 2,000 miles away? Of course you would. He didn’t. And now somehow he has rationalised this as being someone else’s fault. Go figure.

Now while I feel for this man and his family, I am not going to pander to his lack of responsibility. This kind of thinking is insidious, running rampant throughout our society. People are looking for scapegoats, someone to blame, far be it from them to look in the mirror.

The key to your success is to take responsibility. Plain and simple. Basically we’ve all gotta grow up and stop blaming others for our lives.

Even the most fundamental of research would have told this guy that there are no houses to rent in Mackay, that rents are high, that getting a job in the mines requires a few critical skills and documents.

This guy did none of this. He heard a few stories, packed his bags, and when things didn’t turn out to be a bed of roses he gets on TV and says it’s not his fault!

Can you see this?

Good.

But it’s a good lesson for us marketers. This is how the masses think. So if you want to sell them, let them off the hook and tell them it’s not their fault. Just don’t start believing this nonsense yourself.Related Posts:

• The Price Of Petrol
• Do you really have to under-go a near-death experience to become a street-savvy Marketer?
• We Do Not Sell To Virgins
• Muhammad Ali’s Guide To Copywriting
• 7 Tips For Writing YOU Focused Copy

When speaking from the stage, on a tele-seminar, face-to-face, or telling a story in your newsletter, blog, email or sales letter, one critical thing must occur for you to make an impact.

Without this critical occurrence, your sales will always remain flat.

What it is? Connection! Without connection, there is no trust, and trust is the BIGGEST barrier to any sale. So this means we have to strive, early on in our presentations to build trust. You do that with case studies, testimonials and stories. That’s what we do. But there is more to it than that. There must be a feeling of authenticity in you and what you’re saying.

It’s a hard thing to grasp, and to teach. So as usual, I’ve came up with a little saying that makes it easy. “They gotta feel you’re real.” Yeah I know, it’s brilliant! So just give me a second to wallow in your adulation. Okay, that was good. But I’m back, there’s work to do.

The lesson here is BIG so I’ll get straight to the point. They’ve got to feel a connection with you and feel that YOU believe your own rhetoric; that you believe in what you are saying; that you really are the person you portray, that you’re the real deal.

I don’t know about you, but I can spot a phoney a mile off. It’s hard to say what I don’t like; but it’s there, something nagging away at me. I feel it in my gut. Some say I’m intuitive and I guess in some ways I am. (My wife is even better, she IS an intuitive… and every time she has warned me about someone and I didn’t listen, I was burnt.) When I see a phoney, I get a feeling in my gut, a nervous quiver, and I know something is not quite right. It’s the same with your prospects.

So what’s the answer?

It’s a hard one. Kennedy puts it like this: “I realise that’s an intangible, so it’s hard to tell you how to mechanically manufacture it… but like art or pornography, you know it when you see it.”

Kind’a sums it up doesn’t it. But still, we have to answer the question, how do you make them feel you are real?

First up, you’ve got to be yourself. If you’re naturally outgoing and funny, fine. Be funny. If you’re an introvert, fine. Don’t do funny. Just be real. Don’t pretend.

Not everyone will like you; that’s a given. So be yourself, don’t go pretending you’re someone else. Let your prospects see the real you, tell real stories, let them into your life a bit, emotionally charged everything you say and write, and then, there will be connection… and only then will you have a chance at building trust and getting the sale.

SIDE NOTE: In October, I’m going deep into the art of storytelling at my Cash Characters Academy Workshop in Brisbane. I’ll keep you posted.

Related Posts:

• We Do Not Sell To Virgins
• You Need Your Own Dynamic Story
• How To Find The Right Tone & Voice For Your Market
• The ONE Simple Technique to Closing More Sales
• 7 Tips For Writing YOU Focused Copy

Wow, I got a lot of feedback from the last post and I appreciate it. Seems like a few readers have benefited from the advice by taking action and actually doing something with it. Well done! If ever there was a secret to success, there it is above.

Anyway, moving on…

The past couple of weeks have been one long slog. I felt like I was on a treadmill… jogging away and not getting any damn where. One job after another. Bang, bang, bang. Mainly seminar promotions. For myself and my clients. Frankly, I’ve barely had time to catch my breath.

But I made a vow recently about this blog.

I’m determined to get at least one post up per week. This way, every week you can tap into the power of Emotional Direct Response Marketing and Copywriting.

So I knew I had to get a post up today, not tomorrow.

But Monday is looming with two deadlines that have to be completed. And in the world I live in, you can’t get away with “the dog ate my lunch” kinda story, just won’t cut it.

Some deadlines are soft; meaning, they are not set in stone and you know you’ll have to make a few changes anyway.

Other deadlines are hard; meaning people are relying on you to get it done on that day and people are standing by, ready to implement. For Monday’s deadlines, my clients have got printers ready to print, web guys ready to upload my copy, and they are itching to launch their seminar promotions. The copy MUST be done!

So I compromised by reprinting a chunk from my monthly Emotional Ad Writing & Marketing Letter.

The way I see it, everyone wins. I can get back on to my deadlines and you get some great info taken from my paid subscription newsletter.

Anyway, here’s the article “The Power Of A Provocative Question”. I’m gonna go grab a coffee… I’m in for a long day.

To Your Success,Related Posts:

• The Fear of Loss is More Powerful Than The Hope For Gain!
• Association… Tarred With The Same Brush
• The ONE Simple Technique to Closing More Sales
• Copywriting’s Magic Pill Syndrome
• They Gotta Feel You’re Real…

The headline above has been drummed into my head since I first started writing copy over a decade ago. If you study guys like Kennedy, Halbert and Carlton, as I do, you know these guys really get it.

So if you’re a student of Emotional Direct Response, you know this.

You know in reality, people would much rather save something they’ve already got, than get something they want. It’s hardwired into our heads.

So if you’re a student, you know this already.

But do you really get it?

Is this undisputed fact of human behaviour permanently imprinted into your mind? If not, then this is my objective here. To show you how to always be aware of this fact, but also to show you how to craft compelling copy that targets this primeval emotion, what we call, the fear of loss.

(I hope by now, as an astute reader of this blog, you realise the BIG POINTS I make here, the ones I want to really ram home to you, are the exact same BIG POINTS I keep reminding myself on. By reminding you, I’m reminding me. And being astute, I bet you’ve got a notebook beside you, a BIG IDEA book you’re writing all of these lessons down in. You are, aren’t you?)

Anyway, I was going through an old Jerry Buchanan newsletter the other day (Jerry was a famous old info marketer from way back), when I came across an example of fear of loss that really struck home.

Jerry was commenting on an Advertorial by Tony Hyman for his book: “Cash for Unwanted Treasures.” (Tony’s book predates “The Antiques Road Show” shown on TV.).

This is going back to the early nineties but I’m told Tony is still going strong. Remember, human emotions do NOT change throughout time.

Anyway, if you read my previous post, you saw how every emotion is a two-sided coin.

Positive and Negative.

Good or Bad.

So Tony’s advertorial headline could easily have focused on the benefits of finding unwanted treasure. Something like:

“I couldn’t believe it when they told me my old vase was worth $2,500, but when he handed me the cheque…”

NOTE: A simple adaptation of Caples’ famous: “They laughed when I sat down at the piano… but when I started to play…”

Now this isn’t a bad headline. But Tony didn’t use this approach. Because he knew in his gut the fear of loss is more powerful than the hope for gain.

This is what his headline was…

“Have You Ever Put a $100 Bill in the Trash?”

Man that hits ya doesn’t it? It’s pure fear of loss!

Look, I don’t use this enough myself, hence this article. My mind is focused on wealth, on good things, on the positive side of life.

But as entrepreneurs we must realise many are not this way. It’s easier to motivate the masses with what they will lose, as opposed to what they will get.

MILLION DOLLAR EXERCISE: First, write out all of the things your prospects might lose by not getting your product or service. What will they miss out on? What will they lose?

Next, come up with all the Power Words that describe each one. (PAIN WORDS)

Might pay to print this post out. It’s a keeper.

Anyway, it’s a beautiful autumn’s day here in the tropics. About 17 degrees Celsius, the sun blazing from a clear blue sky with a faint whiff of salt blowing up from the beach on a gentle breeze.

That’s where I’m heading now, down the beach. And I won’t feel guilty either. I’ve done a 5 hour writing block from 5 this morning until 10. So I got a lot done. Two jobs actually completed and two more moved further along. So I’m happy and ahead of schedule.

Stay happy,Related Posts:

• The Power of a Provocative Question
• Copywriting Salesmanship in Print
• 7 Tips For Writing YOU Focused Copy
• If Ever There Was A Secret To Success!
• Persuasion Power … The Two-Sided Coin

People buy on feelings. And if you’ve been with me awhile now, you know you are really in the FEELINGS business… that’s where the real money lies.

And basically, there are two kinds of feelings, positive and negative.

Now I’m a positive person, so I’m always looking at the positive feelings, the positive benefits a prospect gets from the product I’m selling. It’s only natural, that’s the way I think. But here’s what I have to constantly remind myself of: In many cases, you get better results by manipulating negative feelings than you do positive feelings.

Fight this statement as much as you want. But it’s the truth. Here’s an example to prove this point…

Guilt
Love

Two sides of the same feelings coin.

Now let’s pretend for a minute I’m trying to sell you something and you’re a parent. I can go down the love angle and I would do this. I would stress in story form the love you feel for your kids. But this love angle would be my secondary priority.

Guilt would be my major emotion. I would hammer home the guilt angle. About not being around for your son’s soccer game, missing out on his graduation, not taking him fishing and so on.

It’s why the subhead I wrote below for a client specialising in children’s learning and speech difficulties worked so damn well. (It’s why the Special Report I wrote for her over two years ago is still bringing in the money.)

“Do You Ever Get The Feeling That Your Child Is Slipping Behind The Rest Of The Class?”

Sure it plays on the love angle, but it also rams home the guilt. The prospect starts thinking that maybe somehow it’s his fault for not spending enough time with his son or daughter… that’s the reason the grades are slipping.

Don’t ignore this advice.

It’s why in the lead up to our Federal Election here in Australia, the ALP started using negative ads: Because They Work! (The Liberals did the same.)

Just be clear you are in the FEELINGS business. You are selling feelings. Your customers are a seething mass of emotions and how they feel will determine whether they buy or not.

So sell with emotion. Sell with the feelings your prospects will experience once they get the benefits your product offers. And don’t forget the two-sided coin. Positive and negative… and many times, negative is the angle to take.

And now, I’m outta here and on to my next deadline.

Keep smilin’,Related Posts:

• The Fear of Loss is More Powerful Than The Hope For Gain!
• 7 Tips For Writing YOU Focused Copy
• The Power of a Provocative Question
• How to Turn Boring Facts Into Exciting Benefits
• Do you really have to under-go a near-death experience to become a street-savvy Marketer?