I was sitting outside Sydney Airport with my wife getting in a last minute cigarette before my flight back home. Yeah I know, filthy habit and it’s gonna kill me, but hey, we all have our vices. Anyway, next to me was my “new friend” Jeff from Tamworth, a guy who up until that point in time was a complete stranger to me.
You see, Jeff immediately introduced himself as soon as my butt hit the bench beside him. He even felt compelled to share with me his thoughts on the world and we exchanged pleasantries as we smoked and waited to go inside… Striking up conversations with complete strangers is something I usually discourage while travelling, but my guard was down, I was tired and he was one of those people who love to have a chat… at it turned out, he gave me a big lesson.
Anyway, it wasn’t long before his talk moved to the price of petrol.
“How much is petrol in Mackay mate?” he asked with genuine interest, as if my answer, the price of petrol in Mackay, may reveal some ultimate meaning to the existence of life on earth. Some wonderful revelation that would revolutionise the human race, cure world hunger, or bring an everlasting world peace.
Okay, I’m exaggerating, but his eagerness indicated a compulsive desire to know. Anyway, I really had to think. Frankly, whether the price of petrol goes up or down, savvy business people are still making money. So I don’t pay much attention to it. But his eyes pleaded for an answer so I had a guess.
“Wow, that’s cheap,” he replied. “I remember last year, petrol went up damn near $2.00 a litre in Tamworth. I tell you,” he continued with a conspiratorial air, leaning into me and indicating for me to do the same with a wag of his finger. “Not too many people went anywhere that year.”
And that was the statement that made me sit bolt upright! That was the statement that made me listen; really listen to this man sitting there beside me. Because man I was gob-smacked! It was a wake-up call! And I was glad I was sitting next to my new friend from Tamworth that’s for sure. I spent another 15 minutes with him. Quizzing him. Probing him. Empathising with him and his lot.
So why did I get so damn interested and excited? Simply this…
As a copywriter, I can’t let myself get too isolated and lose touch with the market I’m writing to.
Recently I took on a client who sells marketing kits to Trades People. Soon, very soon, I’ll be writing to this market. This means, I need to get grounded and think back to my past life when I was on the tools. Just around the corner in my schedule I’m going to have to start thinking like a tradesman.
And that’s real important to my client so he gets maximum results.
Because think about it.
The last two weeks I’ve had a ball hanging out with friends and clients who are true success stories where abundance is the rule of the day. Scarcity is a non-issue… we know we can always get more. But very soon I’ll have to start writing to trades people… I’ve got to start thinking like them, feeling like them, understanding them at a deep emotional level. I have to know what concerns them, what frightens them, how the industry in general is doing and a 101 other things that almost guarantee a winning promotion. So for me, sitting down next to this guy was pure research.
So there’s a great copywriting lesson for you.
You must never isolate yourself from your market. Never be cynical or think you are better. True selling is all about empathy and this empathy clearly shows through in winning copy.
But let’s get away from copy for a minute.
Here’s the BIG wealth lesson for you.
You can’t let your mind be corrupted by all the little grievances we face on a daily basis. When my new mate talked about petrol prices his whole body changed. His face began to grimace, his shoulders sagged, and he had the look of a defeated man.
You see, taking part in the “petrol is expensive” debate around the water-cooler each morning is poisoning your mind to accepting abundance.
Think about it.
How can bitching and moaning ever improve a person’s life?
How?
It can’t!
And it’s the old catch 22 thing in action. The more you bitch and moan about something, the more of it you get. I believe you attract this, it’s preordained.
Same with abundance.
Start thinking abundantly and start taking the right actions, you’ll start to attract abundance into your life.
Now before you start saying “it’s easy for you Pete”… let me remind you my change in thinking started well before success came my way. My thoughts changed before my circumstances did. There is no other way.
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Pete Godfrey, The Wizard of Words, from rebel without a clue to one of the most in demand and highest paid Copywriters and Sales Strategists in Australasia… all with the power of his emotionally charged words that sell… Discover the “Secret Weapon” to increasing your Sales and Profits CrocodileMarketing.com. While you're at it, follow Pete on Twitter
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Pete, great STORY and this is the third lesson I grabbed from the post. The ART of story telling. Whether your intent was to get us to emphasise with our clients. Whether your intent was to have us create visions for ourselves. The real message for me was the message inside the message. The lessons you were helping us with were encapsulated inside a STORY. And for all those people thinking, considering, contemplating on how to write stories then make sure you are Brisbane on the 27th and 28th of February to learn from Pete in his Cash Characters weekend seminar at the Hilton. I’ll be there and wouldn’t miss it, I’m flying back from Bali to attend. Cheers Kurt
You’re right Pete!
We are so focussed on getting everything right and not wanting to know about negatives, that often we tend to ignore those who think like that all the time.
If only we could lift them out of their despair and show them that abundance can be theirs for the taking – if only they would!
But often it’s a batlle to convince them they can move beyond their circumstance, think positively, and achieve.
As long as they remain negative, they will always be a propect for our products!
Because they buy the next shiny penny, but waste it instead of banking it!
Cheers buddy – Nobby
Hey Pete,
This is gold.
You gave me the courage and confidence to tell my story to my tribe last month, and I can’t thank you enough. The effect on them was like a lightening bolt. I’ve never had the amount or level of feedback to an article in the past that I’ve written. It really hit a nerve with people.
I wouldn’t have had the guts to do this if it wasn’t for your encouragement through your newsletter.
Thanks again Pete!
Great lessons there Pete. When I first met you 3 years ago in the ’smokers circle’, I’d say i was similar to Jeff. My ‘thing’ was constantly complaining about my crappy job. It only took 2 days with you at your Protege 06 weekend to rid me of that kind of negativity (did wonders for my writing skills too
– Few months later I left the ‘crappy’ job. See you at Cash Characters mate.
Lucky you’re not writing for the women’s lingerie market, you might have to start wearing some — just kidding. Great story, you really are the master wizard!
I gotta admit, since being exposed to “Pete’s world”, I just fill up the car and don’t even look at the petrol price. One day the store owner told me he couldn’t change $100 — petrol was at it’s weekly peak and he said his petrol pumps that morning were like a ghost town. The small things that happily don’t occupy my mind anymore!
Hey what a beautiful reminder of the power of the media to influence our market. I’m with you Pete and I see myself as imune to the media freak shows and disaster around every corner. Thanks to you and your stories, I am telling my own and my clients love it. Regards Jeff