Writing copy or ads? Don’t be boring!

I think one of the biggest small business marketing mistakes I see is ng copy.  Sales letters, client communications, brochures, web sites and other media are too frequently written in “business speak.”  You know what I mean.  The formal, dry and boring copy that seems to have the goal of putting the reader to sleep.

Look back to your days in school (high school or college) and think of your old history, English and other textbooks. I always thought how amazing it was that they were able to take so many exciting topics and make them so incredibly boring.

I am a student of Revolutionary War history. I think that is in part due to growing up in Connecticut, which was in the cradle of the history of the United States.

Of course we studied state and US history. There were loads of textbooks that took events like the writing of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence and made them incredibly dry. There were other books, like Johnny Tremain, that fictionalized the period and made them exciting.

Why was Johnny Tremain exciting?

Well, it was a story, written in easy to understand English, that brought us into the period and the lives of the characters. That is what you want to think of as you are writing copy. What story can you tell that will capture the attention of a prospect and interest them in your product or service.

Remember, the goal is to catch the attention of a potential prospect, engage them, get them interested enough to take action. If nobody takes action, the ad is an expense, not an investment and you should always look at your marketing as an investment! If it is about building your brand, enjoy the wait!

So, how do you start? As marketing guru Dan Kennedy says, “Write like ya talk.” Start by having a conversation with your prospect. Tell them how you understand their problems and pain. Relate to them on an emotional level and show them how your product will improve their lives.

Tell them in the language that they use and understand. Most business sales letters never get read because the first paragraph is so blah that the reader has no interest in reading any further. Take out some of the letters or ads you have written. Read them aloud into a recorder and play them back.

How do they sound? Is it interesting? Be honest with yourself! If you knew nothing about yourself or your product, would you be interested? Be honest!

I”ll write more about this topic in future posts but I do recommend you start thinking about what you are saying and writing. Remember, the purpose is to get your message to your reader, not to get an “A” in grammar and sentence structure from your teacher or professor!

Can You Hear Me Now?

As a hobby, I am a woodworker.  I have learned to build fine furniture, jewelry boxes and a wide variety of other wood projects. I’ve even done some custom commission work and made decent money for doing so.  Someday I’ll get some pictures of my work on my site so you can take a look at my work.

Yesterday, I was down in my shop working on a shelf for the patio and took a look around the shop and wondered which tools were the most valuable.  I have several thousand dollars worth of woodworking machinery and hand tools and I’m pretty proud of my collection.  I couldn’t decide between the top two so it ended up being a tie for first place.

What was my choice?  Was it my cabinet saw, router, planer, workbench or any of my hand tools?    My cabinet saw is definitely what I use them most and if you were to survey woodworkers about the most valuable tool, the cabinet saw would win, hands down.   But that’s not the case for me.

The two items have a combined value of $30.  One is my safety glasses and the other are my hearing protectors.  Why am I telling you this?  Because I believe the two most important selling and marketing tools are closely related to my choice of shop tools.  In sales and marketing, your eyes and ears are the most important tools.

Words only play a small part in communications

A 1972 UCLA study concluded that the words we say account for 7% of our overall communication!  The other 93% of our communication is non-verbal and consist of body language and voice quality.  Now you can see why I chose the tools that protect my eyes and ears!
Your eyes allow you to read the body language and emotions of your customer.  You can see if you are connecting with them or if you are boring them.  Are they engaged with you or just being polite?   Your ears allow you to hear voice inflection and tone and understand your prospects needs.

Understanding body language and how to use it can mean a huge difference in your sales.  Countless studies have been done on the topic and you can find great resources online and in the library.  A study I read about several years ago revealed that the salespeople who sat with their legs crossed during the sales presentation closed dramatically fewer sales than those who sat with legs apart.  I don’t recall the exact percentage but it very significant.

God gave us one mouth and two ears for a reason

Some people see it as a cliché.  Well, there’s a reason it’s a cliche – it’s true, particularly in sales. It is so we can listen twice as much as we talk.  You will only know what benefits to stress when you understand your client’s needs and you can’t identify their needs and wants if you’re doing all the talking!

Listening is an art

A key listening skill is to avoid responding until the other person is speaking.  Notice I said listening, not hearing.  Ask your client or prospect to clarify and elaborate be sure you are answering the question they asked.  Avoid interrupting, unless it enhances or clarifies the topic.

I once heard a friend in a conversation with another person and he was quite frustrated about being interrupted by the other person.  He finally said, “Our conversation will be a lot better if you wait for me to finish my sentence before you talk.  You will know when I am done talking because I will stop.”   Talk about getting to the point!
Think of how frustrating it is for you when someone interrupts you in the middle of a sentence or answers your question with an irrelevant answer.  It shows they did not hear or care about what you were saying because their thoughts were what mattered, not yours.  The same applies in sales.  The top earners are not pushy and brash, they are recognized as professionals who understand and fulfill their client’s needs.  They do so because they listen and recommend solutions that will benefit the client.

Do you remember the Dean Whitter commercial that ran several years ago?  The tagline was “We grow our business one client at a time.”  I thought it was brilliant.  It meant they listened and cared about YOU, not the next sale.  The campaign ran for quite some time so it was obviously a success. It was built around the simple precept that people appreciate someone who listens to them.

As you look to improve selling skills, remember that the things that can make the biggest difference are as simple as seeing and listening.  Now, let me ask you… Can you hear me now and what do you see?

Start with a Plan

Where to start?  With an ad in the Yellow Pages, a newspaper, a magazine or on a billboard?  Do you join a
networking group and get your name out there?  The media and ad reps and web firms will find you and all have the greatest stories about exposure, market penetration and all other wonderful phrases that will have you dreaming of clients beating down the door.

They all have compelling stories and each has great potential.  But before you start running ads, you need to
start with a marketing plan.  Don’t worry and start working up a sweat.

You’re not going to be preparing a plan to present to Donald Trump on the Apprentice.  You re laying out a plan for yourself (if you are going to use it for financing, you will need to be a bit more formal and detailed).

I’m going to approach this as if you are doing this for yourself and layout the basics in a series of blog posts.  The summary is available to subscribers to Paul Flood’s Marketing  Moments e-zine, which you can subscribe to by clicking here or by filling in the brief form in the upper right-hand corner.

I’ll break this down in a series of steps and exercises you can follow to create a marketing plan that is just
right for your business.