The
Mysterious Connection Between Harley Davidsons, Girl Scouts,
And Tripling Your Sales
From
Timothy A. Gross, Executive Director - Educated Media, LLC
Dear
Friends & Virtual Neighbors;
I've
told you previously that the "paint by numbers"
approach to writing sales letters and marketing can only
take you so far.
There
seems to be some confusion on what I mean, so let me explain:
If
you want to increase your sales conversion rate by 10%,
apply some proven ad techniques.
If
you want to increase sales by 20%, apply some more.
But
if you want a windfall of extra profits, if you want to
reinvent your approach, your offer, and your business, you're
going to have to get creative.
What
do I mean?..
Here
are some apparently unrelated examples and then we'll connect
the dots:
Example
1:
Paul
has got the hots for a young lady named Jeanie who
he knows hangs out at the corner pub on Friday nights
socializing with her girlfriends.
Paul
buys a book on relationships.
Paul
spends two weeks writing down convincing arguments
for why Jeannie should date him, to "wow"
her with his logic.
Paul
puts on his best outfit and walks up to the pub,
determined to persuade her to go out with him.
As
Paul approaches, some guy pulls up on a Harley Davidson,
walks to Jeanie's table, smiles, and makes a quick
joke. A couple of minutes later, Jeanie leaves with
the guy on his Harley. |
Example
2:
Every
day for a week, Victor watches a man in a black
suit knock on his front door holding an envelope.
Every day, Victor hides silently in his house.
Is
Victor insane? Nope - The guy knocking on his door
is trying to serve him with a lawsuit and Victor's
avoiding him.
On
the 8th day, there's another knock on the door.
Victor peers out suspiciously... It's a Girl Scout
holding boxes of cookies, and a woman behind her
who is apparently her scoutmaster or mother.
Victor
opens the door.
The
woman smiles and hands him a cookie box of with
nothing in it but an envelope. "Consider yourself
served", she says, and walks away. |
What
Does This Have To Do
With Making More Money?
Simply
this:
The
standard approach to anything will only take you so far.
If
you want to date the woman (or man) of your dreams, reading
books on relationships can be a good idea. Writing up lists
of reasons why they should go out with you might be a good
idea...
But
when all is said and done, the best thing might be to buy
a Harley.
If
you need to serve someone with papers, it would be very
commendable to put on your suit and knock on his door every
day. It shows persistence. It shows a work ethic.
It
also shows that you're not very creative and can't figure
out that Victor is hiding on the other side of the door
because he knows you're coming from a mile away.
Hiring
a mother and daughter to dress up like Girl Scouts is a
lot easier.
Is
This Making Any Sense To You?
Trying
to get someone to buy from you is like trying to get a date...
Yes, you should be prepared, yes you should show off your
best selling points, etc...
But
you can also get a date just by flashing a winning smile,
or doing something crazy, or being disarming in a puppy-dog
sort of way...
Maybe
your potential date doesn't want fifty bullet-points about
why you're perfect for them, maybe all it takes is for you
to pick up whatever just fell out of their pocket and hand
it to them with a smile.
Maybe
all it takes is their friend telling them you're a good
guy/gal... whatever. But it's not always a linear process.
Speaking
of linear, most online sales letters overall are starting
to look so similar I'm starting to think there's only three
or four guys writing ad copy for the entire Internet. (And
I may not be too far from wrong :-)
Just
like the sinister letter server in the black suit, everyone
can see these things coming from a mile away.
What
can you do to not have your sales letter be so obvious?
How can you dress up your ad in a Girl Scout uniform and
go undercover?
Can
you put the Girl Scout on a Harley? Even Better! (smile)
To
your success, Tim Gross
...That's
it, stop reading.
...What's
that, you have no idea what the heck I'm talking about?
<Sigh>
OK,
here's some ideas:
Try
cutting your current sales letter in half, make brief reference
to the points you're currently fixating on, and let the
strong close do the work for you. You'll never know if it'll
work better unless you test it. (Harley approach)
Next,
test turning your sales letter into a request for help from
the reader. Remove the trappings of it being an "ad",
and find some legitimate reason to tell your reader that
you're testing something (your offer, your new product,
your customer satisfaction rating, whatever) and you'll
give them something special (a Girl Scout cookie?) if they'll
"answer the door" by responding.
P.S.
-Yes, this issue was a little ethereal... These are concepts
we're talking about, it's up to you to brainstorm
how to apply them. :-)
Keep
an eye out for my next issue, which will give you some shockingly
simple solutions to a lot of the most frustrating "practical
application" problems you've been having.
Related
Articles:
Don't
Follow The Crowd - The Crowd Is Failing!
A
Foolproof Way To Maximize Your Future Product's Sales
The
Underlying Cause Of Your Top Frustrations And Aggravations?
Simple
Web Design Errors That Can Single-Handedly Sabotage Your
Sales
Sneaking
In To Universal Studios Or: "When Is An Ad NOT
An Ad?
