The Secret Key That Rescues Falling Response

Your prospect is being hit by an average of 240 advertising impressions every day – many, many more if he surfs the internet.

He’s constantly besieged by benefit-based headlines that scream, “I want to sell you something!” Is it any wonder he’s becoming immune to them?

The fact is, more companies are mailing more packages to the same consumers. And every time your prospect opens one that reads like sleazy spam, his sales resistance gets a little stronger.

What are you going to do to overcome that resistance?

Well, you could try making bigger promises, touting bigger benefits, offering more premiums. But isn’t that just doing more of the same thing you’ve been doing? And, isn’t that the classic definition of insanity – doing more of the same and expecting different results?

The solution is to do something dramatically different.

Overcoming Sales Resistance

Don't hit your prospect over the head with a big, hypey-sounding benefit right off the bat. Try saving the benefits for a little later in the copy, after you've connected with how your prospect already feels about your product or service. Don’t start off by promising him the moon – instead, let him know you’re on the same page with him.

There are lots of ways to do this. You could start out by validating his skepticism. Headlines such as “Why _____ isn’t working” acknowledges that she may have tried similar products that failed her. Then you can show her why yours is different.

Another great way to sneak in under your prospect’s sales radar is to start off with a story. The Wall Street Journal had mega-success with their famous “Two Young Men” letter. A testimonial from a real customer could be even more effective.

The Secret Key

The secret key is to discover your prospect’s core emotions – what’s keeping him up at night? What are his deep desires? And then write copy that connects with those emotions – before you get to your big promise.

Uncovering those emotions takes a bit of detective work.

Dig deep. Get way down into his psyche. What are his core beliefs? What are his fears? What kind of person does he really want to be? (That one is actually far more important than who he actually is. Can your product or service help him be that person?)

Do you know what Mr. Prospect does with his spare time? If he’s online, what newsletters does he subscribe to, or what forums does he hang out in?

Once you know him better than his own spouse, you know how to speak to him. You know precisely what benefits to stress, what emotional buttons to push. And you know where to find him when you’re ready to do it.

Let’s say Mr. Prospect is a middle aged male who works in corporate middle-management. But you dig deep, and find out that he’s also typically a political junkie. You could use that knowledge to advertise in (or rent a subscriber list from) Time or Newsweek. But you’re not satisfied, so you dig even deeper and find out that Mr. P is left-leaning in his politics, and has a passion for environmentalism. His greatest fear is that the planet won’t be in good shape for his grandchildren.

Now, you can focus on Mr. P like a laser. Skip Time and Newsweek and go for Mother Earth News.  Get back issues and read them cover to cover. Pay special attention to the article headlines and blurbs -- they'll give you a clue about what grabs Mr. P's attention.

Visit your local bookstore and wander the isles. Look for books and magazines on environmentalism. You can tell the more popular ones by how prominently they're displayed. Read as many of them as you can -- knowing what people are reading tells you what they're thinking about. And what they're dreaming and worrying over, too.

Targeting Those Emotions

Now that you know what they are, you can target Mr. P's emotions. You can show him that you're on the same page, and make him your friend before you try to make him your customer.

Send him sales letters on recycled paper, and find a way to connect your product or service to a healthy planet. Open your letter railing against polluting mega-coporations with no soul, and the spineless government bureaucrats who allow it to happen.

It's you and him against them -- you're in this fight together. And while "they'd" love to destroy your environmentally friendly widget, you know Mr. P won't let them. Because not only will buying your widget be good for the environment, it will (insert all those benefits you've been saving here).

OK, it's a cheesy example, but you get the point. You’re pushing his buttons, and Mr. Prospect becomes Mr. Customer.

It takes time, effort, and research. But once you really know your target, hitting him where it counts is that much easier.