Hey guys,
Grab their Attention, create an Interest and build their Desire then motivate them to Action. This in a nutshell is the one and only way to effective sales. Let’s look at each stage independently; please remember that each stage does not take part independently of each other, they can happen at the same time.
Attention
The headline is the most important part of every ad… Without a headline you might as well be giving your money away to charity.
The headline is used to grab the readers attention, without this the reader will continue past your ad and onto the next page. It is critical that your headline grabs their attention. I will generally spend a lot of time getting the headline right, I will write many variations and play with it until I consider it to be just right, then I will test it and if required change it.
Interest
It is one thing to get their attention but now you must create a desire for them to act. This will generally be done through your body copy and graphics. It should contain the essence of what you are trying to say, at the same time create some perceived problem that you are able to solve through your products and services. Throughout this time you must maintain their attention.
Here is some suggestions on how to maintain people’s interested:
• Ask Question that must be answered
• Begin with a strong benefit of the product
• Articulate the news value
• Avoid generalities
• Stick to reasons why people buy. Sell people advantages not things
• Select angles with the greatest or broadest appeal
• Provide plenty of emotional appeal
• Create points of human contact, allow the reader to say ‘Yes, that is just like me’
• Avoid outrageous claims, use vivid and dramatic situations, with human content, include word pictures
• Consider using subheads
• Use present tense
• Use active words
Desire
If you are successful in getting their attention and maintaining their interest you must then create the desire to take the next step. Creating desire is achieved through your headline and body copy. A deep understanding and targeted marketing piece will create desire in the chosen target market. An untargeted piece will have less chance of creating a desire.
Action
This is your call to action. This will generally be ‘Call Brett now of xxxx-xxxx’ or would you like fries with that?, a call to action is simply asking for the sale or advance. This is essential, as without it you will have created interest and desire to buy but unless you ask the question they will go elsewhere to satisfy their ultimate need.
Too many sales people lose sales because they didn’t ask the question or respond to the call to action. Your job as a sales professional is to present the information using the process and guide the prospect through to a commitment. Do not leave the prospect hanging as they will definitely go elsewhere.
Live with passion,
Brett Alegre-Wood