In 1850, a suspension bridge in France collapsed because of a “glitch” that can make your marketing messages 10 times as effective.

Listen: Back on this hellish day, 478 soldiers marched across the Angers bridge.  This bridge was scientifically designed to withstand the weight of thousands of men.

What caused the bridge to collapse?

Timing.

The men were marching in step.   And it just so happened to be the mechanical resonance frequency of the bridge.   Because of timing, the force of their steps were multiplied 100 times.   The bridge started to sway, buckle and then smash into the water below, crushing and drowning 226 soldiers.

Just like the timing of footsteps can bring down a bridge, the timing of claims and promises can bring down sales resistance.

Here’s an example:

Let’s say you have a winning lottery ticket.  It’s worth $50,000.

Let’s also say for some reason, you can’t cash it in (Maybe you are a convict on the run and you don’t want to draw attention to yourself).

Try to sell it now.

Winning lottery ticket for sale will probably trigger “Bullshit…Con Artist…Scam” in people’s heads.

So you’re going to have to time that claim.

How about this.

If you didn’t win yesterdays lottery, here is a chance to get some cash out of it.

Yesterdays lottery numbers were 61 13 15 16 and 17.

Take a look at yesterday’s newspaper right here.

This is my ticket.   Would you agree I’m a winner?

Good.   I’d like to split the winnings with you…blah blah blah.

A little better timing can produce belief!  And when people believe your promise – sales occur.

Good timing can mean 1 + 1 = 10

If you’re looking for a copywriter in the Vancouver area who understands timing, then find out how to get a hold of me at my copywriting contact page.

Peace.

The perfect position to be in, is to be the only guy selling a product people want.

Here’s how to set this up:

When people come to buy something from you they have a deep motivation inside them for wanting your product or service.

This could be revenge, looking more attractive, make more money, save time, look good among friends and on and on.

When you know this, you then pitch around how your product helps them get that goal.

This is where you position yourself in such a way that no one can compete with you.

How?

With an education.   You teach them everything they need to know, to meet their goals.

Let’s say you are selling a diamond ring.

After some questioning you determine the reason they want this ring is to make their wife beam with pride everytime she looks at it.

Here comes the pitch:

“There are three main things to look for to make sure your wife is proud of her ring and the man she married.

1. Is the stone a fake is the first thing you should ask.   How do you tell?  Well the first give away is the stone is 100% perfect.  Nature does not produce flawless stones, factory stones have the following characteristics to look for…..
2. Sparkle.   The way the gem is cut has more effect on the look of the gem than anything.  Your wife wants people to be attracted to the ring and marvel at its beauty.  Then she can really beam with pride.   The cut needs to be mathematically optimized to maximize how much light gets reflected.   If you hold a diamond to this special light measuring tool you can see on a scale of 1 to 10 the quality of the cut…..
3. Is it a blood diamond?  The last thing you want is someone giving your wife a hard time for wearing a symbol  you helped pay for a dictator to murder and kill his people.   You should make sure your ring comes from the following places and has the following qualities to make sure its not a blood diamond…

If the diamond salesman was a sharp cookie, he would make sure he had a diamond that perfectly suits the criteria he just taught.

Comprendez?

In summary:

People want things, but they aren’t sure exactly how to get them.   Buy teaching people how to buy, you can set yourself up so only you are the one who can deliver the goods.   There is always a way to do it.

If you’d like some help preparing sales material, lead generation material or an internet marketing campaign teaching people how to buy your product or service.   Then read about my Vancouver Copywriting Service here.

Peace.

When you’re trying to get the attention of a customer, most business people make a mistake of jumping to the marriage proposal without getting a first date.

Even in a short letter there are stages you have to go through.

First stage:

Your prospect is on the highway driving at 90 mph.

If you want to have a hope in hell of getting a message to him (without using a phone), you drive up beside him and match his speed, and then start talking.

In an email, (or any written communication) you have to pace someone before you can speak to them.

Persuasion does not exist without this trust factor or understanding.

How do you do this in lets say an email?

Well let’s go back to my restaurant examples.

I’m going to jump inside my brain and imagine myself as someone reading the emails and…and…and…here’s my “pace”.

Dear Customer,

Around 4 p.m. everday, some of my customers are feeling hungry, tired and ready to sit back and do nothing.

There we go.  That wasn’t hard was it?

Of course this email gets sent around dinner time, to drive people into the restaurant.

It could go on.

A fresh AAA grade prime rib was put in my oven right now.  In 2 hours it will be rare, and the veins of white marbling will have dissolved into the juicy, tender meat.

Fresh yorkshire puddings come with this portion of meat, plus a choice of season vegetables.  (And your choice of our low calorie, high flavor desserts)

I have a special wine coming out of my cellar today.  I only have 6 bottles of it, and I’d like to buy you a glass.  Simply come in with your special someone, and I’ll pour you both a complimentary glass.

Of course, I hope you try the prime rib special (There is a wonderful roast chicken or Ahi Tuna salad for the person who doesn’t like red meat).

Stroll down or take the car (we have complimentary valet for the members of our preferred clientelle list).   Don’t worry about downtown parking.  Just swing in, toss the keys to Jimmy or Ryan.   And relax.

We ask you call ahead first though.   xxxxxxxxx.

Warmly,

Chef Ian

Remember:  If business is like war, then the message you send out is like a bomb.   Would you rather be sending out 1000 cherry bombs, or 1000 cluster bombs?    Take the time to craft the message with persuasion, and your sales will climb.

If you’d like to me to consider working with you to double your sales by helping you build a customer list and farm it, read about my initial consultation here:  Vancouver copywriter

Here’s a copy writing strategy (based on predicting the future) which can increase your response rates to your ads, websites even phone pitches.

Listen: Humans are terrified of the unknown.  They prefer the familiar to the unfamiliar.

Often they will decide not to take action just because they are unsure of what’s going to happen.

What does this mean for you?

When you’re out running ads or asking people to call into your place of business from your website, or even getting them to punch in their credit card number, people’s fear of taking the step exists.

In some people it’s almost non-existent.  However in others it’s a…

Chain holding them back from giving you cash

Here’s how to snap that chain.

It’s a technique called future pacing.

What you do is describe in detail what’s going to happen as soon as they do what you asked them to do.

Here’s an example:

Let’s say someone is trying to order a new golf club from the internet.

Here’s a future pace for their ordering experience.

“After you fill out the order form and click submit, an email will be sent to you within 15 minutes confirming your order placement.

The same email gets sent to Bill in shipping, who will immediately carefully package your club in three layers of bubble wrap so it’s not damaged in transit.   It then gets put on our afternoon courier to the airport.

From there it will be overnight delivered to you in a box about the size of a golf club.

Within 2 days between the hours of 8 am and 3 pm,  a courier will show up at the address you gave with your club.  Someone needs to be there to sign for it.  If no one is there you can visit the local Fed-ex to pick it up.

Take the club out and go hit some balls with it.   If you’re not hitting it farther and straighter than your old driver or you’re not thrilled for any reason whatsoever then do this.

Take the pink slip (included in the box) and place the driver back in the box and hand the pink slip back to your local fed ex guy.   It gets returned to us and we’ll refund your money as soon as the club shows up in our warehouse.

Any questions about your order can be called in to 1-800-345-7439 or email sam@golfclubs.com.    You’ll get Sam’s friendly voice by phone or email either way and just tell her your concern and she’ll help you out right away.   Thanks for your order.”

Whew!

A statement like that will bump up response huge because its eliminating unknowns and showing the scary future isn’t so scary after all.

Look for a post called “Future Pacing To Increase Lead Generation”, to book more appointments.

I’m off to walk the beautiful Vancouver seawall.

Peace.

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