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copywriting :: Internet Marketing :: Copywriting
3 Steps To Better Sales Copywriting
Have you ever wondered what exactly is up
with marketing? This informative report can give you an insight into
everything you've ever wanted to know about marketing.
Whether you’re wet-behind-the-ears or a seasoned copywriter, your craft will benefit by remembering one thing:
You’re nothing more than a salesperson.
There’s an old saying in the “business” that, “a copywriter is a
salesperson sitting in front of a typewriter.” True, few of us are
using typewriters these days. The principal, however, remains
unchanged.
We’re in sales. I know this. You know this. We all know this. Yet
why does much of the copy out there, especially ads produced by
expensive agencies, seem to miss the point?
If all we’re doing is sales, albeit transmitted through a written or broadcast medium, then we’d better know what we’re doing.
Starting the process
While studying creative writing, I learned this storytelling maxim:
every character has a motive for being in a scene. The same is true in
a sales situation.
The salesperson’s motive is simple. He wants to make the sale and get his commission. But what does the potential customer want?
First, what type of customer are they? Are they ready to make an
immediate buy? Are they information shopping, looking for a great deal?
Are they even looking for our product or service?
Ask Questions, then Shut-up and Listen
When selling to prospective customers ask questions that get them
to reveal their needs. It’s a mistake to sell the product on the tip of
your tongue. “Model X” might work, but if you listen you might discover that the more expensive “Model Z” is what the customer really needs.
Once you know why the prospect is there--whether they have
an unresolved need, an emotional reason for buying, or they’re just
shopping around--tailor your pitch to their specific reason.
Now when you make the pitch, tell how your product benefits the
customer, rather than rattling off product features you think he cares
about.
When You’re Finished, Close the Door
By this point your spiel should be unforced. You know the customer’s “hot-buttons” so everything should be smooth sailing.
After you’ve explained the last product benefit, you (as the
salesperson) are obligated to close the deal. The way you do that is
simply to ask, “Are you ready to make your decision?” or “Is this the
product you’d like to buy?”
Hopefully the answer is yes. If not, then you ask, “When would you be ready to make your decision? Can I contact you then?”
What Does This Have to Do with Copywriting?
Remember, you’re nothing more than a salesperson. So you, so while writing copy, you should go through similar steps.
1. Qualify the prospect. How you write your copy, and the ratio of
hard selling to information-based soft selling, will change with the
medium you’re working in. But the first thing your copy should do is
state outright what business you’re in and what you’re selling.
If your pitch is too vague, if it’s implied, or it depends on prior
knowledge for comprehension, then your prospect might never realize he
needs what you’re selling.
2. Sell Benefits, not Features. I’ve heard many sales trainers say,
“It’s not about you, it’s about them.” That’s golden advice. The best
way to apply this idea to your copy is by focusing on your product’s
benefits.
A sports car’s features might be power steering, fast acceleration,
and fuel efficiency. The benefits of that same car to a man a mid-life
crisis, however, are the social status and appearance of youth it gives
him. Which reason, the benefits or the features, would cause him to
buy?
In a face-to-face sales environment it’s easy to ask for a specific
customer’s needs. When writing sales copy you can create the same
rapport by being customer-centered. To do this, write in the second
person, or “You” voice. If your copy repeatedly says your company does
this, or your product does that, you’re being self-centered. Your
prospect won’t see himself benefiting from your product.
3. Close the Deal. I can’t count how often I’ve read a brochure,
watched a commercial, or visited a website and had no clue about what I
was supposed to do.
Always end your copy with a Call-to-Action.
Tell the customer exactly what you want him to do. This isn’t the
time to be cute, so be exact. Do you want him to call you? Click a “Buy
This” button? Make a donation? Tell your customer, or else he won’t do
anything.
When asked what I do I usually say I’m a freelance marketing
and publicity copywriter. I’m might revise the statement to, “I’m a
freelance sales copywriter,” because that’s what it all comes down to:
sales. Whether your copy creates a direct response or creates publicity
and general awareness of your company, if you don’t sell you might as
well not be in business.
About The Author
J.L. Reid is a freelance marketing—er—freelance sales copywriter based in Raleigh NC. Visit his website, www.reidwrite.com, to learn more about his services.
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