| When I began consulting with my current largest client, I was surprised to discover that some of the marketing people had a habit of making condescending remarks about their customers. These were bright people who cared about quality. But somewhere along the line, they had decided it was okay to demean the customer in absentia. This was a great company in many ways. But I knew it was doomed if this attitude was allowed to persist. I spoke to the CEO about it. He himself never said a bad word about anyone, so I knew it couldn't be coming from him. At first, he thought I was overreacting. "They are probably blowing off steam," he said. "I'm sure they don't mean it." "They may not mean it," I replied. "But if they keep talking that way their subordinates will imitate them. And before long, you will have a business that treats its customers badly." "I don't want that," he admitted. "Well then, you have to do something about it. And fast." What I suggested was a campaign I called "Calculated Enthusiasm" -- convincing his already jaded senior staff to consciously and conspicuously pretend to be enthusiastic about their customers, even if they weren't. I began by explaining to them that cynicism is destructive. I gave them examples of how a cynical attitude had damaged a company I had worked for in the past. They accepted my statement in theory. But they didn't think they were being cynical. "We're just being funny," they said. "But demeaning your customers is not funny," I said. It is damaging to them because it will eventually manifest itself in your customer service. And when that happens, it will be damaging to you because they will take their business elsewhere." Eventually, they agreed to give Calculated Enthusiasm a try. Speaking "positively" about their customers felt awkward at first, but soon it became second nature. And the effect on their subordinates was immediate and obvious. Discussions about new products and customer problems were imbued with positive energy. New ideas were suggested to improve just about everything. Morale improved. If you want success in the long run... and if you want to be able to look yourself in the mirror every morning... love your customer. Start by swearing off cynicism. Ban the condescending jokes. Stop using derogatory language. Then start to think about what your job is... what it really is. And maybe it will dawn on you that selling is -- or can be -- a loving act. -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended ----------------------------------------------------- Spinning Your Wheels With Your Internet Business? 80 percent of what most people do is a total waste of time. It's the other 20 percent that really gets the job done. Brian Edmondson, Director of the Internet Money Club, realized that this holds true for building and launching online businesses. 80 percent of what most people think is really important when it comes to making money online actually gets you nowhere. That's why, in the IMC, we make the top 20 percent our primary focus. And we go even further. Brian knows that even within that top 20 percent, not all money-making activities are created equal. So he has boiled down the top 20 percent to the top 5 percent! Find out what that kind of "laser focus" can do for you...
"If you're trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think." David Ogilvy Use Conversional Copy for the Best Internet Marketing Results
By Bob Bly
A public radio station in my area, featuring eclectic rock and pop, sent me a fundraising letter. It began: "Dear Neighbor, I know you are a savvy media consumer." Now I don't know about you, but if you ask me why I listen to the radio, I would not say because I am a savvy media consumer. I'd say, "I like music." Here's the way I'd rewrite that lead: "Dear Fellow Music Lover: Do you ever wish, when you turn on the radio, that they'd play OUR
music?" While my rewrite hasn't been tested against the original, I believe it's an improvement. For two reasons. First, it talks about something the reader cares about: hearing music they like when they turn on the radio. Second, it establishes a bond between the reader and the writer of the letter based on a common interest. That's why I said "our" music instead of "your" music. We copywriters are taught to write like that -- in a conversational, intimate "voice." What that means is to write the way our prospectstalk. "You should talk as if you're having coffee with the reader and use her language," says copywriter Susanna K. Hutcheson. "Many copywriters, and just about all people who write their own copy, don't understand the concept of writing in the language of the reader. It's truly an art." Some argue that jargon is appropriate when writing to specialists because that's the way they talk. But don't confuse jargon with technical terms. Specialists may use jargon when they write, but not when they talk. Technical terms are words used by specialists that communicate concepts more concisely than ordinary terms. Example: "operating system" to describe the software that controls the basic operations of a computer. Jargon, on the other hand, can be more complex than the idea it serves to communicate. Example: I worked for a company that made industrial equipment. In one of our products, a door opened at the bottom of a silo, allowing powder to fall into a dump truck. Our chief engineer insisted that we replace "dumped" with "gravimetrically conveyed" in our copy. For a client, I wrote that the dental brace they manufactured helped keep loose teeth in place. The product manager rewrote "keep loose teeth in place" to "stabilize mobile dentition." This is like calling the seashore an "ocean-land interface." Mark Twain said, "I never write metropolis when I get paid the same amount of money to write the word city." But is there an exception to the rule of writing the way people talk? Is there any situation where you would deliberately use language more complex than the idea it serves to communicate? Yes. The one time when you might consider it is when you want to set your product above the ordinary. Take a look at a Mont Blanc catalog. They don't describe their products as pens. They sell "writing instruments." Why? Because Mont Blanc pens start at about $100. And while that's too much to pay for a pen, it's not too much to pay for a "writing instrument." The goal of direct-response copywriting is not to produce perfect prose or great writing. It is to persuade the consumer to buy the product. And the copywriter should do whatever it takes to achieve that goal, whether or not writing purists approve. For instance, grammarians dislike the phrase "free gift." They complain that "free" is inherent in the definition of gift. After all, what gift isn't free? But as my colleague Herschell Gordon Lewis points out, "free gift" works because "each word reinforces the other." I remember hearing about a mailer who actually split-test "free gift" vs. "gift." Not only did "free gift" win handily, a number of recipients of the "gift" letter responded by asking whether the gift was indeed free. Which reminds me of what Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: "It is not enough to write so you can be understood. You must write so clearly that you cannot be misunderstood." P.S. The ability to write conversational copy is just one of the many skills you need to build your Internet business. Search engine optimization, e-mail list building, joint ventures, social media... you'll learn it all in the Internet Money Club. It's the premier Internet business building coaching program. And I'm one of the featured experts. Find out more about the Internet Money Club here. [Ed. Note: Bob Bly is a freelance copywriter and the author of more than 70 books. To subscribe to his free e-zine, The Direct Response Letter, and claim your free gift worth $116, click here now: www.bly.com/reports] -----------------------------------------------------Advertisement----------------------------------------------------- Don't Make a Trade Until the Market "Tells" You - His software applications and trading books are required tools on Wall Street. And now his new program for private investors, which detects "hidden" market signals, has just been released. One of the first people he trained in his method recently made $37,948 in just a few days. And he's only got 89 spots left.
China Moves Up the Food Chain By Bob Irish
Investment Director, Investor's Daily Edge
As countries become more industrialized, their citizens consume more protein. Rising incomes enable consumers to move up the food chain and eat more grain-intensive foodstuffs, like milk, meat, and eggs. And that, says Dylan Grice, an analyst at Societe Generale, is exactly what we're seeing in China. The Chinese, on average, eat 117 pounds of meat per person per year. That's up from just 55 pounds per person in 1995. Americans consume 210 pounds per capita per year. It takes 16 pounds of grain to produce one pound of beef. So to supply China with enough meat for them to eat the same amount as we do would require an increase in worldwide grain production of 277 million tons! And the Chinese aren't the only ones eating more protein. It's happening all over the developing world. That's one of the reasons grain supplies are tight. And grain prices are already high and vulnerable to a correction. We'll be keeping readers of our new Sound Profits advisory posted on when it makes sense to buy grain or a grain-based ETF. Meanwhile, it's a cinch that with prices high, farmers everywhere will be trying to grow more grain. That's where the investment opportunity is right now says Steve McDonald, a contributor to Sound Profits. Big profits lie ahead for companies that provide the wherewithal to do just that, especially fertilizer companies. (Steve's latest fertilizer pick is up 14 percent since he since he recommended it in June.) Powerful long-term trends are what make you money. We'll be talking more about the demand for grain and the best way to play it in Sound Profits, which debuts next month. -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended -----------------------------------------------------
Sleep like a Baby... Then Wake Up and Kick Butt! Has it been a while since you've been able to get 8 hours of deep, restful sleep? The kind of sleep where you hop out of bed refreshed and ready to kick butt? Now you can, thanks to a breakthrough finding by Dr. James LaValle. He's identified how to eliminate the hidden "stress hormone" that keeps you awake at night. Reader Cindy Collins writes in to say, "Within 24 hours of starting my new program, I was sleeping 100% better and feeling better." If you're ready to finally get a good night's sleep, click here now to get started.
"Planting Seeds" in Someone's Mind Pays Off -- Sometimes Big Time
By Michael Masterson
Want to get someone to do something he doesn't want to do? It's amazingly easy. All you have to do is plant a seed and wait for it to sprout. This is a phenomenally powerful business secret I learned from JSN when I worked with him many years ago. He used it to acquire many very profitable information products. Here's how he did it: When he saw a product he liked, he'd call up the owner and ask to buy it. Most times, the owner would refuse. Then JSN would give the owner one good reason he should consider selling. That didn't usually change the owner's mind. But, JSN told me, the seed was planted. At first, I doubted that much would come of this approach. But after watching him do it for a while, the results became obvious. Publisher after publisher -- for one reason or another -- brought him products to buy. Some of them were very good. Some of them were offered to him before the rest of the market heard about them, so he had a strategic advantage when it came to bidding for them. And some came only to him. He named his price and took them.
Latest News
"I praise you..." "Thank you very much, from the bottom of my heart. Your advice is so important to me, not only because it is so meaningful and filled to the brim with the best information, but especially because it's come when I needed it most. I praise you for your tenacity and strong determination, and because you really want to help people achieve the same success as you." Doina Draguleasa -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended----------------------------------------------------- How's Your Personal Power? - One of my mentors was an expert at using subtle techniques for getting others to do what he wanted. In my book Power and Persuasion, I share dozens of lessons I learned from him and my other mentors over the years. Find out more here...
Today's Words That Work: In Absentia In absentia (in ab-SEN-shuh) -- from the Latin -- means while or although not present. Example (as used by Michael Masterson today): "These were bright people who cared about quality. But somewhere along the line, they had decided it was okay to demean the customer in absentia."
We want your feedback! Let us know your thoughts on today's issue. Email us at: AskETR@ETRFeedback.com | 
No comments:
Post a Comment