The Secret to Ads That Sell
In a recent survey we asked 540 locally owned and operated business “What is the number one reason you advertise?” The answer? 82% said they advertise to ‘increase sales”.
Yet in audits of local media presentations in those markets, less than 10% addressed how the media proposal would ‘increase sales’. Most danced around the issue with benefits like ‘increased traffic’ or ‘increased awareness.’ Many presentations offered no client benefits at all and merely talked about how great their stations were.
There are huge similarities between effective ad copy and sales presentations that work.
One of Sears’ premiere copy writers, Shirley Shea, consistently wrote copy which out sold the ad copy written by her peers. In catalogues, print ads, and radio and TV scripts, her ads were able to produce results beyond any of Sears’ other writers’ ads.
Her secret?
Typically, Shirley would arrive at Sears’ ‘ivory tower’ for a meeting to discuss the launch of a new product. The engineers who designed the product, the manufacturer’s head of marketing, Sears’ marketing people and various other experts would explain all of the technical features of the new product.
For the launch of a new washer and dryer, for example, Shirley would take notes while the experts talked about details like the BTU’s (British Thermal Units), the RPM’s(Revolutions Per Minute), the gauge of the metal and composition of the enamel finish.
Upon leaving the meeting to head back to her office, Shirley would look around to make sure no one was watching while she threw her notes in the trash!
So where did Shirley get the information to write such successful ad copy? She would go onto the sales floor and listen to the questions customers were asking about the washer and dryer.
Customers weren’t asking about BTU’s, RPM’s or the other technical information the ‘experts’ thought was important. They wanted to know how much laundry the machine held, how fast it did the laundry, and how quiet the machines were.
Is your sales presentation all about you, your audience and your features, or does it answer the questions your prospects are asking?
This is a special ENS on Sales, because we want to know the questions you’re asking and the hurdles you’re facing so that we can write more helpful and useful ENS on Sales tips for you in 2012.
Click here to do a short online survey OR Click hereand we’ll arrange a short telephone questionnaire to help us do a better job for you.