posted by Write4Me @ 8:08 AM
0 Comments
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Progressivly moving backwards
Today on average - I make in an hour what I used to make in a week when I first started working. Yes – I am considered “seasoned” by some, or “old” by many.
The point is – I am in business for myself and even though I know the numbers, when it comes to pricing my services, I sometimes find myself thinking in the 50’s & 60”s. Then of course, gas cost .25 cents a gallon or less. That causes me to think about how far we have regressed.
I remember when my dad brought home a $100.00 a week in the 50’s and we had a new car each year. We drove it right out of the factory in Detroit. We were never considered rich. We were typical Americans growing up after the war, learning how to live with increasing debt.
Are products so different today that a motor vehicle using .35 cents a gallon gas, (.10 cents in the 50’s) was any less efficient then the cars we drive today? My gas hog 57 Chevy got 12 to 14 miles to the gallon on a good day. Moreover, that was with me at the age of 17 with my foot through the floor. I would turn the engine over, the trunk would pop open and a squad car with an angry cop would jump out - ticket book in hand - every time.
Today, my neighbors SUV gets the same gas milage. My cost per gallon was .25 cents. Today it’s $3.45.
Some idiot in Washington is sitting before a congressional hearing telling us how oil companies are not profiting, why – in order to save money - we need to be more economical, effecient and why it’s all our fault. I guess it is - we allow it.
My solution? I wil show you economical. I’m am going back to the horse and buggy, raise a herd of cattle, and say the hell with any tree hugger who tells me that my cows are producing too much methane gas, which is contributing to global warming. I am going to tear up the land, grow my own food, cut down a wide section of virgin forest to build my own house, and provide logs for my efficient - but old - wood stove. I am going to butcher my hogs and my cows, eat meat because my body needs it to stay warm, and home school my kids because of the wasted intellectual system we have fostered in this country. I am going to dig a well, deplete your water table because all you’re doing is polluting it anyway, and reuse my waste water to water my land.
If you don’t like it – turn your back. You don’t need to worry about my little slice out of life.
I can assure you however, that the biggest cause of global warming, high fuel prices, and less efficient automobiles is not me, but it is the methane gas produced in the Congressional Halls of Washington this week.
The point is – I am in business for myself and even though I know the numbers, when it comes to pricing my services, I sometimes find myself thinking in the 50’s & 60”s. Then of course, gas cost .25 cents a gallon or less. That causes me to think about how far we have regressed.
I remember when my dad brought home a $100.00 a week in the 50’s and we had a new car each year. We drove it right out of the factory in Detroit. We were never considered rich. We were typical Americans growing up after the war, learning how to live with increasing debt.
Are products so different today that a motor vehicle using .35 cents a gallon gas, (.10 cents in the 50’s) was any less efficient then the cars we drive today? My gas hog 57 Chevy got 12 to 14 miles to the gallon on a good day. Moreover, that was with me at the age of 17 with my foot through the floor. I would turn the engine over, the trunk would pop open and a squad car with an angry cop would jump out - ticket book in hand - every time.
Today, my neighbors SUV gets the same gas milage. My cost per gallon was .25 cents. Today it’s $3.45.
Some idiot in Washington is sitting before a congressional hearing telling us how oil companies are not profiting, why – in order to save money - we need to be more economical, effecient and why it’s all our fault. I guess it is - we allow it.
My solution? I wil show you economical. I’m am going back to the horse and buggy, raise a herd of cattle, and say the hell with any tree hugger who tells me that my cows are producing too much methane gas, which is contributing to global warming. I am going to tear up the land, grow my own food, cut down a wide section of virgin forest to build my own house, and provide logs for my efficient - but old - wood stove. I am going to butcher my hogs and my cows, eat meat because my body needs it to stay warm, and home school my kids because of the wasted intellectual system we have fostered in this country. I am going to dig a well, deplete your water table because all you’re doing is polluting it anyway, and reuse my waste water to water my land.
If you don’t like it – turn your back. You don’t need to worry about my little slice out of life.
I can assure you however, that the biggest cause of global warming, high fuel prices, and less efficient automobiles is not me, but it is the methane gas produced in the Congressional Halls of Washington this week.
Labels: economy, fuel costs congressional hearings, green, oil, profits
posted by Write4Me @ 7:04 AM
0 Comments
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
From The Backside: Driving Marketing Crazy - the Flip Side part 2
posted by Write4Me @ 4:35 PM
0 Comments
Monday, May 21, 2007
Driving Marketing Crazy - the Flip Side part 2
Readers: If you haven't been following this lately, then this post might confuse you. Let me catch you up.
Briefly, I commented (counter wrote) an article based on an original artcle written by Mr. Geoffrey James’s of BNet - entitled – “How to Drive Marketing Crazy. (http://blogs.bnet.com/salesmachine/?p=12#comments) Mr. James recently replied to my article, and I want to take this opportunity - to respond to each point he made. In order to do that I have copied his original response (in bold Italics) here.
Buzzword clichés are not shorthand for something meaningful. The example that you give about "globally focused" is a case in point. The longer circumlocution is so vague that I defy you to define what it actually means. Just piling on more buzzwords doesn't help.
But Geoffrey you just proved my point. You just shortened “the use of more words than necessary to express something, especially to avoid saying it directly,” down to the single buzzword; circumlocution, which (while understood,) is a seldom used word in business writing.
In fact, history will show you that many words (buzzwords) are derivatives of words formally put together. i.e – circum – meaning around or round about, and locution – meaning “a phrase or expression typically used by a group of people.”
But you know this, and you also know that its use would probably be a definite no-no for sales people. In its written format, it conveyed the meaning quite well. Mainly because the reader has the luxury of being able to absorb the meaning and then perhaps look the word up the dictionary if they didn’t understand it.
Whereas a listener – as in your sales customer, would feel embarrassed if he didn’t know what you were talking about and had to ask you the meaning of the word you just used. He or She would not be impressed by your intelligence. They are simply angry that you made him feel unintelligent.
More than that, the term "globally focused" is a complete oxymoron. How can something be "focused" on the entire world? Does that mean that we cancel the ad campaign on the planet Jupiter? It's ridiculous.
I know that after you published this, you stopped to think about the definition of "global" and found your error. Knowing the error probably allowed you to render my original statement as being closer to being correct then you give it credit for. (I have often written statements that years later thought “how could I have written that?”) However, the point is - those were your buzz words. I just used them to keep with the example.
In doing so, I understood its meaning, and to cite an example, I use the much used term “global warming.” Truly “global warming” implies “affecting the international community as a whole.”
Off the top of my copywriting head: A “globally focused” campaign is necessary to correct “global warming” Our company has that focus”
Now – the writer gets the salesperson to the table by using this short distinctive copy. (maybe not this particular copy – but you get my point) As a sales person however, you better stand ready to explain in detail - your companies methodology for solving global warming.
I don't mean to cast aspersions on copywriting, but the buzzwordery that you defend is laughable to everybody outside of the marketing teams that write and read it.
(Sorry "buzzwordery" just killed my spell checker. What a buzzword!)
You are missing my full point. I am not defending all buzzwords. The problem is communications – not buzzwords. From this point forth – let’s define this as appropriate communications, meaning buzzwords have their place – not all places - as in a sales presentation, but they do have their place..
Again, I challenge any salesperson to sell in 15 seconds without using a gun or sex. Companies demand that their commercial writer – write website copy that does exactly this. The task of a sales web site (not a brochure site) is to sell using only the written word.
And, based on statistics –and eye scanning, the average length of time a landing page is viewed is 15 seconds. The trick is to stop the readers’ attention.
I'll give you an example. A top executive at Gartner told me that whenever software firms present to them, the analysts now use their blackberries to play the "spot the buzzword" game. Every time the vendor representative trots out one of your precious buzzwords, the person who clicks first gets a point. In other words, the analysts aren't being impressed into thinking that the should recommend the software, they're laughing up their sleeves. This is not good for a company's reputation.
Well I cannot argue with you on this point. If a salesperson - making a presentation to me, used all buzzwords, I too would play the buzzword game. Frankly, I would never let them finish before throwing them out of my office, and it worries me that you use an example of managers / executives who are wasting company money playing games and wasting time. In my company, they would be following the salesperson out the door.
However, the sales person / sales manager / sales trainer side of me is cringing. Frankly – I would attempt to retrain the salesperson. The one truism for salespeople is that they get paid exactly what they are worth. That poor jerk is starving.
Successful selling is communications, and successful communication is an art. However, this example is not a copywriters fault. This is an example of poor sales training. Again – the copywriter got that salesperson to the table. Sales training – or the lack of it – did the rest.
But, I agree with the use of buzzwords in a sales presentation – and I believe I stated that in my counter article. Sales people will lose when they do this – as they have clearly done in your example.
The same thing is true of customers. Eyes roll when vendors trot out this stuff. As for reporters... every buzzword we read is another nail in the coffin of a marketing group's reputation. Example: As a reporter (and I write on software frequently) I can't take Oracle marketing seriously because their press releases are so mush minded that I can't figure out what they're trying to say. As a result, I now longer believe that Oracle marketing is capable of logical thought. I perceive all their recent corporate acquisitions through a lens colored by the willful obtuseness that's evident in everything that comes out of the firm. How can those acquisitions make any sense if nobody can't write a coherent sentence explaining why they did them?
In short, goofball clichés and weasely business buzzwords just make companies look stupid to everybody... except other marketing people who talk the same lingo.
Let me answer this by stating that poor “market” writing is the results of ignorance rather then stupidity. That’s Ignorance of how and why people buy - not educational ignorance. (I have seen graduates with MBA’s who can’t form a written sentence that says anything.)
You are a reporter – and according to you – you cannot understand what these marketers are writing in their press releases. Isn’t that what you are supposed to do however – allow your reading public to understand the latest Oracle offering?
It seems to me that is the purpose of a reporter, and you have to dig to give the reader the best value. Reading a press release or white paper will not give the reader your best value. But you are not asking me about how to be a good reporter - so let me say that I tend to agree with you. However instead of lumping the problem as a copywriting issue – let’s broaden it out to simply poor overall communication skills, coupled with poor salesmanship.
You should know that you are not alone in your problem. I have clients that send me their marketing materials asking me to tell them why they don’t work, and to fix it. Many a time my hand has inched its way towards the cigarette lighter and an empty wastepaper basket.
So let’s say that we agree with the premise that the world is run by poor communicators. Worse yet, they are trying to sell us stuff using the same poor communications that others have used.
However, I have always hated people who bitch and moan about things without coming up a solution of their own – so I won’t be one.
What can be done? Here is my solution.
First, ask questions. Reporters cannot get good material from a press release. They have to ask the in between line of questions. Writers do this, and I think reporters and sales people should also. If all salespeople are doing is using words copied from a brochure or printed ad, to come up with sales presentations, then give them a broom. They will contribute to the company better if they just sweep up.
But,, that also means you need to talk to the Oracle sales staff. Now - when the sales person starts using clichés and buzzwords, stop him or her. Do not let them do it. Don’t settle for it. Make them talk to you in English. You will end up understanding more about the product, and they will end up understanding that clichés and buzzwords turn people off in a presentation format. I reiterate, buzzwords should never leave the page they were written on.
I'm saddened that your clients apparently force you to write that kind of mental creamcake because, based on what I've read here, you're obviously capable of giving them some copy that wouldn't make them sound like minor cast members in a made-for-TV Dilbert movie.
Don’t cry for me Argentina! (Careful or I will break out in song here.) That is exactly what my client pay me to do - to write copy that either sells or tells. If they say “tell” – expect to see buzzwords. I will assume they have good people to sell and my job is to create enough interest to get the buyers to the table or at least make the call.
If they say sell – expect to see product Owner Benefits (OB’s) and Good Quality (GQ’s). It will be more then a short blurb brochure, but they want to sell – not tell.
If they want to sell on a website, expect me to give them a page that will have people calling their sales staff, and expect to read text that captures the attention in under 15 seconds.
I will match the words and the content to the need. But, do not expect to see a lot of selling text (OB’s & GQ’s) on the back of a business card.
Thank you Geoffrey. Your comments have been appreciated.
Briefly, I commented (counter wrote) an article based on an original artcle written by Mr. Geoffrey James’s of BNet - entitled – “How to Drive Marketing Crazy. (http://blogs.bnet.com/salesmachine/?p=12#comments) Mr. James recently replied to my article, and I want to take this opportunity - to respond to each point he made. In order to do that I have copied his original response (in bold Italics) here.
Buzzword clichés are not shorthand for something meaningful. The example that you give about "globally focused" is a case in point. The longer circumlocution is so vague that I defy you to define what it actually means. Just piling on more buzzwords doesn't help.
But Geoffrey you just proved my point. You just shortened “the use of more words than necessary to express something, especially to avoid saying it directly,” down to the single buzzword; circumlocution, which (while understood,) is a seldom used word in business writing.
In fact, history will show you that many words (buzzwords) are derivatives of words formally put together. i.e – circum – meaning around or round about, and locution – meaning “a phrase or expression typically used by a group of people.”
But you know this, and you also know that its use would probably be a definite no-no for sales people. In its written format, it conveyed the meaning quite well. Mainly because the reader has the luxury of being able to absorb the meaning and then perhaps look the word up the dictionary if they didn’t understand it.
Whereas a listener – as in your sales customer, would feel embarrassed if he didn’t know what you were talking about and had to ask you the meaning of the word you just used. He or She would not be impressed by your intelligence. They are simply angry that you made him feel unintelligent.
More than that, the term "globally focused" is a complete oxymoron. How can something be "focused" on the entire world? Does that mean that we cancel the ad campaign on the planet Jupiter? It's ridiculous.
I know that after you published this, you stopped to think about the definition of "global" and found your error. Knowing the error probably allowed you to render my original statement as being closer to being correct then you give it credit for. (I have often written statements that years later thought “how could I have written that?”) However, the point is - those were your buzz words. I just used them to keep with the example.
In doing so, I understood its meaning, and to cite an example, I use the much used term “global warming.” Truly “global warming” implies “affecting the international community as a whole.”
Off the top of my copywriting head: A “globally focused” campaign is necessary to correct “global warming” Our company has that focus”
Now – the writer gets the salesperson to the table by using this short distinctive copy. (maybe not this particular copy – but you get my point) As a sales person however, you better stand ready to explain in detail - your companies methodology for solving global warming.
I don't mean to cast aspersions on copywriting, but the buzzwordery that you defend is laughable to everybody outside of the marketing teams that write and read it.
(Sorry "buzzwordery" just killed my spell checker. What a buzzword!)
You are missing my full point. I am not defending all buzzwords. The problem is communications – not buzzwords. From this point forth – let’s define this as appropriate communications, meaning buzzwords have their place – not all places - as in a sales presentation, but they do have their place..
Again, I challenge any salesperson to sell in 15 seconds without using a gun or sex. Companies demand that their commercial writer – write website copy that does exactly this. The task of a sales web site (not a brochure site) is to sell using only the written word.
And, based on statistics –and eye scanning, the average length of time a landing page is viewed is 15 seconds. The trick is to stop the readers’ attention.
I'll give you an example. A top executive at Gartner told me that whenever software firms present to them, the analysts now use their blackberries to play the "spot the buzzword" game. Every time the vendor representative trots out one of your precious buzzwords, the person who clicks first gets a point. In other words, the analysts aren't being impressed into thinking that the should recommend the software, they're laughing up their sleeves. This is not good for a company's reputation.
Well I cannot argue with you on this point. If a salesperson - making a presentation to me, used all buzzwords, I too would play the buzzword game. Frankly, I would never let them finish before throwing them out of my office, and it worries me that you use an example of managers / executives who are wasting company money playing games and wasting time. In my company, they would be following the salesperson out the door.
However, the sales person / sales manager / sales trainer side of me is cringing. Frankly – I would attempt to retrain the salesperson. The one truism for salespeople is that they get paid exactly what they are worth. That poor jerk is starving.
Successful selling is communications, and successful communication is an art. However, this example is not a copywriters fault. This is an example of poor sales training. Again – the copywriter got that salesperson to the table. Sales training – or the lack of it – did the rest.
But, I agree with the use of buzzwords in a sales presentation – and I believe I stated that in my counter article. Sales people will lose when they do this – as they have clearly done in your example.
The same thing is true of customers. Eyes roll when vendors trot out this stuff. As for reporters... every buzzword we read is another nail in the coffin of a marketing group's reputation. Example: As a reporter (and I write on software frequently) I can't take Oracle marketing seriously because their press releases are so mush minded that I can't figure out what they're trying to say. As a result, I now longer believe that Oracle marketing is capable of logical thought. I perceive all their recent corporate acquisitions through a lens colored by the willful obtuseness that's evident in everything that comes out of the firm. How can those acquisitions make any sense if nobody can't write a coherent sentence explaining why they did them?
In short, goofball clichés and weasely business buzzwords just make companies look stupid to everybody... except other marketing people who talk the same lingo.
Let me answer this by stating that poor “market” writing is the results of ignorance rather then stupidity. That’s Ignorance of how and why people buy - not educational ignorance. (I have seen graduates with MBA’s who can’t form a written sentence that says anything.)
You are a reporter – and according to you – you cannot understand what these marketers are writing in their press releases. Isn’t that what you are supposed to do however – allow your reading public to understand the latest Oracle offering?
It seems to me that is the purpose of a reporter, and you have to dig to give the reader the best value. Reading a press release or white paper will not give the reader your best value. But you are not asking me about how to be a good reporter - so let me say that I tend to agree with you. However instead of lumping the problem as a copywriting issue – let’s broaden it out to simply poor overall communication skills, coupled with poor salesmanship.
You should know that you are not alone in your problem. I have clients that send me their marketing materials asking me to tell them why they don’t work, and to fix it. Many a time my hand has inched its way towards the cigarette lighter and an empty wastepaper basket.
So let’s say that we agree with the premise that the world is run by poor communicators. Worse yet, they are trying to sell us stuff using the same poor communications that others have used.
However, I have always hated people who bitch and moan about things without coming up a solution of their own – so I won’t be one.
What can be done? Here is my solution.
First, ask questions. Reporters cannot get good material from a press release. They have to ask the in between line of questions. Writers do this, and I think reporters and sales people should also. If all salespeople are doing is using words copied from a brochure or printed ad, to come up with sales presentations, then give them a broom. They will contribute to the company better if they just sweep up.
But,, that also means you need to talk to the Oracle sales staff. Now - when the sales person starts using clichés and buzzwords, stop him or her. Do not let them do it. Don’t settle for it. Make them talk to you in English. You will end up understanding more about the product, and they will end up understanding that clichés and buzzwords turn people off in a presentation format. I reiterate, buzzwords should never leave the page they were written on.
I'm saddened that your clients apparently force you to write that kind of mental creamcake because, based on what I've read here, you're obviously capable of giving them some copy that wouldn't make them sound like minor cast members in a made-for-TV Dilbert movie.
Don’t cry for me Argentina! (Careful or I will break out in song here.) That is exactly what my client pay me to do - to write copy that either sells or tells. If they say “tell” – expect to see buzzwords. I will assume they have good people to sell and my job is to create enough interest to get the buyers to the table or at least make the call.
If they say sell – expect to see product Owner Benefits (OB’s) and Good Quality (GQ’s). It will be more then a short blurb brochure, but they want to sell – not tell.
If they want to sell on a website, expect me to give them a page that will have people calling their sales staff, and expect to read text that captures the attention in under 15 seconds.
I will match the words and the content to the need. But, do not expect to see a lot of selling text (OB’s & GQ’s) on the back of a business card.
Thank you Geoffrey. Your comments have been appreciated.
Labels: BNet, copywriting, James, Marketing, sales
posted by Write4Me @ 12:25 PM
0 Comments
Thursday, May 17, 2007
How to Drive Marketing Crazy – The Flip Side
A response to Mr. Geoffrey James’s BNet article – “How to Drive Marketing Crazy. “ (http://blogs.bnet.com/salesmachine/?p=12)
I have an advantage over most copywriters. I used to sell for a living and I did quite well at it. Now - as a commercial writer - I ride the grey area between the conflict of sales vs marketing. Let me begin this dissertation - by mentioning why people buy.
AIDA - Attention, Interest, Decision, Action –works because that is how people buy. Commercial writers and sales people use the AIDA approach, so everyone agrees on this part.
The truth of the matter is, the buying public is very predictable. Today for the most part – AIDA will always work for 90% of the buying public. However, in the real world of dollars and cents, a strict AIDA approach can be expensive. For example - during the Super Bowl, a full blown AIDA approach is not needed. Action takes over – preceding Decision. A Decision phase is a given. Interest and Attention are already present because after all, it’s the Super Bowl.
Give the viewer a firm cute Cheerleader in a short skirt, holding out a bottle of brew, and they are suddenly thirsty (hopefully for the brew) without having heard a word. Your million dollar “associative” message is being memorized while their eyes are feasting on that Cheerleader.
Sorry ladies, but sex sells and that is what is supposed to happen with that ad. Just like the affect a half naked male body with a double six pack– glistening sweat dripping from soulful dark eyes will have on you. Wrap those huge muscular arms around a slim bare waist of a female body builder, and without the ad saying a word you want to join a gym. Attention and Interest are visually presented in few words. Action is needed – now. That is the quest – fewest words conveying the most meaning - costing less.
Marketing lives to say a lot in a few words. In contrast, sales people say hello in 500 words or more. But marketing knows that today’s sophisticated -fast paced reader can readily translate these buzz words into meaningful information and render decisions based on that translation. In most cases they demand short - distinctive key words. They will fill in the blanks when they have time.
Words like “award-winning, collaborative, convenient, customer-focused, cutting-edge, empower, enterprise-wide, deployable, globally-focused, industry-leading, inexpensive, instantaneous, interactive, leverage, market-driven, mission-critical, multimedia-based, next-generation, paradigm, performance-based, proactive, revolutionary, robust, scalable, seamless, sophisticated, state-of-the-art, synergistic,” came into existence because of the high cost of advertising and the need for speed.
By using short buzz words, meaning is quickly conveyed and the intelligent person gets through them. Some sales people want to remove those words from all copy. In fact, their quest is to say what you mean using everyday English. My salesperson side agrees but my copywriting side says – it won’t work. Here’s why. Let’s use the example “globally focused” meaning “built for the needs of the world-wide community. “
Note the two words as opposed to eight words. Sales people can afford the gift of gab. Copywriters cannot. If a salesperson thinks we can – then have them describe their company and their product/service in 50 words or less and get the signature on the dotted line. Or if you are working web copy, ask a salesperson to sell you that widget in 15 seconds as you walk past them.
Tell them their income depends on how “few” words they use to sell the same item. Suggest that their paycheck starts at $4,000 a week and goes down by a $100 dollar bill for every word they use. It won’t take you long to see them with a gun to their customers head saying, “Buy? Die?” while slowly pulling the trigger back.
A copywriter who writes out all the “buzzwords,” becomes a novelist. They will not work long in the copywriting business. A salesperson that uses buzzwords in his sales discussion - will be broke. Two different venues - each with different requirements.
That is the point. The copywriter has to get that person to the table. They do it with short quick copy and buzzwords that should never leave the page. It is the sales person however, who can discuss pros and cons, counter objections, and who can answer the needs of the client. He or she should never write copy. But the two of them working together create a very powerful team.
Gary A. Clark – www.write4me.biz
I have an advantage over most copywriters. I used to sell for a living and I did quite well at it. Now - as a commercial writer - I ride the grey area between the conflict of sales vs marketing. Let me begin this dissertation - by mentioning why people buy.
AIDA - Attention, Interest, Decision, Action –works because that is how people buy. Commercial writers and sales people use the AIDA approach, so everyone agrees on this part.
The truth of the matter is, the buying public is very predictable. Today for the most part – AIDA will always work for 90% of the buying public. However, in the real world of dollars and cents, a strict AIDA approach can be expensive. For example - during the Super Bowl, a full blown AIDA approach is not needed. Action takes over – preceding Decision. A Decision phase is a given. Interest and Attention are already present because after all, it’s the Super Bowl.
Give the viewer a firm cute Cheerleader in a short skirt, holding out a bottle of brew, and they are suddenly thirsty (hopefully for the brew) without having heard a word. Your million dollar “associative” message is being memorized while their eyes are feasting on that Cheerleader.
Sorry ladies, but sex sells and that is what is supposed to happen with that ad. Just like the affect a half naked male body with a double six pack– glistening sweat dripping from soulful dark eyes will have on you. Wrap those huge muscular arms around a slim bare waist of a female body builder, and without the ad saying a word you want to join a gym. Attention and Interest are visually presented in few words. Action is needed – now. That is the quest – fewest words conveying the most meaning - costing less.
Marketing lives to say a lot in a few words. In contrast, sales people say hello in 500 words or more. But marketing knows that today’s sophisticated -fast paced reader can readily translate these buzz words into meaningful information and render decisions based on that translation. In most cases they demand short - distinctive key words. They will fill in the blanks when they have time.
Words like “award-winning, collaborative, convenient, customer-focused, cutting-edge, empower, enterprise-wide, deployable, globally-focused, industry-leading, inexpensive, instantaneous, interactive, leverage, market-driven, mission-critical, multimedia-based, next-generation, paradigm, performance-based, proactive, revolutionary, robust, scalable, seamless, sophisticated, state-of-the-art, synergistic,” came into existence because of the high cost of advertising and the need for speed.
By using short buzz words, meaning is quickly conveyed and the intelligent person gets through them. Some sales people want to remove those words from all copy. In fact, their quest is to say what you mean using everyday English. My salesperson side agrees but my copywriting side says – it won’t work. Here’s why. Let’s use the example “globally focused” meaning “built for the needs of the world-wide community. “
Note the two words as opposed to eight words. Sales people can afford the gift of gab. Copywriters cannot. If a salesperson thinks we can – then have them describe their company and their product/service in 50 words or less and get the signature on the dotted line. Or if you are working web copy, ask a salesperson to sell you that widget in 15 seconds as you walk past them.
Tell them their income depends on how “few” words they use to sell the same item. Suggest that their paycheck starts at $4,000 a week and goes down by a $100 dollar bill for every word they use. It won’t take you long to see them with a gun to their customers head saying, “Buy? Die?” while slowly pulling the trigger back.
A copywriter who writes out all the “buzzwords,” becomes a novelist. They will not work long in the copywriting business. A salesperson that uses buzzwords in his sales discussion - will be broke. Two different venues - each with different requirements.
That is the point. The copywriter has to get that person to the table. They do it with short quick copy and buzzwords that should never leave the page. It is the sales person however, who can discuss pros and cons, counter objections, and who can answer the needs of the client. He or she should never write copy. But the two of them working together create a very powerful team.
Gary A. Clark – www.write4me.biz
posted by Write4Me @ 8:53 AM
2 Comments
Monday, October 09, 2006
21 WAYS TO LEAVE A LOSER
Selling is not a game; I don’t care what you heard. I hate sales people who think it is. Selling is a matter of helping people to buy. It is not a matter of "if" you are a better closer, or the sharpest dresser, or the most liked.
Selling, when done properly is the highest form of communication, second only to a conversation between lovers. However, that does not mean there will not be those who know better, and think selling is simply a matter of trick closings.
The philosophy of tricks is best realized in the numbers game. In order to make more closes you have to play the odds and get in front of many people, therefore if you burn up a list of 100 qualified prospects and can manage to get in front of 2 or 3, you are doing good. For the people who believe in this, then this article is for you
For those of you who are serious about the “get in and get out” quick method of selling, I went back into my old sales records and pulled out the ideas I had heard, been told, or tried over 21 years of working with the public. None of these worked for me, (nor for a whole lot of other people) but you are welcome to try them.
- 1. Let us start with focus. Forget it. It screws up your thinking. Think of a shotgun. Close your eyes and shoot, you are sure to hit some target – someday. Even a blind - one arm man - standing on one leg in a windstorm, can hit a target with a shotgun, so why not use it always. It sure beats messing around with target markets and a whole lot easier. Get yourself one of those Bulk e-mailing disk and go to town.
- Everyone is fair game. Oh, I know you have heard that you should target your market, but hey – the people who suggest this methodology, probably never sold a thing in their life.
- When in a selling situation and the client is talking, focus on the words you are going to say next. Focus on getting the order. Overcome all objections, and close often. Dazzle them with your brilliance; baffle them with your best closing lines. Lines like “I am sure you didn’t just come in here to think about it. You’re here to buy and buy now – right?”
- Fact-Fact-finding is a waste of time, if the client is not serious about buying. You can always tell if they are ready, by pulling out an order form and start by asking their name. If they balk, they are not ready. Keep talking or move on to the next “real” buyer.
- Always ask closing questions and ignore the client’s objections – they are not real objections anyway.
When they walk through the door, assume they are there to buy. Your job is to get them to the signing stage quickly. - Any question on price, ignore. They will soon forget they asked it anyway.
- When a client walks in with an ad, ignore it. The ad did its job and got them in the door. Show them the more expensive model - immediately. Bait and switch baby!
- You can always come down, but you could leave money on the table. If you advertise a service, give them the $1000.00 pitch and come down only when they start to leave.
- Planning is a waste of time. What are you planning for? When the slow season comes about, take a vacation and forget about the company and your business. Do not look back. Live for the moment.
The only good records of sales are those that closed. Never look at the rest. And never track your sales. It only serves to depress you the following season. If you were doing it wrong, someone would have pointed it by now. - Learn to socialize. If the office staff drinks, you do too. If they meet weekly at the local bar, don’t be a spoil sport. Become one of the team. All people in the office like team players if they also buy a round. They forgive friends who show up late for sales meetings, and will be the first to support you after your butt kicking. Buy them all a round later.
- If your marketing is not working, don't change a thing. Remember you can only expect a 1% return so why waste your time trying for more. Keep that old plug running. Again, track nothing; it’s a waste of time for a 1% return.
- If you take orders on your website, forget about what you hear about secure sites. People do not check anyway. They will fill out any form that they find, especially for your killer deal, so a secure site is not important.
- Change your logo and headers on your e-mail so that they don’t match. This way the customer will not associate you with the spam they receive from your marketing campaign.
- Use autoresponders extensively. It serves no purpose to get directly involved and engage in a conversation with a prospect, until they are ready to part with the cash. If they are ready to buy, they will call you. Until then, let them have the information by auto-responder.
- Your marketing budget should be directed to getting your site listed on the entire top search engines within the first 10 listings. Forget what you hear about target marketing and visitors as opposed to hits. That is for those who are actively marketing. A website is supposed to be automatic marketing and when it is on the top, you will get all the hits you need.
- When you lose a sale, forget it. They were losers anyways. If they had stopped talking long enough to listen to your pitch, instead of asking questions when you were closing, they would have known your product was the best deal in town. Have a drink, calm your nerves and tackle the next one. Remember, drive for the close.
- Communications. Here is a big area so pay attention. Have many phone, fax and pager numbers. Make the customer find you. Why you ask? Because when they do, you know you have a serious buyer. Publish all your phone numbers on your business card. Make sure that the first number is the last number you could ever be found at.
- If you are selling real estate, make sure you have an extensive library of the 360 degree surround view pictures. Who cares if the site is slow to load, the customer knows it will be worth it once it does. They have patience.
- Make sure that the customer knows you are a busy person. Look for ways to impress them. The next suggestion will speed the action up.
- When the show up at your office, learn from the school of medical practitioners. Make them wait a little past the appointed time – Fifteen minutes should do it. Then when you greet them, let them know that you had to take that last call from an important client who they will know by name, like the Mayor.
When the client is talking – look at your watch, tap your pen on the desk, get up, fiddle with something on the shelf, and say – “go ahead, I am listening. Better yet, take that phone call and ask them to wait a minute. Impress them. Answer that purple looking Blue-tooth thingy stuck in your ear. That will do it !! - When you ask a question, don’t wait for the answer. Assume the answer is positive and go right on.
Make sure that the client knows you are the offices top sales person, so that when they object, you can come back with the fact that of all your clients, they are the only one who feels that way. That will serve to bring them down to their true worth and make it easier to close.
Now if you try these methods, please do not let me know. Of course, these are not the right way to do business or to conduct sales. But I bet you probably recognized every one of them as either something you read, heard or actually watched a salesperson do. I hope that it was not you.
If you can’t make 10 appointments off of a list of 50 qualified cold calls, and if you can’t close at lease 3 of those 10, or get the listings you need, doing it the right way, then I suggest changes need to be made in your methodologies.
posted by Write4Me @ 5:24 AM
0 Comments
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Term Limits
I am tired of government treating the American citizen like children – meant to be led around by the truths and lies they throw at us, under the guise that they represent our better good. The only good they represent is their own, and it is time we take our country back. And no, before some of my friends get off on the wrong leg, I am not advocating a change in the tax laws or getting into that argument. I am simply saying that I am under the firm belief that we need to reinforce the original declaration of “By the People, for the People.”
As long as we put the question of term limits up to the people that are going to be be affected by the change, (the politicians) we are going to get nowhere. http://www.ustl.org/blog.html The topic will be swept under the rug yuntil the next election and it will again be too late for people to weigh the facts.
Therefore, I am going to advocate that we apply the fastest and simplest method of doing this, which is by our vote. Not a vote in the sense of the vote as we have done it before, but one that is outside of the box. As far as I know, a judge cannot dictate how we vote, http://www-tech.mit.edu/V114/N5/terms.05w.html like they can by ruling term limits unconstitutional. Nor can any government agency. Therefore my suggestions should work.
Today it will not matter what political affiliation you are. Today the only concern is that you are a legal voter (no undocumented aliens) and that you too feel that as a US citizen, we are being controlled and manipulated in order to line the pockets and fulfill the personal agenda of those who we elected.
If you are, then I propose that we vote them – pick an incumbent name you like – out of government by simply voting for the candidate who is NOT an incumbent. This solution is simple. (do you think maybe too simple?)
If you alays vote along party lines, then OK. If the incumbent is a republican and you are a republican, then vote for the republican candidate seeking to take over. Democrat – vice versus. It does not matter what the issues are or what the individual candidates stand for, so long as it is good government and they are not incumbent.
Whoever is in the current seat goes home, and the newly elected person comes in - with our blessing and a clear set of demands – from us, the citizens they has been contracted to represent. It does not matter what their positions are, for the truth of the matter is their first task should be to clean up congress, lower the deficit, and jointly – support and advise the president. We will deal with the issues of the war as well, but that is up for a different article. All the newly elected congressmen and senators have no political axes to grind - so they should get along well in the beginning, and perhaps this will lead to solutions instead of cross lines political bickering.
If he/she does not do that or accomplish the tasks set out for them, then they are voted out at the end of his term, (or impeached) and we do it again. If they don’t come to the table stating their ability to be able to follow that direction, then they are not considered candidates. We would do the same if we owned stock in a company and we were being handed another Enron package. Well folks, our current government is one giant Enron and we need to take back control.
Congress will not vote for congressional term limits – it weakens them - but we can. By limits, I mean two 2 year terms – max – if we let them. And stop handing me the argument that it takes more then two terms to get some measures passed through both house and senate. If you were running a million dollar company, that tired argument would get your term of presidency - terminated. It's BS and we know it.
To see your states term limits, click here. http://www.ustl.org/Current_Info/current_info.html
As you can see by this list, we are creating political dynasty's resulting in much more opportunity to gain financially through the lobbying by big business, instead of the legislative officials we voted for and who work for us.
As long as we put the question of term limits up to the people that are going to be be affected by the change, (the politicians) we are going to get nowhere. http://www.ustl.org/blog.html The topic will be swept under the rug yuntil the next election and it will again be too late for people to weigh the facts.
Therefore, I am going to advocate that we apply the fastest and simplest method of doing this, which is by our vote. Not a vote in the sense of the vote as we have done it before, but one that is outside of the box. As far as I know, a judge cannot dictate how we vote, http://www-tech.mit.edu/V114/N5/terms.05w.html like they can by ruling term limits unconstitutional. Nor can any government agency. Therefore my suggestions should work.
Today it will not matter what political affiliation you are. Today the only concern is that you are a legal voter (no undocumented aliens) and that you too feel that as a US citizen, we are being controlled and manipulated in order to line the pockets and fulfill the personal agenda of those who we elected.
If you are, then I propose that we vote them – pick an incumbent name you like – out of government by simply voting for the candidate who is NOT an incumbent. This solution is simple. (do you think maybe too simple?)
If you alays vote along party lines, then OK. If the incumbent is a republican and you are a republican, then vote for the republican candidate seeking to take over. Democrat – vice versus. It does not matter what the issues are or what the individual candidates stand for, so long as it is good government and they are not incumbent.
Whoever is in the current seat goes home, and the newly elected person comes in - with our blessing and a clear set of demands – from us, the citizens they has been contracted to represent. It does not matter what their positions are, for the truth of the matter is their first task should be to clean up congress, lower the deficit, and jointly – support and advise the president. We will deal with the issues of the war as well, but that is up for a different article. All the newly elected congressmen and senators have no political axes to grind - so they should get along well in the beginning, and perhaps this will lead to solutions instead of cross lines political bickering.
If he/she does not do that or accomplish the tasks set out for them, then they are voted out at the end of his term, (or impeached) and we do it again. If they don’t come to the table stating their ability to be able to follow that direction, then they are not considered candidates. We would do the same if we owned stock in a company and we were being handed another Enron package. Well folks, our current government is one giant Enron and we need to take back control.
Congress will not vote for congressional term limits – it weakens them - but we can. By limits, I mean two 2 year terms – max – if we let them. And stop handing me the argument that it takes more then two terms to get some measures passed through both house and senate. If you were running a million dollar company, that tired argument would get your term of presidency - terminated. It's BS and we know it.
To see your states term limits, click here. http://www.ustl.org/Current_Info/current_info.html
As you can see by this list, we are creating political dynasty's resulting in much more opportunity to gain financially through the lobbying by big business, instead of the legislative officials we voted for and who work for us.
I welcome your comments. Show me why this wouldn't work. Do we or do we not control our own governement? I would like to know what others think.
posted by Write4Me @ 3:37 PM
1 Comments
