“Anything that gets in the way of allowing the money to come in is EVIL!”
– Pete Godfrey
Two sessions this afternoon…
…and in a change of schedule Pete Godfrey delivered his “Cash Copy Made Easy” presentation.
I guess Pete and Dave made a call on the level of experience of the audience and decided that Pete’s copy primer would be useful for most people.
And no harm in revisiting the basics. For myself, I am always at least reminded of something that I’ve either forgotten or don’t use as effectively as I could.
Couple of highlights…
Pete’s formula for making money…
1. Have something worth selling
2. Know how to sell
3.Get BUSY!!!!
…amazing how many people fall down on that last point (and yeah, I’m guilty at times).
A reminder of a classic headline (and template)…
“Embarrassed By Cellulite (or similar problem)?”
…and add an even bigger emotional wallop…
“Embarrassed By Ugly Cellulite?”
And reviewing my notes, struck by the emphasis on the prospect…
…what Pete calls “You” copy.
Moving on to David McMahon…
…this made up for the somewhat disappointing morning session.
David started off reviewing the basics of sales psychology and the mental process a prospective customer goes through before making the final decision to buy.
This largely revolved around the fact that studies show that it takes anywhere between 7 and 21 “touches” or contacts with someone before they buy from you.
Now, if you’ve been involved in sales or marketing for any length of time, you’re most likely familiar with that idea.
Where the presentation got very interesting was in exploring different ways to increase the number of touch points…and quickly.
In particular, David covered a number of ways to use new technology…his speciality.
SMS, for example, is a great way to complement other forms of communication…
…and hence boost the number of touches quickly.
Simple example, send a text to let someone know the information they requested is on the way.
Now, I confess that I can be something of a techno dinosaur at times. I don’t use text or my mobile a great deal and I’m not a great social media user.
But that doesn’t mean that prospective clients or…the prospects of the clients I write copy for…are the same.
Once again,never make the mistake of taking your own preferences or behaviour as being typical.
And that’s one of the big benefits of atttending conferences like this for me. I get to see other perspectives and other angles on what’s going on “out there”.
Younger generations in particular, of course, use technology more and very differently from older groups.
One useful tip…
…if you have an ad with a 1-800 number as the response channel, try adding a number to text contact details. In many cases, David has found that the text channel replies were in the majority by far.
So, all in all a useful afternoon.
There’s a dinner tonight for the conference attendees. Based on previous occasions it’s likely to be a boisterous evening…
…but I’ll be back, one way or another, with further updates tomorrow.