Dear Friend,

You #1 weapon in advertising will always be...

Superior Salesmanship.

I am not a born salesman.

If you know my story, I didn’t even have a word of the English 
language on my lips when I first moved to North America. (Even 
now, my spoken English is not all that great and it comes with 
an accent that would put Arnold Schwarzenegger or Jackie Chan 
to shame.)

No, I wasn't born to sell.  I had to learn selling... the HARD 
way:  making embarrassing mistakes, blowing deals right and 
left, losing clients... and going to outrageous extremes trying 
to identify the world-class salesmen who would teach me the way 
to do things right.

Well, it's taken a few years... quite a few years, I'll admit, 
but now I've identified the "tricks of the trade" of selling.

What Took Me Years Will Be Yours In 3 ½ Minutes Flat!


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Tricks of the Trade #1 - People don’t like to be sold

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That's right!  Although every year, trillions of dollars worth 
of goods and services are bought and sold -- billions through 
the mail alone -- people actually don’t like the IDEA of being 
sold.

What they DO like is the idea of OWNING the product, or taking 
advantage of the service that is being sold.

Look at the people in your own life -- friends, family, or 
business colleagues.  Many of them, no doubt, love to buy 
things. (My girlfriend has a “black belt” in shopping) But 
I'll bet that none of them like to be sold.

In fact, with most people, if you try to sell them something, 
they'll become resistant.  It's a natural response to perceived 
pressure.

In fact, selling may turn-off a prospect who was ready to buy. 
So if you can't SELL, what you can do is TELL.  In order to 
tell you about my product or service:

* I get your attention...

* I build rapport with you...

* I explain what’s in it for you...

* I tempt you by appealing to your emotions...

* I create a verbal picture that teases your desires...

* I demonstrate how my stuff can easily solve your problems...

* I can prove to you that there’re a lot people just like you 
  who have bought and are very happy with my stuff...

* I make you an absolutely irresistible offer...

* I describe a deal where you risk nothing, and yet stand to 
  gain a great deal...

* I handle every single one of your objections...

This is exactly what you've gotta do when you’re writing a sales 
letter. Don’t apply pressure and don’t bully your prospect with 
force.  Use a little finesse instead.  Don't force it -- romance 
the hell out of it.

If you TELL you, I don't have to SELL you... you'll sell yourself!

(And that’s killer salesmanship, my friend!)


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Tricks of the Trade #2 - Hit ‘Em Where It Hurts:

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With each sales pitch you create, you must focus on the need or 
desire that your product will satisfy.

If we only buy what we NEED, there’ll be No Rolex, No BMW, No 
Mercedes, No Botox, and definitely NO Starbucks coffee.  We 
certainly don’t NEED any of that stuff, but we WANT them!

Here’s what most people are looking for in one way or another:

* More money

* More free time

* More respect

* Better physical health

* Better mental health

* Less stress

Remember, people buy what they WANT, not what they NEED.


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Tricks of the Trade #3 - Even When They're Sold, People Need To 
Satisfy Their Emotional Decisions With Logic

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Even though people buy for emotional reasons, they need to feel 
that their decision was backed by solid logical reasons.

Think about TV commercials for cars. They offer a perfect 
picture of "justification."

Here's how they work:

First, there's a stirring image of the car itself – beautiful, 
stylish, new. (In your head: Wow! That car looks cool...)

In the background, there’s a mountainous landscape (In your 
head:  Wow! That's rugged... like me!) or a five-star hotel 
(In your head: Wow!  That car would give me status."

And, of course, no car commercial would be complete without a 
beautiful, sexy woman.  (In your head: ...let's not go there!)

Next, you see an interior shot to show how luxurious your life 
will be with this car. You get to listen to state-of-the-art 
sound system. (In your head: Hmm... I can listen to my favorite 
music.)

Then, there’s a shot of the car driving by the ocean. Put it 
all together and you have an effective 20-second movie that’s 
designed entirely to appeal to emotion.

But wait, the car commercials don’t stop here.

Oh...no way. At the end, they "get down to business" with 
numerous bits and pieces of information – the size of the 
engine, statistics on fuel economy, speed, weight, interior 
space, rankings in national survey, financing information 
and customer satisfaction reports, and so on.

It flashes by at lightening speed, usually so quickly that 
you can't read it.

But Don't Worry: All This Data Isn’t Meant To Sell The Car.

It’s included to make YOU feel good and justify the decision 
you’ve already made. (I’m gonna buy that baby now or when I 
got some money because it's the SMART thing to do!)

The lesson: People CAN be convinced, when the facts are 
explained, when the risk is taken away, and when their deepest, 
most selfish desires have been tickled and nurtured and seduced.

All right, time’s up! Whew... right on time. 3-½ minutes. (Hey, 
I don’t just always “hype” the headline to get you to read my 
stuff, do I?)

Until next time...

Dan Lok