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Sometimes the only response possible is just to say — Oy !!!

I received the following in a newsletter sent  by a copywriter.

“The best way to involve people is to offer great products at great prices. But there are specific techniques to get people involved.

Soft techniques include featuring benefits, asking questions, flattering your prospect, talking about your prospect’s needs and wants, and making your message fun and full of good feelings.

Hard techniques include physically giving people something to do: take a quiz, check a box, choose a color, affix a stamp, scratch a panel, lift a flap, insert a token, fill in a line, etc.”

I’ll deal with his points one at a time.

Soft Techniques —

• featuring benefits — every major on and off line copywriter I’ve ever studied emphasizes customer benefits as the core of any sales presentation.  This approach is neither hard nor soft, just common sense.
• asking questions — a venerable technique to engage a reader’s attention. Asking a question is a powerful focusing tactic. Neither hard nor soft, just common sense.
• flattering your prospect — when it comes to a sales offer flattery will rarely get you the sale. Why? Because it’s off point. What’s in it for your customers is the point. Neither hard nor soft, just common-sense.
• talking about your prospect’s needs or wants — why else would any one read or listen?  Just common sense.
• making your message fun and full of good feelings — a sales message is to communicate the advantage of your product or service to your customers.  If fun is involved, okay.  And good feelings?  What’s the alternative — misery and bad feelings?  Need I say more?

Hard Techniques —

• How is it that doing something is “hard?”  Engaging your customers in some kind of activity guides them in a direction you want them to go. And if they do what you want them to do — take a quiz or lift a flap — it’s not because it has to do with doing. They are interested. The activity is an expression of their interest. Is that “hard sell?” Well . . . OY !!!

Soft sell has to do with both making a real, emotional connection AND guiding the customer through your sales presentation to the benefits and then the call -to-action. Asking for the order, which is the same as saying “asking for the money” is neither soft or hard just common sense and solid business practice.

Don’t gunk things up with nonsense. Just make a sincere, straightforward, and benefit-laden presentation. Do that well and your sales  will be your measure.

Because It’s All in the Connection,

Jim

Copywriting is the DNA of on and off line sales. Learn to write good copy and your sales will follow from there.  Let us show you how with our copywriting course – (just click this link) Soft Topic Copywriting Secrets — and save $300 for our 7 module course plus bonuses.

I Keep a Swipe File of Jim & Judith’s Copywriting.  It’s That Good!
– Alex Mandossian