Not to be mean or anything like that but…your customers and prospects don’t really care how good your product or service is.
Yes, they want quality. Sure, they want expert service. But these are not the things that get them to lay their money on the counter, to sign on the dotted line, to—you get the idea.
So if you’re sending out postcards or other direct mail that tells people how good your stuff is, how expertly you create or deliver it, etc., stop—you’re wasting money.
Instead, learn and apply two words to your headlines.
These two words will make your prospects and customers care. And these two words will have a positive impact on your ROI.
The Sale Starts with the Headline
What do the headlines on your postcards say?
Do a quick review and see if they sound anything like these:
- A-1 Pool Cleaners—Your Pool Cleaning Experts in Littleville.
- Arrowhead Dental, 25 Years Caring for Smiles.
- Our Certified Used Cars Are the Best!
These headlines are company-focused. If yours look like this, you might be in trouble. If they look like this and your sales are down, you’re in real trouble and now you know why.
But it’s easy to fix—just two words (which we’re going to reveal in just a second).
Y’see, you know your product/service is awesome. You know all the ways it’s better than what your competition delivers. You know the details, facts, and features. You’re an insider and between you and people in your industry, these things really matter.
But they don’t matter to your customers. What matters to them is what benefits them. It’s never a question of how “expert” or “better” it is but rather how it makes them:
- healthier
- happier
- wealthier
- more secure
- etc.
So when your customers and prospects get postcards or other direct mail with headlines like the ones above, they yawn: “So what?”
And therein lies the solution to weak, low ROI headlines and slumping sales.
Use Two Words
“So what?” are the two words that will make your “meh” headlines into lead and sales magnets. You take the customer/prospect viewpoint and keep asking your headline “So what?” until you arrive at a headline idea that presents a desirable benefit.
Let’s try it with one of those ones from above:
A-1 Pool Cleaners—Your Pool Cleaning Experts in Littleville.
“So what?”
We keep pools really clean.
“So what?”
So you don’t have to clean it yourself.
Better, but…“so what?”
You don’t have to clean the pool before you can jump in and cool off this summer.
Bingo: the benefit is “saving time” and “instant gratification.”
The Wrap
Take weak company- or product/service-focused headlines and “so-what” them until you arrive at a benefit that’s desirable to your customer or prospect. Then write a new headline around that benefit. In this case, it might be “Don’t Wait! Jump Into a Clean Pool All Summer Long. Call A-1 Pool Cleaners.”
Whether you clean pools or not, at www.prospectsplus.com/pei you can design great-looking postcards using your own design or our customizable postcard templates. Then mail them to your own list or create a new targeted list—all from your computer.
Or, make it even faster and easier by giving Opportunity Knocks a call at 1 (866) 319-7109 and have a marketing pro handle the design and mailing for you. “So what” are you waiting for?