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HOW TO SELL WITHOUT BEING “SALESY”

“Selling is essentially a transfer of feelings.”

—Zig Ziglar

If you can write effective sales copy, you can literally write your own paycheck. There really should be no such thing as a “broke copywriter.” By definition, good copywriters can create money out of thin air. But sales copy, ad campaigns, and business often do fail. Why does this happen?

It happens because just writing out a “sales pitch” is not enough to make your copy effective. In this chapter, we’ll lay the groundwork for writing effective copy. Copy that works. Copy that sells.

FIRST YOU NEED TO KNOW YOUR “BIG IDEA”

We start with this: what are you selling, and how does it benefit the customer? You must distill this “big idea” down to a single, clear sentence. Clarifying and articulating your “big idea,” or Copy Thesis™, is a crucial step in the selling process.

You may remember from your school days that a thesis is “a proposition stated or put forward for consideration, especially one to be discussed and proved or to be maintained against objections.” (Dictionary.com)

I can’t think of a better way to define a sales message. The “getting of that sentence” may be hard work, and it may take time, but in the end it should always look similar to this:

Any [YOUR AUDIENCE] can [SOLVE THEIR PROBLEM] by using [YOUR PRODUCT], because [HOW IT SOLVES THE PROBLEM].

Examples of a strongly-constructed Copy Thesis:

Work on your Copy Thesis until you have a rock-solid “big idea” expressed “in a short, pregnant sentence as clear as a crystal.”

COPYWRITING FAILS WHEN YOU IGNORE THESE PRINCIPLES

There are universal psychological triggers that help you sell more effectively. The problem is, the field of copywriting is strewn with misleading, manipulative, and even in some cases, malicious techniques.

You can hardly “swing a cat” without hitting a copywriter who has a “formula” for writing copy.

Some of these formulas are actually quite good. Many, however, are based on tricks of manipulation and psychology that are more than a little morally questionable.

The framework I’m going to share with you here, though, is intentionally based on universal principles that are focused on doing good, and helping people make decisions that are in their own best interest.

TO SELL MORE, P.A.S.T.O.R. YOUR CUSTOMERS

Most people associate the term “pastor” with the preacher at church. While this is certainly one way of understanding the term, the original meaning of the word “pastor” was actually “to shepherd.” And what does the shepherd do? He or she cares for, feeds, and protects the flock.

Now, before we go any further, I should address the habit that some marketers have of referring to their customers as their “herd.” It seems to paint an unflattering picture.

This kind of imagery is not what I am invoking here. The actual role of a shepherd is a loving, caring, and protective one. In fact, Jesus, who called himself the “good Shepherd,” actually laid down his life for his flock.

I am not suggesting any religious overtones for your copy: what I am suggesting is that you adopt the same loving, caring, and protective role as you write copy for your prospects and customers.

And, as you might’ve guessed, P.A.S.T.O.R. is also an acronym for the major sections of your copy.

The P.A.S.T.O.R. Copywriting Framework™

“P” IS FOR PERSON, PROBLEM, AND PAIN

You must begin by identifying the person you are trying to reach with your message, understanding the problem that you are solving for them, and the pain that problem causes.

The simplest, most effective way to do this is to describe the problem in great detail.

It’s a psychological principle identified by marketing wizard Jay Abraham: the more accurately you can describe your reader’s problem in terms they relate to, the more they instinctively feel that you must have an answer to that problem. Use the reader’s own language, the very words and phrases they use to describe the problem they want to solve.

For instance, if you are writing about fitness and weight loss, you might begin by describing their current situation this way:

You’ve tried every fad diet that’s come along. You’ve started and stopped a dozen different exercise programs, perhaps joined several different gyms, but the truth is you just can’t seem to take the weight off (or keep it off). Perhaps you’re even feeling a little disgusted with yourself and your inability to control your eating and your weight. You feel like no matter what you try, it’s not going to work.

Remember, you’re not judging their behavior,; rather you are describing their experience as it currently is. This means you have to understand their experience as it currently is. You have to know your audience and what they are thinking.

As the great copywriting legend Robert Collier said, you have to “join the conversation that is already taking place in the reader’s mind.”

You must speak to the person, expose the problem you are helping solve, and make a clear connection to the pain the problem causes. Person, problem, pain.

As Zig Ziglar often said, “Selling is essentially a transfer of feelings.”

You can’t transfer something you don’t have.

You can’t transfer something you don’t have.

You must first empathize with your reader, and have the feelings they have. Then you must develop the feelings of excitement that come from knowing the problem can be solved.

Next, we need to turn up the volume on that pain.

“A” IS FOR AMPLIFY AND ASPIRATIONS

The next step is to amplify the consequences of not solving the problem, and the aspirations they hold for the future. This is really the key to making sales, and it is probably the most neglected step in the process.

What will motivate people to buy your product, invest in your service, or accept your idea is usually not the beautiful outcome framed in a positive light on its own. It is required rather, that before painting the picture of the “paradise” they seek, you must get them to fully experience the consequence of not solving the problem.

So while we do want to show our prospects how their life can look when they receive the benefits of your product, they first have to believe they need it. Even more important, they must want the solution you are offering. In other words: what does it cost them to not solve this problem?

Let me be clear about this: you need to place a dollar cost on this failure to solve the problem when at all possible.

You must make them aware of the cost of indecision

When I’m writing copy about a business improvement program for instance, I may have the reader walk through a simple exercise like this:

Write down your average monthly income over the last 12 months. Then write down what you want your average monthly income to be. Let’s say that your average income is $5,000 per month, and your goal is actually to make $15,000 per month in your business. That means the gap between where you are and where you want to be is $10,000 per month. You’re paying a cost of $10,000 every month you don’t solve this problem.

Help your prospect see the real long-term consequences of ignoring their problem. You must make them aware of the price of indecision.

“S” IS FOR STORY, SOLUTION, AND SYSTEM

Once you have described the problem, amplified the consequences of not solving it, and painted the picture of paradise, it’s time to share the story of how the problem can be solved.

This will be different depending on your situation. It might be the story of how you yourself finally solved this persistent problem. It might be the story of how you helped a client or customer discover the solution on their own.

It does need to be more than simply a description of what the solution is: telling the story of Bob, the frustrated business owner who was on the edge of bankruptcy, whose family had lost faith in him, and who, out of desperation tried one last idea that saved his business, is infinitely more powerful than simply saying, “One day, Bob figured out the answer.

Dig deeper. There is always a story to tell.

It should go without saying, but I will say it just in case: the story must absolutely be true. Don’t make these things up. And if you’re thinking, “But what if there is no story?” I would suggest you just haven’t looked closely enough.

There is always a story to tell.

“T” IS FOR TRANSFORMATION AND TESTIMONY

Remember that whatever you’re selling, whether it’s a home study program, a book, a seminar, your consulting services — anything at all — what people are buying is not the “stuff,” it’s the transformation.

When people buy the P90X workout program, they did not wake up one morning and say to themselves, “I sure hope today somebody tries to sell me a bunch of exercise DVDs and a wall chart.”

Those things (the DVD’s, charts, etc.) are the stuff.

What buyers of P90X are actually purchasing is that lean, healthy, youthful physique they want for themselves. The transformation.

The delivery method (coaching, online videos, personal consultation, or product in a box) is merely the vehicle. Don't get the vehicle confused with the destination.

Don’t get the vehicle confused with the destination.

It’s also important that you offer testimony, real-life stories of people who have successfully made the transformation that you are providing. Study the most successful infomercials, and you’ll discover that they consist of about 70% testimonials.

Most of us will not be writing infomercials, but it’s important to remember there are three questions people are asking when you sell them coaching, consulting, or instruction about anything. The questions are:

Provide them with proof that the answer to all three of these questions is a resounding “Yes!”

“O” IS FOR OFFER

So far, you have defined the problem, clarified the cost of not solving it, told the story of the solution, and helped your reader visualize the transformation through testimonials from others just like themselves.

Now is the time to describe exactly what you are offering for sale.

This is the section of your copy where you lay out your offer. You can even create a subheading for the section called something clever like, “Here’s Exactly What You Get.”

Make certain that you focus 80% of your copy on the transformation itself. You do have to talk about the deliverables (the class schedule, the DVDs, etc.), but that should only occupy about 20% of your copy in this section.

Just remember that as you describe the deliverables in the offer section, you must keep tying them back to the transformation and benefits your buyers will receive.

So instead of simply writing that the buyer will receive “8 DVDs, each containing a 45-minute workout session,” you might instead write that they will receive “8 DVDs that each contain a body-sculpting, fat-burning transformational workout that will help you craft the lean, muscular body you really want.”

“R” IS FOR RESPONSE

This is one of the areas where copy tends to often be the weakest: the response request. We are asking the customer to buy.

At this point, you should not be shy about making this request. You should tell the customer exactly what to do in order to get your program, your consulting, your book, etc. You should remind them why it’s important to do so.

I often write copy similar to this:

And then I will write very specific, directive copy telling them exactly what to do next:

Some people shy away from strong language like this, but the fact is, if you truly believe that you have a solution that will solve a problem for people, why on earth would you not be as direct as possible in telling them how to get that solution?

In fact, aren’t you doing them a disservice by not making the strongest case possible?

WHAT TO DO NOW

Use this framework to write (or rewrite) your current sales copy. The key to making this approach for writing sales copy successful is having the mindset of being a “pastor.”

If you apply the principles of being a shepherd to your readers, and you follow the sequence of the P.A.S.T.O.R formula, my prediction is you will experience more sales, more profits, and happier customers... more often.

In the next chapter, I’ll give you a very specific outline for writing a highly structured sales message. I’ll break the structure into discreet “building blocks.” The overarching structure of these “building blocks” will be formed by the P.A.S.T.O.R. Framework.