Power Persuasion is about taking advantage of the natural ways in which people think and letting your prospect persuade themselves.
One of the secrets of power persuasion is that people don't always think everything through as thoroughly as they should. In many cases, we use "rules of thumb", which are called "judgmental heuristics" in psychology. These are usually reliable and will normally point us in the right direction with a minimum amount of investigation.
One of the judgmental heuristics that many people have is that women with blonde colored hair are 1) more fun, and 2) less intelligent. As with many judgmental heuristics, the truth doesn't always match with the rule.
Somewhere along the line, however, intelligent blondes found that the impression could be used effectively to their benefit, and they developed a persuasion technique that is quite impressive.
In order to maintain the illusion of ignorance, these gifted persuaders discovered that they could ask as many questions as it took to get their prospect to come up with the right answer. Then once the right answer was spoken by their prospect, they would simply say something along the lines of "Wow, you are so smart. I would have never thought of that."
Unfortunately for us mere mortals, this technique actually requires a lot of intelligence to pull off well. You really have to understand human psychology and logic in order to direct your questions to pull out the right answers from your prospect and not give yourself away.
Leading questions are a subject unto themselves, and I cover them in some depth in the Keys To Power Persuasion course. For now, understand that one of the easiest ways to lead your prospect through the use of questions is to suggest the answer within the question itself.
Here are a couple of examples:
"Of course, I know nothing about this, but what would happen if you turned those knobs? Is there one of those controls that might help in this situation?"
"All I know about cars is that you have to put gas in them once in a while. But I once heard someone talk about a gizmo called a 'differential' or some such. Is it possible that something like that could be the problem here?"
"You say that one of the things that slow down a computer is the connection between its memory and the processor, whatever that is. Would it be possible for someone to build them together, on the same chip or something? Would that make them go faster?"
There are 4 general rules to using questions to lead your prospect.
1. Ask each question in a way that is interesting to your prospect, so that they remain involved in the process.
2. Ask each question based on what your prospect already understands.
3. Ask each question to focus your prospect's mind in the intended direction, one step closer to the desired information.
4. Ask each question in a way that suggests the answer your prospect should give.
In cases where your prospect feels as though they are an expert in the subject under discussion, it can sometimes pay off handsomely to let them think that they know more about the subject than you do. Playing to a person's ego can oftentimes make them want to do more for you than upsetting their self-image of superiority.
Just ask any smart blonde.
Jumat, 20 Januari 2012
How To Multiply The Response To Your Yellow Pages Ad
If you think that advertising in the Yellow Pages is not right for you, you may be right. But before you write off the Yellow Pages, you should do a bit of research into how many responses your heading receives every year. You might be surprised. You might find a great opportunity that a lot of your competitors are missing out on.
If you DO advertise in the Yellow Pages, there are a few things you need to know. First of all, you should understand the nature of the beast, which may come as a surprise.
The Yellow Pages directories are a “marketing orphan”. They are unloved, unglamorous, unsexy. Most marketing experts know next to nothing about how to use them. But I’ve seen many very profitable businesses derive virtually all their business from one good ad run in many directories.
But, and this is extremely important, less than 1% of Yellow Pages advertisers know what an effective ad is. The bad rap the Yellow Pages has is not earned. If you know how to use them, the Yellow Pages can be incredible!
Most advertisers have the vague notion that they want a response. That’s logical. “We want the phone to ring!” they say. But the way they go about it leaves a lot to be desired.
Exposed: The #1 Cardinal Sin of Print Advertising
The biggest mistake neophyte advertisers make is to assume that the theme of their ad should be: “Who we are, what we do, and how to reach us”. The second biggest error is not having a great headline. Here’s a clue: Your name and logo are not a headline. They are the least important things in your ad—until a person wants to call you and knows exactly why. At that moment, and not before, your company name and number become important.
The “name, rank and serial number” approach is wrong for any print ad, but especially the Yellow Pages, which is a “magic moment” medium. There is no other medium where people in need go to find an instant solution, ready to take buying action right away. If you could but understand the mindset of your prospect in their moment of need, you would dominate your heading year after year.
The Ultimate Secret To Acing The Yellow Pages
Now let me share with you a powerful secret that very few people in the marketing business understand. You may not believe it at first, but if you take it to heart, this secret could revolutionize your Yellow Pages response forever—and the rest of your direct response print ads too!
Here’s the secret: the Yellow Pages Is NOT A Visual Medium! (Huh?) Yes, really, no kidding.
But how can that be? Aren’t all ads supposed to look great and employ a lot of “white space”? Sorry to break it to you, but those are two of the big lies that agencies and graphic artists have been perpetuating for years, which have been consistently disproved by measuring response.
The Yellow Pages may be full of colour and pictures and maps and words. And yes, you have to LOOK at the page to read it, but it is not a visual medium. Let me offer you an analogy to explain:
Imagine going to a fancy restaurant and ordering supper. The waiter brings your order along with a picture of a beautiful meal, which looks even better than the one, you ordered. Which one would you want to eat?
The incorrect assumption everyone makes is that appearance counts for more than substance in the Yellow Pages. Anybody who tells you this does not understand the state of mind of your Yellow Pages prospect in need. The only time a prospect looks at your ad is when they are in dire need and ready to take action. They are not looking for pretty pictures.
With nothing but pretty pictures to choose from, your prospect will have to pick one. But, when there’s one good information ad, and several pretty pictures, the information ad will win, hands down, every time.
How To Double The Response To Your Yellow Pages Ad
You will double your response -- EASILY -- if you turn your ad into an information piece, or “advertorial”. Why? Because the person who is in distress wants information—all the credible information they can get their hands on. And, even more than that, you will stick out like a sore thumb. Your ad will jump off the page and it will look like an information piece, not a sales pitch. Everyone else is saying, “I’m the best!” and you are giving them precisely the information they crave. Who do you think they’ll want to talk to?
I have seen information ads multiply the response of image ads in the Yellow Pages on numerous occasions. In every case, the directory rep tried to talk my client out of running the ad. Don’t listen to them! Your directory sales rep is in the space selling business, not in the direct response business.
And one more thing: once you run your ad, try to resist the temptation to plaster the little “Let Your Fingers Do The Walking Stickers” on your vehicles and in your store window. Did you ever stop to think how foolish it is to invite your prospects and customers to go where your competitors are advertising?
If you DO advertise in the Yellow Pages, there are a few things you need to know. First of all, you should understand the nature of the beast, which may come as a surprise.
The Yellow Pages directories are a “marketing orphan”. They are unloved, unglamorous, unsexy. Most marketing experts know next to nothing about how to use them. But I’ve seen many very profitable businesses derive virtually all their business from one good ad run in many directories.
But, and this is extremely important, less than 1% of Yellow Pages advertisers know what an effective ad is. The bad rap the Yellow Pages has is not earned. If you know how to use them, the Yellow Pages can be incredible!
Most advertisers have the vague notion that they want a response. That’s logical. “We want the phone to ring!” they say. But the way they go about it leaves a lot to be desired.
Exposed: The #1 Cardinal Sin of Print Advertising
The biggest mistake neophyte advertisers make is to assume that the theme of their ad should be: “Who we are, what we do, and how to reach us”. The second biggest error is not having a great headline. Here’s a clue: Your name and logo are not a headline. They are the least important things in your ad—until a person wants to call you and knows exactly why. At that moment, and not before, your company name and number become important.
The “name, rank and serial number” approach is wrong for any print ad, but especially the Yellow Pages, which is a “magic moment” medium. There is no other medium where people in need go to find an instant solution, ready to take buying action right away. If you could but understand the mindset of your prospect in their moment of need, you would dominate your heading year after year.
The Ultimate Secret To Acing The Yellow Pages
Now let me share with you a powerful secret that very few people in the marketing business understand. You may not believe it at first, but if you take it to heart, this secret could revolutionize your Yellow Pages response forever—and the rest of your direct response print ads too!
Here’s the secret: the Yellow Pages Is NOT A Visual Medium! (Huh?) Yes, really, no kidding.
But how can that be? Aren’t all ads supposed to look great and employ a lot of “white space”? Sorry to break it to you, but those are two of the big lies that agencies and graphic artists have been perpetuating for years, which have been consistently disproved by measuring response.
The Yellow Pages may be full of colour and pictures and maps and words. And yes, you have to LOOK at the page to read it, but it is not a visual medium. Let me offer you an analogy to explain:
Imagine going to a fancy restaurant and ordering supper. The waiter brings your order along with a picture of a beautiful meal, which looks even better than the one, you ordered. Which one would you want to eat?
The incorrect assumption everyone makes is that appearance counts for more than substance in the Yellow Pages. Anybody who tells you this does not understand the state of mind of your Yellow Pages prospect in need. The only time a prospect looks at your ad is when they are in dire need and ready to take action. They are not looking for pretty pictures.
With nothing but pretty pictures to choose from, your prospect will have to pick one. But, when there’s one good information ad, and several pretty pictures, the information ad will win, hands down, every time.
How To Double The Response To Your Yellow Pages Ad
You will double your response -- EASILY -- if you turn your ad into an information piece, or “advertorial”. Why? Because the person who is in distress wants information—all the credible information they can get their hands on. And, even more than that, you will stick out like a sore thumb. Your ad will jump off the page and it will look like an information piece, not a sales pitch. Everyone else is saying, “I’m the best!” and you are giving them precisely the information they crave. Who do you think they’ll want to talk to?
I have seen information ads multiply the response of image ads in the Yellow Pages on numerous occasions. In every case, the directory rep tried to talk my client out of running the ad. Don’t listen to them! Your directory sales rep is in the space selling business, not in the direct response business.
And one more thing: once you run your ad, try to resist the temptation to plaster the little “Let Your Fingers Do The Walking Stickers” on your vehicles and in your store window. Did you ever stop to think how foolish it is to invite your prospects and customers to go where your competitors are advertising?
10 Ways To Keep Visitors On Your Site Longer
The more time people spend at your web site, the more time you'll have to persuade them to buy your product or service. Below are ten powerful ways to keep visitors at your web site longer.
1. Provide your web site visitors with content they can't read anywhere else. People will stay longer at your web site to read the original content.
2. Remind your web site visitors they can print out your content. They may browse around your online store while it's printing.
3. Offer your web site visitors a freebie if they take the time to fill out your online survey. They'll be at the site longer and might buy something afterwards.
4. Offer your visitors free software that they can download right from your web site. While they are waiting they might read your ad.
5. Provide a huge online directory of information that your visitors could search. The directory must contain information your visitors would want.
6. Make sure all your web pages load fast or your visitors will leave fast. Time is precious; they won't waste it waiting for your site to load.
7. Tell your visitors what's offered at your web site at the very beginning. If people are confused about what's being offered they may leave too early.
8. Publish your web site professionally. People will get turned off and leave if they see a lot of spelling and grammar mistakes.
9. Make your site text easy to read. Most people won't strain their eyes trying to read text that is too small, light or bright.
10. Use headlines and sub headlines all over your your web site that will grab visitors attention. It will attract them to explore your web site longer.
1. Provide your web site visitors with content they can't read anywhere else. People will stay longer at your web site to read the original content.
2. Remind your web site visitors they can print out your content. They may browse around your online store while it's printing.
3. Offer your web site visitors a freebie if they take the time to fill out your online survey. They'll be at the site longer and might buy something afterwards.
4. Offer your visitors free software that they can download right from your web site. While they are waiting they might read your ad.
5. Provide a huge online directory of information that your visitors could search. The directory must contain information your visitors would want.
6. Make sure all your web pages load fast or your visitors will leave fast. Time is precious; they won't waste it waiting for your site to load.
7. Tell your visitors what's offered at your web site at the very beginning. If people are confused about what's being offered they may leave too early.
8. Publish your web site professionally. People will get turned off and leave if they see a lot of spelling and grammar mistakes.
9. Make your site text easy to read. Most people won't strain their eyes trying to read text that is too small, light or bright.
10. Use headlines and sub headlines all over your your web site that will grab visitors attention. It will attract them to explore your web site longer.
3 Effective Tactics Every Business Should Implement
Do you remember your first day as a business owner? You were probably just like the rest of us... pretty darned happy and bit on the proud side. Yeah, back then we thought we could conquer the world. Now we're too busy conquering our own little corner of the world to pay a lot of attention to the rest of the world... unless it's to learn a few tips from successful marketers just like us who have made it big. Tips just like these... that will apply to every market - regardless of the product or service - and are great motivators to try something new. Yeah, you never know when the next idea will be worth a million pounds!
1. Create a Special Offer
A special offer is exactly that... an offer that is special. Normally, customers would not be able to purchase this product or combination of products, and once the products are gone... sorry!
You don't have to go out and order a bunch of new products to put together a special offer. It don't take a whole lot... just use what you've got. Grab a few items that are related, group them together, discount the price, and your customers will be excited to be getting a good deal. Think about it from your standpoint... you've sold three or four items rather than one. Yeah, combination offers are winning deals for everyone!
2. Address the Small Customer Groups
Niche markets are everywhere, right under your nose! Within the customer audience that you serve right now are groups of people who share common traits. Think about it... maybe you have a group who speaks Spanish, a group of teens, and a group of middle class family men and women.
Evaluate these classes of people, and discover the unique needs and desires they share. That will set you up to customize your advertising campaign directly to them. It’s not hard to take your current ads, and make a few changes to adjust to the niches. They’ll be impressed that you understand THEM, and the increase in your profits will be the best thanks you can get.
3. Set Up a Winning Referral Program
Successful marketers develop the ability to turn their customers into advocates. Often, they don't even have to directly ask customers to refer them to others. Their willingness to go the extra wins customer loyalty and support. Naturally, satisfied customers refer their friends and family to the place that will take good care of them.
Quality service and is the first step toward referrals, but you can easily take it one step further. Studies show that every satisfied customer tells three people about you. What would happen with a little incentive added to the picture? Yeah, a lot more. Give customers who refer friends a thank you - whether it's a discount, special gift item, or a simple thank you card - and watch the referrals spiral!
You can get two birds with one stone by implementing customer surveys. A few quick questions about what the customer does and doesn't like about your product, followed by a request for the names and addresses of friends and family who would benefit from the product, and you're all set to go with the contact information of a prospective customer!
1. Create a Special Offer
A special offer is exactly that... an offer that is special. Normally, customers would not be able to purchase this product or combination of products, and once the products are gone... sorry!
You don't have to go out and order a bunch of new products to put together a special offer. It don't take a whole lot... just use what you've got. Grab a few items that are related, group them together, discount the price, and your customers will be excited to be getting a good deal. Think about it from your standpoint... you've sold three or four items rather than one. Yeah, combination offers are winning deals for everyone!
2. Address the Small Customer Groups
Niche markets are everywhere, right under your nose! Within the customer audience that you serve right now are groups of people who share common traits. Think about it... maybe you have a group who speaks Spanish, a group of teens, and a group of middle class family men and women.
Evaluate these classes of people, and discover the unique needs and desires they share. That will set you up to customize your advertising campaign directly to them. It’s not hard to take your current ads, and make a few changes to adjust to the niches. They’ll be impressed that you understand THEM, and the increase in your profits will be the best thanks you can get.
3. Set Up a Winning Referral Program
Successful marketers develop the ability to turn their customers into advocates. Often, they don't even have to directly ask customers to refer them to others. Their willingness to go the extra wins customer loyalty and support. Naturally, satisfied customers refer their friends and family to the place that will take good care of them.
Quality service and is the first step toward referrals, but you can easily take it one step further. Studies show that every satisfied customer tells three people about you. What would happen with a little incentive added to the picture? Yeah, a lot more. Give customers who refer friends a thank you - whether it's a discount, special gift item, or a simple thank you card - and watch the referrals spiral!
You can get two birds with one stone by implementing customer surveys. A few quick questions about what the customer does and doesn't like about your product, followed by a request for the names and addresses of friends and family who would benefit from the product, and you're all set to go with the contact information of a prospective customer!
Emerging Markets And The Importance Of Translating Your Business Message
Believe it or not, only 39.4% of the world’s population can understand the English language. What does this mean for the internet marketer? Basically, it means that you’re losing 60.6% of your audience.
Everyone who has an online business is delivering their message in English. Sales pages are written in English. Ebooks and special reports are written in English. Instruction manuals for scripts and software programs are written in English. Web pages are written in English. Links are written in English.
How can 60.6% of the world be able to understand any component of your marketing campaigns then?
The solution is simple, but it’s something that is not as widely implemented as much as one would expect. It’s translation. You have to translate the carriers of your business message in languages that other people from other cultures will be able to understand. This way, you’ll be able to conquer such segments of the market.
Translating your business messages into every known language in the world would be a logistical nightmare, however, not to mention expensive since you’ll be outsourcing the translation jobs (unless, of course, you’re multilingual master).
It will be best to focus on the language germane to some emerging markets, markets which are at the brink of a commercial online revolution. What are these markets?
- Japan. The Japanese market is a fast emerging power in internet marketing. People there are quickly discovering the earning potentials of the World Wide Web. The Japanese people are voracious feeders of knowledge. They want to gain every bit of information they can find. This makes them the perfect market for information products.
- China. The Chinese market is slowly opening its doors to the internet. Where once it was limited to the government-controlled intranet, China’s new open door policy is leading to a slow but certain entrance of Chinese players in internet marketing.
- Spain/Mexico/Portugal. Spanish is one of the oldest languages in the world, and around a quarter of the world’s population can understand the said language. Offering some translated pages and products in Spanish will help you corner this sizable market and get the head start on your competition.
It’s quite unbelievable to think that close to 95% of online businesses haven’t tapped into these emerging markets. They refuse to deliver their business messages in a language other than English, when such an approach is truly limiting their potential audience.
In an interview conducted by MarketingSherpa, one of the internet’s leading online business research firms, Peter Davis, owner and operator of www.tpp.com , admitted that his enterprise experienced a tremendous upswing ever since he offered his newsletter in the Chinese language. His business is engaged in the licensing of mobile software technology for handheld manufacturers, and seeing as how China is one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of handheld devices, he decided to translate his business messages in Chinese. As a result, his newsletter circulation increased by 47%. Currently, the Chinese version of his business’ newsletter account for 80% of the downloads.
The fact that business messages are rarely translated to a variety of languages should be a plus for your enterprise. Since no on
Everyone who has an online business is delivering their message in English. Sales pages are written in English. Ebooks and special reports are written in English. Instruction manuals for scripts and software programs are written in English. Web pages are written in English. Links are written in English.
How can 60.6% of the world be able to understand any component of your marketing campaigns then?
The solution is simple, but it’s something that is not as widely implemented as much as one would expect. It’s translation. You have to translate the carriers of your business message in languages that other people from other cultures will be able to understand. This way, you’ll be able to conquer such segments of the market.
Translating your business messages into every known language in the world would be a logistical nightmare, however, not to mention expensive since you’ll be outsourcing the translation jobs (unless, of course, you’re multilingual master).
It will be best to focus on the language germane to some emerging markets, markets which are at the brink of a commercial online revolution. What are these markets?
- Japan. The Japanese market is a fast emerging power in internet marketing. People there are quickly discovering the earning potentials of the World Wide Web. The Japanese people are voracious feeders of knowledge. They want to gain every bit of information they can find. This makes them the perfect market for information products.
- China. The Chinese market is slowly opening its doors to the internet. Where once it was limited to the government-controlled intranet, China’s new open door policy is leading to a slow but certain entrance of Chinese players in internet marketing.
- Spain/Mexico/Portugal. Spanish is one of the oldest languages in the world, and around a quarter of the world’s population can understand the said language. Offering some translated pages and products in Spanish will help you corner this sizable market and get the head start on your competition.
It’s quite unbelievable to think that close to 95% of online businesses haven’t tapped into these emerging markets. They refuse to deliver their business messages in a language other than English, when such an approach is truly limiting their potential audience.
In an interview conducted by MarketingSherpa, one of the internet’s leading online business research firms, Peter Davis, owner and operator of www.tpp.com , admitted that his enterprise experienced a tremendous upswing ever since he offered his newsletter in the Chinese language. His business is engaged in the licensing of mobile software technology for handheld manufacturers, and seeing as how China is one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of handheld devices, he decided to translate his business messages in Chinese. As a result, his newsletter circulation increased by 47%. Currently, the Chinese version of his business’ newsletter account for 80% of the downloads.
The fact that business messages are rarely translated to a variety of languages should be a plus for your enterprise. Since no on
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