Sales Come First

I wanted to talk about an advanced copywriting strategy in this article because it’s something that either gets missed or done incorrectly.

It’s called a repelling strategy. We know you’ve got to attract the right people to you but you also have to repel the wrong ones too. For example, if you run a landscaping business and you only want to do landscaping with native plants and trees only then there are two things we want to do.

First, we want to attract people who want native gardens, and second we want to repel people who want other types of gardens.

You see by repelling people who want non-native gardens you send the message out to them that you don’t want them to call. You don’t talk about their type of garden and you make it clear that you are not the business for them. Not only do you stop them calling, wasting your time but you create an even bigger bond with the people who do have native gardens.

Here’s a simple strategy I saw recently. It was an ad for a builder who referred to themselves as the ‘Steep Block Specialists’. Now, if I had a steep block I’d call these guys for sure.

But if I had a flat block I wouldn’t even bother. And so they don’t get hassled by me, because they aren’t interested in my flat block. So they’re both attracting their ideal client, and repelling the ones they don’t want. They’re not so stupid as to simply hang out a ‘Builder’ sign, and then telling people what they do once they come in. They clearly don’t want to waste time doing this, and want to get their target clients from the start.

The language you use is important too. For example if you want to target people with money you use words like ‘exclusive’ and ‘deserve’ and ‘reassuringly expensive’. People without money will shy away from these words. They prefer words like ‘cheap’ and ‘cut price’ and ‘bargain’. I don’t mean to sound snobby or insensitive here. In fact, I write sales copy using both types of words for different audiences. But these word choices not only bond you with your ideal client, they repel the clients who aren’t your target market too.

To put this into action, write down a list of things you know about your ideal prospect. What motivates them? What are their fears and their dreams? What words and language do they use?

Then write down all the qualities you DON’T want in your prospects. What’s their mentality? Budget? What do they want out of your type of product or service?

Then grab a copy of your marketing materials and see if you’re targeting your ideal prospects while repelling the rest. Make it clear who you want, and who you don’t want.

Another example might be the accountant who specialises in property investors. They could say “We only deal with property investors. Sure, if you haven’t got any investment properties we could still help you, but honestly you’re better off with someone else.”

Next week I’m going to tell you about the World Cycling Championships in my home city, and why a whole lot of businesses who should be seeing dollar signs can’t get over their old, outdated ideas. They’ll lose a lot of money and it’ll be their own fault. It’s a real lesson in good old fashioned marketing.

All the best,

Hugh

www.salescomefirst.com

<Are you looking for a copywriter for your next project? Contact Hugh at www.salescomefirst.com to discuss your needs>