EnTrends

I recently dialed a wrong telephone number
and heard the following recorded message:

"Hi. You've reached Mike and Kathy. Who
are you and why do we care?"

It was immediately followed by the "beep"
signaling my opportunity to leave a
message. I obviously dialed the wrong
number so I hung up. But then I started
thinking about that abrupt message. That's
exactly what every potential customer
thinks when he or she is exposed to any
advertising message... "Who is this and
why do I care?"

DO YOU KNOW THE ANSWER?

How would you answer a prospective
customer who asked, "Who are you and
why should I care?" If you were the
prospect, would that answer increase or
decrease the desire to do business with
you?

Prospects may not ask you this question --
at least not in words that blunt. But they
are asking it, silently and unconsciously,
every time they see your ad, visit your

website or listen to your sales presentation.

You can increase the effectiveness of all
your advertising by automatically
answering it for them. It's actually a 2 part

question so we'll look at each part
separately.

PART 1: "WHO ARE YOU...?"

People only buy products and services
from companies and individuals they trust.
Part of that trust is the assurance that
you're capable of delivering the benefit
each customer expects in return for the

money he or she pays you.

The unspoken answer to "Who are you...?"
may be as simple as including a statement
like, "authorized distributor for ???" (the
name of a well-known company) in your ads
or promotional material. New distributors for
network marketing companies often use the
well-known corporate name of their company
to establish credibility for their business
opportunity offer. Opportunity seekers tend
to overlook the credentials of a novice
distributor when the opportunity is
supported by the resources of a well-known
large company.

TIP: Instead of listing professional
credentials or personal achievements,
convert them into benefits for your
customers. For example, prospects and
customers don't care that you were a top
producer in your organization last quarter.
They do care that you helped so many new
distributors just like them get off to a fast
start last quarter that their production made
you a top producer in your organization.

PART 2: "...AND WHY DO I CARE?"

People buy things because they expect to
gain something more valuable (to them) than
the money they spend to get it. What they
expect to gain is a BIG BENEFIT. That's why
they care -- IF they are the right prospects for
your product or service.

You control whether or not they're the right
prospects. How? By targeting your
advertising to reach prospects most likely

to have a strong need or desire for the
benefits provided by your product or service.
It's easy to capture the attention and interest
of prospective customers when they already
need or want the benefits you provide.

TIP: Be sure to promote the biggest single
benefit you offer

to prospects in your targeted market. If
you target several

different markets, determine the most
important benefit for

each and promote it in that market. The
big benefit may be

different for each market.

You may never be asked, "Who are you
and why do I care?" But

prospects and customers silently and
unconsciously ask it

every time they see your ad, visit your
website or listen to

your sales presentation. You'll see a
dramatic increase in

the results of any ad or promotion when
you automatically

give them the answer.

Bob Leduc retired from a 30 year career of
recruiting sales personnel and developing
sales leads. He is now a Sales Consultant.
Bob recently wrote a manual for small
business owners titled "How to Build
Your Small Business Fast With Simple
Postcards" and several other publications
to help small businesses grow and
prosper. For more information
mailto:BobLeduc@aol.com?subject=Post
cards Phone: (702) 658-1707 (After 10 AM
Pacific time) Or write: Bob Leduc, PO Box
33628, Las Vegas, NV 89133