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Want a better bottom line? Start with a better…
The #1 rule of marketing is DON’T BE BORING!
The #1 thing we—and our prospects—process is the headline or our opening line on the phone or our greeting at a trade show or networking event or how we approach the prospect when they walk into the store. You are literally betting your paycheck that how you open is good enough to make the sale. (Remember that “first impression” cliche? It’s real.)
SIDEBAR: You’ll master this in The Art Of The Close. Save yourself $200 by enrolling today here.)
In marketing, the purpose of the headline is to get the prospect
to NOT delete your email,
to NOT throw away your letter,
to NOT turn the page in the magazine or newspaper.
Once you hopped that tall hurdle, the next purpose of your headline is to get them to read the first sentence.
The purpose of the first sentence is to get them to read the second. (See where I’m going here?)
You do all of this by starting with the end in mind.
In sales and marketing the end you have in mind is your CTA – Call To Action.
It’s the entire reason you are sending out your content. What do you want the reader to do?
Call the office for a free consultation?
Call an 800 number to listen to a free message?
Text in for a digital coupon?
Opt-in on your website for a free report?
Share the content on social media?
The CTA needs to be obvious and easy.
Assume the reader is…
on the couch,
wrapped warmly in a Snuggie,
with Fido at their feet,
a baby sleeping on their lap,
a warm drink on the end table next to them,
“America’s Funniest Home Videos” is on the TV,
their bestest friend just shared a dancing cat video on Facebook,
And you ask them to call / text / print a coupon / opt-in on your site.
Is your content good enough to get them to move?
Is your headline good enough to get them even begin?
As I mentioned above, I’ll be speaking March 27th at Social Media Marketing World on “The Art Of The Close: 7 Social Media Sales Success Secrets.”
In preparation for that they asked me to write an article on my favorite social media tool that I’ve run across recently. As a reader of The Weekly Whisper you get to see it early and it pertains to this week’s Whisper.
The tool is “Portent’s Content Idea Generator.”
It’s a simple and free tool that helps you create snappy headlines. For instance, I just entered the word “sales training” and it gave me:
“16 Things About Sales Training Your Kids Don’t Want You To Know”
That one is “so-so” so I hit the refresh button and got:
“Why Sales Training is Scarier than Dating Taylor Swift.”
Being one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I hit refresh again and was rewarded with this little gem:
“Why No One Talks About Sales Training Anymore.”
(I am not making this up. Those are the first three it gave me.)
Now because you are a wise reader of The Weekly Whisper and are smarter than the average bear (and are not yet in your Snuggie) I am going to leave you with two Calls-To-Action.
Use the idea generator this weekend to create 100 great headlines for ALL of your content including social media updates, emails, direct mail, even opening lines when you meet with prospects in person.
Check out the new video I put up at The Art Of The Close and enroll before the price goes up. You’ll have more fun than dating Taylor Swift and your bottom line will be truly fine in no time.
If you need more help growing your sales, check out the following resources scattered around this site and a few others I operate, such as:
Good Selling,
Image Credit: “Writer’s Block II” by Drew Coffman