“In Business” by Roland Millward

Good copywriting is vital for you to succeed with your sales letters, advertisements, web pages, news releases etc.

Here is a formula that will help you develop your material into something that will really work.

We will use the AIDA principle.

A: Attention
You need to capture your customers attention. Don’t write about how good you are. Write about something that will solve your customers problem or fulfill a need.

I: Interest
Once you have their attention it would be a shame to lose it! Keep their interest by adding relevant material that follows your opening lines. Show how you will solve that problem of fulfill that need.

D: Desire
Create or arouse in your customer Desire. Give them a powerful reason to buy your product or service.

Action:
Make sure you tell your customer what they have to do now. How do they order?

By using AIDA it will help you focus on your customer not you or your business. Customers are not really interested that your business has been operating for 30 years. They want a product or service. How will you supply it? How long you have been established and other such points can be tucked under logos and so forth but there is no need to promote that overtly.

If a person is looking for a plumber because they have a burst pipe they want to see things like: Call us anytime 24 hours a day – 7 days a week. We guarantee to be with you in 2 hours! Emergency telephone helpline! These are things that will solve their problem.

Sit down and write with specific problems and solutions in mind and target customers accordingly. Remember AIDA and you will find your copywriting will be greatly improved.

Some people are terrified of spiders! I think they are fascinating creatures and there is something we can learn from them when it comes to business.

One of the legends surrounding spiders is found in British history. It is the story of Robert the Bruce (b1274) who secured Scotland’s independence from England. It is said that on one occasion he was looking defeated he watched a spider trying to climb up one of its threads only to keep falling back when it nearly got to the top. Time and time again this spider tried until finally it got there. Robert the Bruce took this as a lesson not to give up and as a result he was successful in his aims.

Of course we can apply this lesson to many aspects of life and in business it is vital that when faced with problems we don’t give up but find ways to deal with the problems.

There are other lessons that we can learn from the spider. The spider works hard to build its web. We too need to work hard to build our business as there is “no easy button” quoting the entrepreneur Joel Comm. A web is made up of many fibers that when woven together becomes a strong net so that the spider can catch its flies. Our businesses need to be built with many elements that come together in an effective way in order to ‘catch’ our customers. It is good to constantly analyze our business model to make sure that we are providing our customers with what they want thus ensuring that the ‘woven web’ will catch them.

Next time you see a spider take a moment to reflect on this marvelous little creature and take a few lessons that you can use in your business.

With this recession beginning to take its toll now is the time to make sure that we really focus on our business and the services and goods that we provide.

The businesses that will survive will be very different from those that fail. This is not just in the sense of good financial management but in the way which they operate in the market place. Businesses that are middle of the road will certainly face severe problems. As a business owner / manager you will need to lift your business above mediocrity.

Your service and products will need to be the best – not the cheapest. The immediate reaction in a downturn is to simply cut prices. However cutting prices reduces profits and if a business makes a loss it is heading for disaster. Take a look at what you can do to improve service and sell products that people are willing to pay a fair price for without cutting into profits. Try and avoid simply competing on price alone. Look for ways that you can add value to your goods or services that will set you apart from nearly all of your competitors.

Look for all the advice that you can get and analyse your business plans and action immediately things that need adjusting.

Speed is essential in surviving. You must stay ahead of your competition. In a survey of what made the most successful entrepreneurs, it was discovered that it was the speed at how quickly they reacted and put plans into action that really made it for them. Do the same!

When you are selling a product there are many techniques that a salesperson can use. In fact there is no one single way to sell and you need to learn all the techniques that you can to be successful.

One way that I would like to write about today is the ‘puppy dog’ method.

Let me describe a situation. Let’s say you have kids and someone asks you to take a puppy home for a few days to look after it. The kids (and probably you too) fall in love with this little bundle of fun. Why he’s so cute!

Now what happens when after a few days you have to hand this bundle of joy back? Can you imagine the devatation in your household. How can you let this little fella go?

Now apply this technique to a product. Perhaps you sell large Plasma TV’s. Imagine you let someone have one on trial for a weekend. How would they feel when you came to collect it? Maybe they would decide there and then that no way are you taking this away … they want it …. why they need it!

Yes a short trial can be enough to convince the most hardened purchaser that they should buy this item. Remember the ‘puppy dog’ technique you could see those sales rise!

One of the best tools in business that was ever invented is the humble business card.

I have found that nothing can compare to it when you are in a person to person business. People like to do business with people and they love to have a reminder of you.

Many many years ago when I worked in a department store I decided to have my own business card printed (with my employers permission) as the store did not provide them.
Customers were not used to going into a store and having a card given them and they loved it.
My sales and those of the department that I worked in sky rocketed!

Whenever I can I make sure that my clients have plenty of business cards. Whenever I mail them I enclose 3 cards in the envelope and usually a note to say that they can be passed onto friends and family. I would not recommend giving more than 3 unless the client asks. This is because you don’t want to appear to be forcing them to distribute your cards but to make sure that they have enough for one or two people.

It is amazing how many referrals I get from this simple method.

Make sure that your business cards are of good quality and appearance. Quality business cards are not at all expensive these days and I can recommend Vistaprint for their quality and service.