Bringing recruiting and product sales online is an important next step for many network marketers. Others who are already here share a common concern with those just arrived:
“What am I doing wrong? Why aren’t my ______ (ads, videos, lead capture pages, sales pages) working?”
Of course there’s no “one size fits all” answer to that question. But I can tell you the Number 1 problem in online copy for network marketers:
They start where THEY want to start… instead of starting where the CUSTOMER IS.
If you have this problem, and you fix it, your lead generation and sales conversions will skyrocket!
In this blog post, I will tell you how to solve it. This is one of my favorite subjects. In fact, in The Ultimate Copywriting Course, I share 6 simple secrets to put the power of copywriting in the palm of your hand… and the first one is: Start Where Your Customer Is!
Now what does this mean?
Well, it’s the marketing equivalent of walking a mile in the other person’s moccasins. It means: Instead of looking at your opportunity or your product, or service, from YOUR point of view, look at it the way your prospect would look at it…
… if they had never heard of it before!
This means getting into your prospect’s thinking by understand what their life is like, what frustrates them, what their secret desires are, what their fears are, and how they think about things… which would be different, maybe, than you do. It might even be different than they would after they know about what you have to offer and become a part of it, or start using it!
How do you figure out “where your prospect is?”
It’s actually very simple. You simply have to pay attention to a few things most people don’t usually pay attention to.
The next time you are making a presentation, in person or over the phone, listen carefully to the questions people ask and the comments they make.
If someone says, “I’m homeschooling my kids and I want something I can do from home and I can use to teach my children about being an entrepreneur,” for example, think back. Have you ever heard that before?
Especially, early on in a relationship?
Some opportunities and some products fit that need well. Others don’t.
If yours does… and you’ve heard that same statement (or a question asking if the person can stay at home and how appropriate would it be to involve their children in the business), that should give you a pretty good idea of what’s on the minds of a lot of your prospects.
See? That wasn’t so hard.
But it did require you to think about casual sales conversations in a new way. Like your own personal market research.
The great thing about this is you can take this information and make it part of your marketing message easily and without a lot of cost.
Let’s say you have a video on your website. And let’s also say you sell a great nutritional supplement, an antioxidant that science has proven will strengthen the immune system.
In the past, you might have started your video, (if you were me),
“Hi, I’m David Garfinkel. If you would like greater health for yourself and your family, with a stronger immune system and an overall better feeling of well being, I have some important news for you… ”
However, now you know that, while people may ULTIMATELY buy your product because of the health benefits of antioxidants, talking about that FIRST would violate the rule: “Start where your prospect is.”
So, you could start this way instead:
“Hi, I’m David Garfinkel. If you’re like a lot of my friends, your family is important to you and you may be interested in opportunities that allow you to stay at home and even run a home-based business where you can involve your kids.
“In fact, some of my best distributors homeschool their kids and use what I’m about to tell you about as a very important part of their ‘real-world’ education!
“Now hang on because I’ll tell you more about how that works, but first let me say that I’m sure your family’s health is important to you…. ”
… and then, continue with the health benefits of anti-oxidants.
Just by starting your marketing messages “where the prospect is” can make a world of difference in the conversion and lead generation results in your business.
And you don’t have to limit this to videos, of course. You can use the same idea with:
– articles in social media
– pay-per-click advertising
– blog posts
– lead capture pages
– sales pages
and every other form of marketing you use.
I have helped people completely transform their businesses, in very short periods of time, simply by changing the point of view from what’s on THEIR minds, to what’s on their PROSPECTS’ minds.
It’s a very elite group, those people I have helped.
Would you like to join them?
It’s simple, and all you have to do is start thinking a little differently, and change the beginning of your marketing messages to follow.
Try it. It’s easy, and it can make a world of difference in your business!
David Garfinkel
Author of Advertising Headlines That Make You Rich
David Garfinkel is founder of Explosive Growth Business Coaching and the author of The Ultimate Copywriting Crash Course. You can find out more at https://ultimatecopywritingcrashcourse.com
Hi David, I have taken you copy writing coarse and found it very helpful.Your advise in this post is very useful. One of the biggest challenges is knowing where to begin.Thanks for the tip. I look forward to hearing more of you advise here at Renegade Professional.
This was one of the best copyrighting courses I’ve ever taken. It’s done wonders for my ads and writing style.
Every time I write a blog post I’m always thinking about the tips and techniques I learned from this course.
Excellent thoughts, David. I haven’t heard this explained in such an uncomplicated way before. Thanks for your take on this!
By the way, the link at the very bottom isn’t working….
I hope many in the Renegade community will take the time to read this post.
I also have taken your copywriting course and highly recommend it. Your article above is a good reminder of how important copywriting is to being successful on or off line. Appreciate you sharing this info.
I bought your course and completely forgot about it!! OMG! I’m going to dive in today….
Ok, really.. am I the ONLY one who buys a course and gets busy and forgets about it… or who buys a course and then doesn’t have time to check it out… I’m just being real here… and thanks Ann for sending this email out to everyone… todays my day with David :).
Pam and Kevin, thanks for the kind words! Glad the course has been helpful to you.
And Lisa, thanks for your kind words too, and for alerting us to the bad link. We fixed it pronto and it’s working now…
David
David,
Thank you so much for sharing this post with everyone. I have been a long time fan and student of yours under the radar..hee.hee.
Thanks for showing up and being the leader you are.
~Josh Boxer
I appreciated your post this morning. It came right at a time when I was feeling a little STUCK, and I now feel much better about my article writing and blog posts.
Thank you David!
~Terri Rau
Hi David
I loved your course. especially the part about getting into the head of your prospect!
Tania
What a great reminder on how you need to connect with people right out of the gate in all your marketing mediums!
It’s a message I drive home a lot with my coaching clients who are learning marketing funnel creation, driving traffic and conversion.
John
I’ve taken your course, and it was very good, however what you said today spoke to me in a way that really made sense. I’m going to go back over the material again. Thank you David.
Bonnie Wilson
So simple, yet so appropriate, thank you David. So often as we learn and get excited about our opportunity we forget where the client’s mindset is.
Hi
Very good information, thank you so much. Enjoy the testimonials too. I would really like to hear from people who have used your guidance and whose results have increased measurably. Thanks
Thanks for the reminder David. I took a course with John Carlton and you, and yet, I really needed your reminder to “get inside my prospects head”. You’ve made it seem so easy, the way you said it here David. I guess it is easy!
You pop up just when I need to have a refresher. thanks David. I needed to be reminded that it all starts with where our target market is.
That’s really great advice David.
Now I thought I’ve been doing that for the most part but I’ll make sure to think on it more and be sure.
I am in the niche market of people who are looking for a simple way to MAKE$ from home and learn marketing.
Big niche I know.
So when I post I’ve always asked myself…will this help the masses who need our help?
Kind of what you say I think but makes me think on it.
Guys, you see this is a very crucial point: This focus on Customer, on his/her needs, where she/him is coming from.
It takes understanding who is your customer, who is your marketing niche… Renegade Professional taught me very well at that point. It will do it for you, guys, too .
I love this building up knowledge, thank you Ann, Mike, thank you, David.
So simple yet so provocative. I needed to be reminded of the importance of always keeping the needs of your prospect at the forefront!
Thanks for the great advice and the content of your course is fantastic and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to get a quick overview of copywriting!
Thanks you David for that timely information. Learning to write great ad copy for articles and video’s are a must in the internet marketing business. I recently found that out first hand with ad on Face Book that didn’t do well at all. I am looking forward to taking your course.
Carneal Harris
Thank you for sharing the post David. This is the place I’m at right now. Thank you to Anne for sharing your post.
Jenn
Great point David and a very important one.
I have been coaching many Renegade members since last July and before anyone signs up for my coaching program at http://RenegadeProfessionalHelp.com I look over all of their content first and them talk with them about it.
In most every case, the point you make here is what I see them doing that is one of the main things causing them to have low to no results.
Once I point it out to them, it is like the lights were turned on and they see it right away. In just a few months of coaching them it is like night and day in how well thier writing skills have improved.
Thanks for pointing this out here, I believe it can help many who get just this one point from you. It is always about the other person more than it is about ourself. If we write with that in mind, we can’t do wrong.
Bob Andolina
I still on the spot
you have to improve your, website and customer needs, all this u have to include in yr website. Then it is easy for all the customers to view yr website.
Thanks David you over delivered once again.
I particularly like how just following your opening paragraph (in your second example)you held your reader at bay by saying more on that later.
What a great strategy to keep them reading on to get to your most wanted response.
I have noticed Ann doing this more frequently in her e-mails. What a great student she is!
We as marketers are so focused on trying to gay our prospects to see our point of view… To see things OUR way that the obvious is over looked. Our upline mentor speak nothing of considering the driving thoughts behind our prospect event looking at our business as a solution for. Much less meeting our prospective clients where they are in their heart and mind.
Yesterday I watched the first video of Frank kerns Core Influence. The exercise that followed was to create the person who you are talking nd marketing to as a profile.
It was AMAZING when he talked about connecting with others based on the mutual core values you share. Its been the cause of hundreds for millions in sales all because buyers could easily tell If the seller had their best interest at heart on a subconscious level.
I would love to share the free link with the community but I’m writing from my blackberry and the link isn’t handy. However, I will posted it in my fan page yesterday and you can find it: http://www.Facebook.com/SavvyBusinessMom.
Enjoy!
Such simple things and yet so many of us (I am talking about me) never stop to think about.
Thanks for making me think, David.
Ana/YourNetBiz
David,
I agree completely with you that you must always keep your mindset as theirs. Always remember in the back of your mind what it was you were thinking and questioning when you started out.
Makes Perfect Sense David – another blinding flash of the obvious. Just serves to underpin the fact that to be successful online we have to be problem solvers for our clients.
Thanks, Derek
“listen carefully to the questions people ask and the comments they make.”
This is the key to all content creation. If you look in the right places and actually LISTEN when you’re on a call (even if you’re not the one doing the presenting) you’ll have a never ending supply of content ideas.
Live Your Dreams!
ShellyB
Excellent information you have shared with us David! You always over deliver! =)
David,
you are so correct in telling us to put the customer wants and needs first. Solve their problem.
I am still working to attract customers to my site. hope these tips will help.
A great article. I have been thinking a lot about the concept of ‘start where the prospect is’ so to find your post and read more on the subject is great. Thanks.