Use Magic Words to Improve your Sales

Copyright 2006 Peter Woodhead

This is the eigth article in a series of ten about advertising and marketing history.

1937  Another master wordsmith from yesteryear was Elmer Wheeler.

Elmer Wheeler was a marketer of pure genius and he knew that certain words produced vast increases in results over other, less effective wording.

In 1937 he wrote his:  "Tested Sentences That Sell".  An almost forgotten classic but probably one of the best books ever written on the subject.  And here is the story of how he did it.

Wheeler was an ad salesman for several newspapers and it all started big for him when he tried to convince retailers that an ad in his papers would drive people to their stores.  This, the retailers didn't doubt, but people just visiting their stores was not enough - they were not buying.

This still happens today.  People visit stores; receive direct mail; and log on to internet sites. But very few of them actually buy anything.

Probably because in the majority of cases the prospects are not given any reason to buy.

In bricks and mortar businesses this could be due to poor salesmanship.  In the case of direct mail and the internet it is more likely due to poor copy

After some careful analysis, Wheeler concluded that the reason people weren't buying in their stores was because the salespeople were not saying the right words.

This led Wheeler to set up his famous "Word Laboratories".  You may have heard the expression:  "Sell the sizzle not the steak."  Well, it was Wheeler who first coined that phrase and went on to write his first book: "Tested Sentences That Sell."

During 10 years of research, Wheeler tested over 105,000 words and phrases on more than 19 million people.  An incredible feat.  The results of which you can profit from today.

This truly is an incredible resource that can be blamed for helping many people turn their business round.  It belongs in anybody's library.

Wheeler found that you need to ask a question that customers cannot say "no" to.

Wheeler also invented what he called: "Wheeler Points." There are five of them.   So offer your customers something or something.  Not something or nothing.

All Wheeler's principles and tested results are adaptable to any business.

1940  Clyde Bedell, as well as being a super salesman, was a university lecturer.  He became so frustrated at not being able to find a suitable book on persuasive copy. So he decided to write his own.

“How to Write Advertising That Sells” became a best seller.

1940  James Webb Young published an entry every week in ‘Advertising Age’.  He later crammed all of these into a book called:  “The Diary of an Advertising Man.”

1945  The novel “The Hucksters” is released and is later turned into a movie.  This attacked the advertising industry and had a damaging effect.

1949  Doyle Dane and Bernbach is launched

1955  Leo Burnett introduces his ‘Marlboro Man’ ad.  The image of a cowboy changed the fortunes of this minor cigarette brand and made it into a big seller.

He is recognized as the man behind the most successful ad campaigns.

As well as the Marlboro Man he is famous for 'The Jolly Green Giant' 'The Pillsbury Doughboy' 'Tony the Tiger' and many more.

He was quoted as saying:

"Make it simple  Make it memorable  Make it inviting to look at  Make it fun to read."

Leo Burnett "invented" a marketing concept known as "inherent drama".  He reckoned that every product or service, no matter how boring, had an inherent quality.   Somebody must keep on buying them,  somebody must keep on making them, and it was this "inherent drama" that makes the product stand out.

Burnett believed that people are attracted to stories, they want to experience new characters; they want to read about mystery and romance and anything different.

Perhaps that's why he took a lot of his characters from history and folklore.  He knew what triggered his prospects' minds.

1957  Vance Packard’s “The Hidden Persuaders” becomes a best seller.  It is another seething attack on the advertising industry.

1960  Doyle Dane Bernbach’s “creative team” blends copywriting with art design (not normally common in the industry) and comes up with its “think small” campaign for Volkswagen.  A concept still going today.

1960  Rupert, Koenig and Lois is launched and in 1962 becomes the first agency to go public.

1961  Rosser Reeves, chairman of Ted Bates and Co. advertising agency, published his book:  "Reality of Advertising."

In this book he revealed a revolutionary new concept. Almost as revolutionary as John E. Kennedy's "Salesmanship-in-Print."

He showed the world a new technique for which made him famous.  He called it: "The Unique Selling Proposition" or USP.

Basically, your USP should clearly explain in simple language a single quality that your product, or service, has that makes it stand out against any competition.

Your USP needs to make it easier for your prospects to remember your advertising - because they only have to remember your one, strong claim.

1963  Clyde Bedell, due to popular demand wrote: "How to Convert White Space Into Advertising That Sells."

1964  Ogilvy, Benson and Mather merge with London based Mather and Crowther to form Ogilvy and Mather.

1965  Rosser Reeves resigns from Ted Bates at the age of 55

1966  Wells, Reid and Green founded.  Mary Wells becomes the first woman to be a director of a ad agency.

1970  Saatchi and Saatchi established in London

1986  Needham Harper, BBDO and Doyle Dane and Bernbach merge to create Omnicom Group and become the biggest agency in the world.

1987  Martin Sorrel’s WPP buys JWT in the very first hostile takeover

1988  WPP buys Ogilvy Group

1993  The Internet becomes commercially available and 5m users scramble to get online

1995  Saatchi and Saatchi is renamed Cordiant

1997   WPP merges JWT and O&M to form The Alliance to become the largest US media group with billings of $2 billion

1999  Advertising on the Internet reaches $2 billion

2003  An estimated $5 billion is spent on the Internet in advertising

http://admarket.sale

Your Greatest Marketing Assets

You might not think that you are a marketing and sales person, but if you own or work in a small business think again. When you're in business for yourself - whether you like it or not, feel like you're good at it or not - you are a marketing and sales person.

I tell my marketing clients and those that attend my various marketing presentations all the time that the two greatest assets you posses are your Attitude and Belief. When these are positive and show through your marketing and sales efforts, your results will increase dramatically.

Attitude: Be enthusiastic and passionate about your value proposition to the marketplace. You know that what you offer can make a difference and have an impact on your clients. When it comes to your own marketing, if you feel good about yourself and you have self-confidence because you are doing everything for the benefit of your clients, you'll become more attractive to prospective clients.

Belief: You don't have to have a degree in marketing to get great marketing results. But you do have to believe in yourself and your actions. I call it a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you believe that can't do something, you're right - you won't do it. On the other hand, if you believe that you can learn what it takes to get better marketing results you will.

If you're persistent in pursuing your business and your small business marketing with a positive attitude and belief that you can, sooner or later you'll find what works for you. You'll discover the marketing strategies and tactics that allow you to begin attracting attention and bringing in new clients consistently! I know because it's happening for me. http://admarket.sale

7 Ways To Advertise Your Business For Free

1. Free directories: directories are perfect for customers that are searching for a particular topic. What’s great about them is that you only have to post once and they are good for long periods of time. It saves a lot of your time when you don’t have to resubmit your information every week or every month. The bad news is most of your traffic won’t come from here. I still feel it is worth it to get your link out there. Just take one day and set it aside for posting to free directories. You won’t need to do it again for at least 6 months.

2. Classified Ads: These are great for work from home businesses. Think about it. Where do people go when they are looking for a job? That’s right-the classifieds. The only downside to classified ads is that you have to resubmit them quite frequently. Once you find which classifieds bring you the most traffic you can concentrate on them and weed the others out. So it is really more time consuming in the beginning, and doesn’t have to be later on when you get the hang of things.

3. Free article submissions/ezines: The best way to inform others about your product or service is to write an article about it. In your authors resource box, you can tell readers about yourself and where they can go to check out your product or service. This is also an excellent way to get free links to your site if you have one. There are a lot of webmasters out there who are looking for good articles they can post on their site. If they post yours, that is another site that is doing the advertising for you. All for free.

4. URL Submissions: Probably the quickest and easiest thing to do to advertise your site. Just type “Free URL submission” in your search engine. When you get a list just enter the URL you are promoting and click submit. That’s it. It only takes a few seconds and your done. Just set a day aside once every 3 months and do this.

5. Forum Posts: Put your product or service website in your signature file when you sign up on some forums. It will be displayed every time you make a post. Try to look for topics that you have some knowledge on, and can give a relevant answer too. Do not spam anyone, you will get kicked off the forum and you will get a bad reputation. Get involved asking and answering questions that pertain to your area of business. Forums are great because once you make a post it stays there forever. It will get moved to the archives eventually, but someone could still find it if they were searching the archives. Yes, there are many people who do.

6. Traffic Exchanges: Probably the most time consuming way to advertise for free, but definately the most effective. Most forums I have visited have said in many posts that they received a lot of their profit from traffic exchanges. If you don’t want to spend the time surfing for credits, you do have the option of buying them. I would look into a program that lets you surf multiple websites at once like crazy browser. There are others and they are free to download. That way you can just spend one hour a day and get all your surfing in at once.

7. News-groups: Become involved in a group that has to do with your kind of business. You can usually mail the group once per day, but I would encourage you to find something fresh to talk about each day. People will tune you out if they see the same message all the time. Remember to never Spam anyone. Only join groups with the same interests as yours. In other words, don’t sign up for a recipe swapping group when you are advertising shaving cream.