Thread by @ComedicBizman

How I Got Into My Customer’s Bed & Wrote High Converting Sales Copy:

I love direct response. Started out as a copywriter. In the trenches. Problem was, I sucked. Bad. Yes I could write. But I couldn’t convert.

Till I did this…

(A THREAD)

But first, a little back story.

I’m not a slick talker or even an extrovert. But I’ve always been good selling one-to-one. It’s easy. Instead of viewing myself as a salesperson, I view myself as a doctor.

All I do is…

1. Listen
2. Find out the prospect’s symptoms
3. If my solution fits her needs, I prescribe it. And close the sale. If it doesn’t, I refer her to my competitor (and gain her trust for future dealings).

Simple, right?

It worked well.

But when I started writing copy...

I couldn’t do this… I wasn’t selling one-to-one anymore… I couldn’t feel my prospect’s pain… so I needed a new approach for getting into my market’s head…

And fast.

Cos it wouldn’t be long before client’s realized Tej was all talk, no results. So here’s what I did.

1. I shut my laptop. Went outside.

2. If I was selling a product to the mass market, I would hop on the city bus. With no destination in mind. And sit in the back. And watch people (creepy I know). And tell myself, “this is the market.”

3. I would see what they were wearing. What they were talking about. What problems they were voicing (if somebody was talking on the cell phone). And I would write down this intel.

4. Strike a conversation. Ask questions. Make friends. Be genuinely curious. And keep doing this until I found somebody who was my ideal customer (and represented the market at large).

5. Get this person’s name + get to know them (10-20 minute bus ride is all it would take)

6: Run home. Jump on Google. And find an image of someone who resembled this person.

7: Print it out. Tape it to my wall. And stick her name on it

8: Ignore everything. And write the copy as if I was just speaking to THIS person.

9. If i could convince this person, the rest of the market would buy because they were similar. And since I had interacted with this person in real life, I knew what made her tick. What type of headline would get her attention and what type of message would get her to buy.

10. Finish the letter and read it while asking: “Would this meet [person’s name] needs and get her to buy?” If yes, I knew I had a winner.

This is how I went from hearing “it ain’t converting man” to “Tej you got room for another project?! I’ll pay DOUBLE if I have to”

Similarly if I was writing a letter to the wealthy, I would drive around West-Vancouver (rich neighbourhood) until my “investigation” was complete.

I know @StartSellingSSS and @kobegatsby recommend forums and FB Groups and that’s great advice. I had never thought of that at the time (wish I had). But I did the above instead and it worked well.

Try it.

And get some fresh air…

And make some friends…

In the process.