August 2002 Track Selling Times Focus on the Professional
 Focus on the Professional -
"Rick Rhoads"
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(From August 2001 Track Selling Times)
Rick Rhoads is the founder of Rick Rhoads & Associates, which produces print and electronic marketing and sales materials for its clients. In business for sixteen years, you can learn more by calling Rick at (310) 559-9921.
You and I know how well the Track Selling System works when you're face-to-face with a prospect. How possible is it, however, for a sales professional to apply the concepts of the Track Selling System to their writing?
It's very possible and I strongly recommend sales professionals to consider the Track Selling process prior to writing a single word of any sales letter or marketing collateral. When you apply the concepts of Track Selling to writing any type of persuasive business communication, it works very well for the same reasons it works in face-to-face selling: it helps meet the buyer's needs.
What impact can this have?
Potential buyers don't want to read about your "extensive experience, personal attention" and other vague and abstract attributes. They want to read about what you're going to do for them. If you can convey, in a compelling way, what you're going to do for them, your marketing material will stand out from those of your competitors. And when your material stands out, you're more likely to win-over the prospect.
In a utopia, your sales writing alone would sell your product or service. In reality, however, your objective is to get in front of the prospect. Remember, you are hoping to peak his or her interest to hear and see more. You do this by writing just enough, and leaving the rest in reserve.
What suggestions do you have?
1. Listen to yourself.
When you're in front of a potential buyer, you tell great stories. You'll have much good material to use that's not sterile. An easy way to help write your piece is to use the same words and emotions you use when talking to a prospect in person. Listen to what you're saying the next time you meet with someone. People say wonderful things about their products and services, the essence of which you want to capture for your written material. However, when the same salesperson sits down to a computer all that flies out the window - pun intended - and lifeless, formalistic copy appears. Listen to yourself, and then write so as to "tell it like it is."
2. Use stories that illustrate your points.
At every opportunity, refer to satisfied clients who were in a similar position and 'show' how you helped them achieve the desired result. The value of third party endorsements, such as testimonials, lie in their credibility. The thinking in your prospects mind goes, "If it worked for them, it can work for me."
3. As taught in the Track Selling System workshop, you must list the benefits and not just the features.
Follow up that, "It's 50 percent faster than the competitions..." with the benefit this specific person cares about. This could be, "...which means you'll have more time to spend golfing, shopping, etc."
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