Advertising Is Just Salesmanship Multiplied
Your ads should act like an army of tiny salespeople. Think about it this way. If you run a radio ad that's heard by 50,000 people, that's 50,000 chances to give a sales presentation. It's not some big, nebulous blob of people; it's 50,000 separate individuals all hearing your ad in a "one-on-one" communication. Now think about this: if you had a chance to give a 60-second sales presentation 50,000 times to 50,000 individuals, what would you say to them in that minute to give the most information, to build the most confidence and the best case, and to lower the risk of finding out more? What would you say if you were there - in person? Would you just say "we exist"... come buy from us for no justifiable, rational reason?
Of course not! But the sad fact is most advertising you see and hear does nothing to build confidence. Not one advertisement in a hundred presents any kind of a case for a product - instead, most ads carelessly rattle off features and benefits that serve more to proclaim "WE EXIST!" than to give a justifiable, rational reason why someone would want to do business with you.
HERE-WE-ARE-SO-BUY-FROM-US
A good example of this sort of advertising is the yellow pages. Here's a quick exercise for you: Flip the yellow pages open to any given classification. Take moving companies for instance. Here's what they all say in our book: "Free estimates, packaging available, guaranteed pick up and delivery dates, local & long distance." Every single ad says, plus or minus 10%, exactly - yes exactly - the same thing. It's impossible for a prospect to make an intelligent decision about who to call based on any criteria other than who's got the prettiest or biggest or most colorful ad. The prospect doesn't have the ability to determine if any of the products or any of the services are any better or any different than any of the competitors.
This situation is generally true for any medium. But realize, this presents a tremendous opportunity for you - that is, if you're the only one who knows how to exploit this opportunity. Advertising should be salesmanship multiplied. All that means is that your advertisements should make a case for your product or service just the same as a salesman would in a face-to-face selling situation. The only difference is that your ads can cover more territory... a lot more. Think of your advertisements as an army of tiny salesmen. You personally couldn't give a sales presentation to 50,000 individuals, but you can let your army of tiny salesmen - the advertisements - present the same compelling message that you would in person.
So here's the acid test: If you were talking live to a hot prospect, would you say the same thing your current advertisements say to convince him to buy from you? Or would you say something else instead? If you'd say something else, then you need to rethink your advertising strategy. When somebody is considering buying something, the one thing they want is INFORMATION. Useful, helpful, no-bull information. That's why people are so resistant to the sales process. They expect the salesman to say whatever it takes to get the sale. People are more hands-off now. They want to gather information themselves. The more information you can give them in your advertisements, the better your chance to generate action. Make your advertisements work on straight commission, just like you would a regular salesman. If the ads can't justify their own cost, then Fire Them!
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Advertising Is Just Salesmanship Multiplied - Adult B2B Marketing Tip
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