"Headline" Review Please

NOT do it my way.

When I had my resume business I INSISTED that my clients create a NEW and separate resume for every job they applied to. Many people went across town to the guy who had the "one size fits all" resume service.

He did plenty good at his "in and out" resume service.

I worked with people start to finish, and in those ancient times I was charging 495 bux for resume/job finding service.

I made sure my clients understood the PURPOSE of the resume was to get an Interview, or at the very least a follow-up inquiry or name recognition.

99.95% of job seekers use a SHOTGUN approach, that is they send their ONE resume to a slew of prspective employers and HOPE they get into the I pile (Interview). Most don't.

Now Mitch, I'm getting there, bear with me.

During a 2.5 year period and as part of my job as a Job Developer for a county agency, I sent out over 200 SPECIFIC resumes (my own) to a wide variety of businesses. I had over a 65% success rate of getting an interview. The majority of these had requested a person have a degree as part of their background. Sometimes, degrees are required in certain jobs, other times, it is used as a qualifyer.

Well, even though I don't have a degree, about 33% of all the jobs I interviewed for were followed with an offer.

See, I was in the field every day getting jobs for people and working IN businesses to assist my clients.

Why was I able to do so well? And what has it got to do with your question?

It is my OPINION only that getting an Interview is a pretty easy thing to do if you know the MARKETING aspect. Job hunting is just like REMOTE DIRECT MARKETING, in fact, it is RDM.

The RESUME is the initial contact for many, and with a Marketing Cover Letter, you have a good chance of getting into the I pile.

Getting Interviews is the easy part, getting the JOB was the harder part.

The SECRET I used (and still do) is to know as much as I possibly can about the company/business/owner as I could.

MY competition (HA!) wouldn't go to that effort.

Right now, I'm working with a few restaurants on a project. Before I even approach them, I visit the restaurant as a customer. I do research into the owner, the manager, how long it's been around, who are it's customers.

I KNOW more about the restaurant than anyone but the owner. It gives me the LEVERAGE I need when presenting myself and ideas to them. It is NEVER ABOUT ME.

It is always about them.

It is always about them.

It is ALWAYS about them.

Consider this,

Dear Jane Smith,

You can transform your employees into highly productive results driven leaders in less than 90 days, guaranteed. Our employee productivity training program is guaranteed to ...(thunk, the wastbasket was empty)

to this;

Dear Jane Smith,

Your 74 employees work hard to produce your current annual revenue of 7.5 million dollars and XYZ has established itself as a key player in the widget industry. Imagine Ms. Smith if you could add an additional 7 employees at NO cost. Would your productivity go up with your profits?

Of course it would. But you don't have to add anyone because each of your current employees is worth at least 10% more productivity than they are currently producing.

Your competitor, the ABC Widget company has annual sales of 8.5 million and they have only 68 employees. You can use the same kind of leverage they do and see productivity increase along with your bottom line. Here's how;

**************

So, what I'm saying is that you shouldn't waste time looking for a ONE Size fits all hook, but focus in on those companies and businesses that you can really SERVE and begin to prepare a dossier on each and every one of them. Your local public library is a good place to start.

Know KEY personell, all the players in the company, and especially the person who is going to have to SELL this training to her boss.

There is ONE person you are going to have to sell, and that person is going to sell it to the company (president, owner, mgr) and you need to know who that KEY person is.

You need to know their competitors. Their place in the market. Who their customers are. You have to know THEM first and how your program will fit into their scheme of things.

Are they a young company? Mature? Growing (with a lot of pains)Downsizing? Is the management young, old, is it run by despots?

Arm yourself with this knowledge, then become a problem solving partner...not just another guy selling TRAINING.

That is what I'd get if I got one of your headlines. A sales pitch.

As a business owner, I'd want to know what you know about my needs, concerns, problems and exactly HOW you are going to HELP me solve them.

Getting an owner/mgr to CALL YOU, is next to impossible. You call them, do a follow-up. Do way beyond due diligence, and you'll get WAY BEYOND average results.

PERSONALIZE your sales presentation to match THEIR needs.

But, that is just my opinion.

Gordon Alexander

> Hey Guys,

> Could the group please give me some feedback
> on a possible headline for a sales letter
> i'm currently working on. It's for a
> business that provides training on employee
> productivity issues.
> The goal of the sales letter is to get
> business owners/managers to say "hey, I
> want to learn more" and give me a call.

> Here's 3 headline versions:

> "Transforming Individuals Into Highly
> Productive, Results Driven Leaders, In Less
> Than 60 Days.
> …..Results Guaranteed! "

> "Transforming Key Employees Into Highly
> Productive, Results Driven Leaders, In Less
> Than 60 Days.
> …..Results Guaranteed!"

> "Transforming Businesses Into Highly
> Productive, Results Driven Profit Centers,
> In Less Than 60 Days.
> …..Results Guaranteed! "

> Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

> Thanks

> Mitch