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-   -   Ah yes. Intent. Purpose. Action and adjustment. (http://www.sowpub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10327)

GordonJ March 10, 2019 03:44 PM

Ah yes. Intent. Purpose. Action and adjustment.
 
During my Sunday morning rounds I stopped briefly at Facebook, checked out my lottery group and a few other marketing groups, and the marketplace. And Cult of Copy Copywriting group. When it was a smaller group, and in the early days, a lot of great stuff. Just my opinion, but is has suffered from growing pains (great for the owner). Anyhow,

today was the typical what books to read post, and one guy offered up some non copywriting books which he claims has helped him.

My opinion, all good copywriters are avid readers, and read across many genres.

I responded with this:

It may have been timing, but when I read these 3 books, volcanic epiphanies exploded my understanding of people:

THE SALE BEGINS WHEN THE CUSTOMER SAYS NO by Elmer G. Leterman.

TESTED SENTENCES THAT SELL by Elmer Wheeler (and his follow up SIZZLEMANSHIP)

THE MAGIC POWER OF EMOTIONAL APPEAL by Roy Garn.

IF copywriting is salesmanship in print, then understanding how great salespeople do it might provide keen insights, it did for me. I was 11 when I first read them.


New people here may not know that Dien and I are rabid Elmer Wheeler fans. Great stuff, and a writer of many different books from diet to travel.

Most copywriting books are about methods and techniques, but don't teach foundational ideas.

And most newer copywriters struggle because they lack the basics of what makes people do what they do?

I learned great foundation lessons when I was 10 years old. Selling flowers door to door and being on the spot mentored by a professional salesman who would lend me the Elmers' books mentioned above.

I had just been told NO by dozens of people, and then some said YES when I used my MAGIC words on them (Spiders, Snakes and Mice).

So the homework I was sent home with was very fresh in my young mind. I had just witnessed WORDS transform people right in front of my eyes. It was magical.

Not long after this, I discovered the Roy Garn work, which I've talked about before and there is even a SowPubber who has or is working on a report/book about the Fatal Four updated.

The basic things to take away from these 3 books are:

People are PREOCCUPIED. Garn gives us the Fatal Four, Maslow gives us the Pyramid.

Leterman gives us the concept of knee jerk NO as an almost automatic reaction to any sales approach. How many of us have said, "just looking" when approached by a sales person?

And Wheeler gives us TESTED sentences, magic WORDS that have impact.

Today, I am communicating with 4 people who have something to sell, and all of them MAY have a great product/service, but NONE of them are able to walk in the shoes of their would be customers.

Which is JOB ONE, of any good salesperson or direct response copy writer.

I think we all KNOW more than we use. We tend to forget, or don't recall, or simply ignore the many lessons we have learned over the years and don't have them at the ready, at our fingertips or on the tips of our tongue BECAUSE we don't make a conscious effort to do so.

I like SWITCH WORDS, again, a subject we've dealt with here, and one which some of you have written and studied about.

When you organize your experiences into areas which can be easily accessed with a simple combination of TRIGGER words, then a lifetime of learning avails itself to the moment of need.

TOGETHER, they serve you well.

Cryptic as usual,

GordonJ


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