The key to writing a great headline. And on getting over your fear of selling.
“Need more online course sales?”
“Need more SAAS sales?”
Marketers tend to forget the key to a great hook or headline is to enter the conversation currently going on inside the prospect’s mind. People got problems. The ones you solve are the ones you write headlines and hooks to. This is tougher than you might think because it’s so hard to stand out today. You need to be on your game and really think about what the key problem your prospects are having. What is their deepest, unmet need right now? What do they need the most? What’s at their top of mind that is not solved? Write to that. Sell to that. Market to that. Get after that problem for them. For example, if I need more course sales in the online space, a simple headline grabber would be, “Need more course sales?” Or, if I think I have a traffic problems for my website to drive more qualified leads to, it would be, “Need more targeted traffic to your web site?” Both of these examples nail the thing going on inside the prospect’s mind. Yes, they need more course sales! Yes, they need more targeted traffic driving to their web site.
It’s hard to hook people these days because of social feeds and the incessant chatter going on inside our heads and online. We are more distracted than ever. In fact, today, a superpower is the ability to focus on a single project for a long period of time. This is why our headlines and hooks need to be more attention grabbing and keen than ever. Highly targeted, highly specific. And a great way to hook somebody is to ask them a question that is searing their minds. It stops them in their tracks. Makes them think. And maybe click. Which is what we’re trying to do here: get them to take action.
Your hook need not be complicated. The simpler, the better. In fact, the simpler the giveaway after the click, the better. A quick course, webinar, even a tiny PDF cheat sheet or checklist works. The point is to make it valuable, fast, efficient, and effective enough to get them on your list so you can provide more value. And value is everything for your prospects and customers. If they do not perceive the value, they’re gone. They will not stick around. We have to overdeliver for our customers. Giving them more than they need. Way more. There has never been a better time to be more generous and giving to those you seek to serve. Who can be the most generous wins. Most generous offer wins. Most generous value wins. Most generous community wins. Give. Give. Give. Build the reputation of generosity with your customers and you’ll always win. Blow them away with generosity and giving.
This generosity doesn’t have to be just money or buying them thing. If you’re just starting out, your time and attention and 100% focus on them is a fabulous gift! So is your curiosity about them and their problems. Even if you don’t have all the answers, you can show them you care through your curiosity and questions about them. Remember: people love to talk about themselves and their stuff. If you listen to them, really listen to them, you can help them make connections to the solutions to their problems. And then you’ve just provided value to them that is wonderful. Sometimes people just need to hear themselves think through their problems out loud with someone else, and then they can coach themselves to the solution. It’s a beautiful thing. You helped them through active listening, asking questions, going further, asking more, being more curious, and watching them find the solution for themselves. That is modern day professional coaching. You don’t give them the answer. You help them come to their own answers. This is a fabulous way to provide value. See, it is not just about money. Your attention and focus and curiosity about your customer are fabulous gifts to give. 🎁 People won’t care what you know until they know for sure that you care about them and their stuff. Nobody cares what you want. They only care about what they want. And what they want is their problem solved.
The best leads into a sales conversation are questions. Targeted questions about them, their stuff, their problems, their needs, their world, what’s not working for them, what a big win for them is, where they see themselves going, what an ideal Promised Land looks like for them. Your questions are designed to get them thinking about what they’re already thinking about. This gets them to think that you already know them even if you just met them. This is not manipulation. This is seeking understanding first. This is curiosity about them. This is great marketing because it gets them onto your side. We want to do business with people we know, like and trust. This builds early know, like and trust factors. And then we follow up with value. Always with value about them. We build up from there. Constantly promoting valuable content to them: trainings, courses, community involvement, in person events, further expertise, certifications. Always something more to keep in front of them. There is always a next for our customers.
Curiosity is the superpower of the sales and marketing pro. You become known by the questions you ask. Focus on asking better questions about them, about their stuff, about their problems, about their goals, about their experiences, about where they want to be. People will be blown away that you asked — /and actually listened./ Nobody feels heard today. Nobody feels heard because nobody is paying much attention to anyone these days. We’re too busy seeking attention and trying to get people to pay attention to us or comparing ourselves to others. With this indulgence, the person who actually listens and asks questions wins. Curiosity wins. Making people feel heard wins. Curious leaders win. If you want to sell more, ask and listen more.
## Be proud of what you’ve got on offer.
Be proud of what you’ve got on offer. What you have on offer should make you beaming with pride to offer it to the market to solve their problems. Be bold and excited in your pitch. Make it be like the most important thing you’ve ever wanted to have on offer. Make it be like you feel bad if they didn’t take you up on it because you believe it will help them so much. 100% belief in what you sell is vital! You must believe in yourself and you must believe in what you sell. Otherwise, you won’t have the confidence to sell it. And you must be excited for what you have to offer! No one will be as excited as you are. Transfer that excitement to your prospects through your pitch. Excited people buy!
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