Dear Friend,

You #1 weapon in advertising will always be...

Superior Salesmanship.

I am not a born salesman.

If you know my story, I didnt even have a word of the English language on my lips when I first moved to North America. (Even now, my spoken English is not all that great and it comes with an accent that would put Arnold Schwarzenegger or Jackie Chan to shame.)

No, I wasn't born to sell. I had to learn selling... the HARD way: making embarrassing mistakes, blowing deals right and left, losing clients... and going to outrageous extremes trying to identify the world-class salesmen who would teach me the way to do things right.

Well, it's taken a few years... quite a few years, I'll admit, but now I've identified the "tricks of the trade" of selling.

What Took Me Years Will Be Yours In 3 Minutes Flat!

Tricks of the Trade #1 - People dont like to be sold

That's right! Although every year, trillions of dollars worth of goods and services are bought and sold -- billions through the mail alone -- people actually dont like the IDEA of being sold.

What they DO like is the idea of OWNING the product, or taking advantage of the service that is being sold.

Look at the people in your own life -- friends, family, or business colleagues. Many of them, no doubt, love to buy things. (My girlfriend has a black belt in shopping) But I'll bet that none of them like to be sold.

In fact, with most people, if you try to sell them something, they'll become resistant. It's a natural response to perceived pressure.

In fact, selling may turn-off a prospect who was ready to buy. So if you can't SELL, what you can do is TELL. In order to tell you about my product or service:

• I get your attention...

• I build rapport with you...

• I explain whats in it for you...

• I tempt you by appealing to your emotions...

• I create a verbal picture that teases your desires...

• I demonstrate how my stuff can easily solve your problems...

• I can prove to you that therere a lot people just like you who have bought and are very happy with my stuff...

• I make you an absolutely irresistible offer...

• I describe a deal where you risk nothing, and yet stand to gain a great deal...

• I handle every single one of your objections...

This is exactly what you've gotta do when youre writing a sales letter. Dont apply pressure and dont bully your prospect with force. Use a little finesse instead. Don't force it -- romance the hell out of it.

If you TELL you, I don't have to SELL you... you'll sell yourself!

(And thats killer salesmanship, my friend!)

Tricks of the Trade #2 - Hit Em Where It Hurts:

With each sales pitch you create, you must focus on the need or desire that your product will satisfy.

If we only buy what we NEED, therell be No Rolex, No BMW, No Mercedes, No Botox, and definitely NO Starbucks coffee. We certainly dont NEED any of that stuff, but we WANT them!

Heres what most people are looking for in one way or another:

• More money

• More free time

• More respect

• Better physical health

• Better mental health

• Less stress

Remember, people buy what they WANT, not what they NEED.

Tricks of the Trade #3 - Even When They're Sold, People Need To Satisfy Their Emotional Decisions With Logic

Even though people buy for emotional reasons, they need to feel that their decision was backed by solid logical reasons.

Think about TV commercials for cars. They offer a perfect picture of "justification."

Here's how they work:

First, there's a stirring image of the car itself beautiful, stylish, new. (In your head: Wow! That car looks cool...)

In the background, theres a mountainous landscape (In your head: Wow! That's rugged... like me!) or a five-star hotel (In your head: Wow! That car would give me status."

And, of course, no car commercial would be complete without a beautiful, sexy woman. (In your head: ...let's not go there!)

Next, you see an interior shot to show how luxurious your life will be with this car. You get to listen to state-of-the-art sound system. (In your head: Hmm... I can listen to my favorite music.)

Then, theres a shot of the car driving by the ocean. Put it all together and you have an effective 20-second movie thats designed entirely to appeal to emotion.

But wait, the car commercials dont stop here.

Oh...no way. At the end, they "get down to business" with numerous bits and pieces of information the size of the engine, statistics on fuel economy, speed, weight, interior space, rankings in national survey, financing information and customer satisfaction reports, and so on.

It flashes by at lightening speed, usually so quickly that you can't read it.

But Don't Worry: All This Data Isnt Meant To Sell The Car.

Its included to make YOU feel good and justify the decision youve already made. (Im gonna buy that baby now or when I got some money because it's the SMART thing to do!)

The lesson: People CAN be convinced, when the facts are explained, when the risk is taken away, and when their deepest, most selfish desires have been tickled and nurtured and seduced.

All right, times up! Whew... right on time. 3- minutes. (Hey, I dont just always hype the headline to get you to read my stuff, do I?)

Until next time...

Dan Lok

Copyright 2004 Quick Turn Marketing International, Ltd.