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WORDS THAT WILL MAKE YOU A MARKETING SUPERSTAR by Tom Trush
Imagine asking a room full of business owners and entrepreneurs for their definitions of marketing. You’d probably hear several words repeated, such as “sales,” “selling” and “promoting.” But it’s likely many would miss mentioning a critical piece in the marketing process—something you need before anyone considers spending a single cent with you. Trust. That’s why I came up with the following definition: Marketing is the process of establishing trust in a way that proves you can deliver your prospects’ desired outcome. You see, marketing involves initiating and developing relationships similar to the one you have with a spouse. The most important component of both interactions is trust. But, as you know, trust takes time. These days, establishing trust with prospects and even your own clients is challenging, especially online. Lofty promises and fabricated facts get thrown around like rice at a wedding. But you can still cut through the chaos. In fact, the easiest way is to focus your marketing on the following six-word question: What do my prospects want most? Now, before jumping to conclusions, let me remind you of a fact that might sound a little harsh ... Prospects don’t want your product or service. Believing they do only leads to frustration and unsuccessful marketing campaigns. What prospects want is the outcome delivered by your product or service. Understand the difference? So if you’re a portrait photographer, your prospects don’t want you to take pictures—they want visual memories they can’t wait to share with friends and family. If you’re a criminal defense lawyer, a guy just pulled over for extreme DUI doesn’t want legal representation—he wants to stay out of jail, get his record cleared and have a chance at living a normal life again. Your marketing must provide insight that puts prospects closer to their desired outcome. Recently, I was introduced to a passage from Wallace D. Wattles’ 1910 classic, The Science of Getting Rich. Many view the book as the basis for most personal finance and self-help literature written today. Check out how Wattles describes our natural desire for knowledge and understanding—as if they’re internal forces you can’t turn off:
In so far as your business consists in dealing with other men, whether personally or by the letter, the key thought of all your efforts must be to convey to their minds the impression of increase. Increase is what all men and all women are seeking. It is the urge of the Formless Intelligence within them, seeking fuller expression. The desire for increase is inherent in all nature; it is the fundamental impulse of the universe. All human activities are based on the desire for increase. People are seeking more food, more clothes, better shelter, more luxury, more beauty, more knowledge, more pleasure—increase in something—more life. Every living thing is under the necessity for continuous advancement. Where increase in life ceases, dissolution and death set in at once. Man instinctively knows this, and hence he is forever seeking more. So what’s the “more” your prospects ask for? n Tom Trush is a Phoenix-based direct-response copywriter who helps business owners craft lead-capturing marketing materials. He is the author of “The ‘You’ Effect: How to Transform EgoBased Marketing Into Captivating Messages That Create Customers” and “The Reluctant Writer’s Guide to Creating Powerful Marketing Materials: 61 Easy Ideas to Attract Attention and Get More Customers.” More of his educational articles, videos and expert interviews are available on his website at writewaysolutions.com. Attorney Journal | Volume 113, 2013
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