Know 3 Little Actions And Become Valuable To Your Prospects by Charles M. Polanski, online marketer at www.ChuckSki.com (image courtesy of Canva).
Know 3 Little Actions And Become Valuable To Your Prospects
“No one cares about you.” – Josh Boswell, copywriter
This is the harsh truth of business. Your parents may care about you, but things are different in sales! Find out what your prospects care about. Then show future customers the value you bring. They’ll see how they get closer to their desires with your product. Follow the 3 actions below, and you’ll be well on your way to being of value.
“Know what your customers want most and what your company does best. Focus on where those two meet.” – Kevin Stirtz, customer service expert
The Copywriting SUV Model (Image courtesy of modified free-to-modify commercially Bing image search).
THE SUV MODEL FOR COPYWRITING
Being of VALUE to your audience is the “V” in SUV. My last 2 articles detail the first 2 parts of SUV. SUV Copywriting Model:
- “S” is for Simplicity. Keep your writing simple to reach the widest possible audience.
- “U” is for Urgency in your writing to spur action.
- “V” is for Value. Showing value to a prospect is the gasoline that makes this SUV run.
A Lime-Green Teacup (Image courtesy of Canva).
A LIME-GREEN TEACUP
A lime-green teacup! It actually exists. It sits atop a shelf at the “Ross Dress For Less” store on Sepulveda Boulevard in L.A. I didn’t think I’d come across a lime-green teacup. But the book “Using a Bug Free Mind” by Andy Shaw promised this rare object would appear…as long as some instructions were followed. Here they are: Instructions for Making Something “Appear”:
- Choose something trivial and unusual to appear in your life. I stuck with the book’s example: a lime-green teacup.
- Decide on a timeframe for that thing to appear in your life. I chose the recommended 7 days.
- Write this down on a piece of paper.
- First thing in the morning, read your statement aloud. Do so with positive energy and emotion. Do it with your eyes closed and visualize the object. Feel confident the object will appear.
- Repeat step 4 before going to sleep.
- Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the timeframe written on your paper. Know that it will happen.
I was on day 3 of urging a lime-green teacup into my existence. I needed some random kitchen tool. Ross is a reliable place to find this. That’s how I ended up with my lime-green teacup. Later that week, I came across a lime-green coffee cup at a Starbucks. I started noticing lime-green cars everywhere. People were wearing lime green everywhere I turned!
HOW DID THE LIME-GREEN TEACUP APPEAR?
What can explain this? Did I will them into existence? Probably not. They were always there. This book exercise made a lime-green teacup extremely valuable to me. So when anything lime green appeared, I’d stop and take notice. Even a teacup would cause me to stop and stare. Maybe it was lime green! A key to copywriting is providing value to your audience. Match your product’s benefits to what a prospect values. Hook them with that. You can become their lime-green teacup. The book is the sequel to “Creating a Bug Free Mind.” Both used to be very tricky to find. Thankfully they’re now available as e-books on Amazon. As a copywriter, I’ve seen value grab attention. A copywriter’s first job is to get the attention of prospects. “You’ve got seconds to grab your audience’s attention and only minutes to keep it.” – John Medina, biologist, and brain expert Get attention! Get it by being valuable. Value captivates and brings response rates and business to your marketing. Here are 3 key actions to bring value:
VALUE BRINGING ACTIONS
Trigger Their RAS (Reticular Activating System), Value-Bringing Action #1 (Image courtesy free to modify commercially Bing image search).
ACTION 1: Trigger Their RAS.
RAS is the Reticular Activating System. It’s our brain’s way of sorting through the constant barrage of sensations we face. We’re bombarded with an endless flow of sights, sounds, and more. The RAS picks out the rare bits it thinks are critical to our survival. I made the lime-green teacup significant to my conscious and subconscious. That put my RAS on alert for anything close to a “lime-green teacup”. What’s relevant to your audience? What will catch their attention? Use that in your marketing to grab their RAS. You scroll through tons of emails, posts, tweets, and so on. RAS Triggers will catch your attention amidst this sea of content. You can learn what your prospects’ triggers are and use them. Find ways to bring value to these future customers.
Take Them on a Transformational Journey, Value-Bringing Action #2 (Image courtesy of Canva).
ACTION 2: Take Them on a Transformational Journey.
Everybody craves to become better. Taking others on a transformational journey keeps their interest. You’re improving their life in some way. You’re taking them from some point A to a better point B. Before writing or talking, ask yourself: “What’s the transformational value I’m giving here?” This SUV Model for copywriting is an example. If you apply Simplicity, Urgency, and Value, you will positively transform the amount of response your writing gets. You’ll make more money in less time. Things will be easier. You’ll connect more effectively. Lay out your clients’ transformational journey. Put it in all of your writing and promotions.
Make Them Feel Safe, Value-Bringing Action #3 (Image courtesy of Canva).
ACTION 3: Make Them Feel Safe.
You’re going to keep them safe. This seems to be the opposite of action #2. Seek to balance transformation with safety. Every human being’s top priority is to stay alive. We seek a cozy temperature. We need to keep breathing. Food and water must be found. Human memory keeps track of all the dangerous things to avoid.
Things like a dangerous cliff or a large wasp with a scary stinger. Steve Jobs found the balance between safety and transformation. He combined things we were familiar with into the all-new Apple iPhone. The iPhone promised to transform your life with technological power.
But the iPhone had things that were safe and familiar. It was an MP3 player like the wildly popular Apple iPod. But it also had a phone, a web browser, and more. It let you do familiar things in a brand-new way. Give people a familiar anchor they can grab onto. This SUV model is quick to learn and easy to apply. This makes it safe.
SUV SCORE
Set a time to review your writing and score yourself against the SUV Model. Use a scale of 0-10, with 10 being the highest. Being valuable grabs attention. Apply these 3 actions, and you’ll be on your way to being more valuable.