The Sooner You Know These 3 Special Words, The Better… (Image courtesy of Canva).
Struggling to attract business? Work 3 special words into all your written sales materials and more. Human nature is universal. These 3 words work with all types of people and industries. They will open the doors to endless business and prosperity. They are like a real version of “abracadabra”!
“All things being equal, people do business with, and refer business to people they know, like and trust.” - Bob Burg, Networking and referral expert
The tale of a sad abandoned little kitten can teach why these 3 words are special. It was the evening of Thanksgiving Day. The year was 2009. Families had gathered all around to give thanks for all they had.
But our poor little kitten was all alone. He had no name. His mom abandoned him. All his siblings had disappeared.
The little guy was only a month old. He survived the mean streets of Santa Ana, California, on his own.
He spotted some tasty meat sitting out in the open! It smelled good from a distance. He cautiously approached until… SNAP!
It was a trap! A cage imprisoned the kitty. He was doomed!
I was enjoying Thanksgiving just yards away. We all heard that “SNAP!” from inside my older sister’s house.
We went outside to discover the tiny, trapped kitten. He stared up with big, frightened eyes.
“A neighbor’s cat got pregnant and disappeared a month ago,” someone explained. “She ended up having a ton of kittens. They were all caught in these traps. This kitten’s the last one.”
“Does anyone want a kitten?” asked one of my family members. I hadn’t had a pet since I left for college 17 years earlier. No one spoke up. The kitten would probably go to a shelter. The kitten’s huge golden eyes stared up at me. I had to say, “I guess I’ll take the kitty.”
We all discussed what to name the feline. He was a black-and-white tuxedo cat. These were the same colors as the Thanksgiving Pilgrims. It was Thanksgiving Day. My brain clicked! I said, “I’m naming the kitten Pilgrim.”
We transferred Pilgrim to a cardboard box. I left for my condo with my mom and younger sister. They were visiting from Silicon Valley.
We got to the condo and slowly tilted the box down to let Pilgrim out. I stood at one end of the hall. I planned to grab him, pet him, and put a collar on him. He burst out of the box and slipped through my hands. He ran off into my bedroom.
That was the last I saw of him for the next two weeks!
I looked for him everywhere! I never could find him. But I did find plenty of his poo and pee, though!
At least I knew he was alive. The food and milk I left out always disappeared. But I never heard or saw him!
I never had a cat before. I only had a couple of dogs, a goldfish, and some Sea-Monkeys, over the years.
I asked friends and family about my invisible kitty. They said to give the kitten some time, and they’ll eventually come around.
One early morning, I felt something crawl up on my leg. I opened my sleepy eyes. It was Pilgrim! He continued to slowly walk up my body to my chest. He then meowed at me and licked his lips.
Pilgrim was hungry! He must’ve also been tired of being alone. But one thing was clear. He finally had one of the 3 Special words. He had TRUST in me.
At first, he observed me for over two weeks from whatever hiding spots he had. This is where the first Special word came about. Pilgrim got to KNOW me. He saw I wasn’t out to eat him. He saw that I would leave out tasty food, milk, and water for him. I even cleaned up his poop and pee!
That is where the second Special word materialized. Pilgrim started to LIKE me. He liked my food. He liked my milk. He liked me cleaning up after him. He liked having a safe house to live in. It was much safer than the mean streets of Santa Ana. He liked that I cared for him and made him feel like he belonged.
I had also earned the final Special word, trust. I showed I was safe. I had the predictable behavior of bringing out food, milk, and water. This was done at the same time every morning. I was predictable in cleaning up after him at the same time every day. I would always call out to him in a soothing, positive fashion. I never yelled at or threatened him - this all created trust. That trust got him to walk right up to me that first memorable morning. Well, that, and he was starving!
I’ve studied many great copywriters. They emphasize these 3 special words. They are Know, Like, and Trust. Some know this as the KLT Law. I’ve seen countless examples in my personal and professional life. The “Tale of Pilgrim” is just one illustration of the KLT Law.
Technology has made connecting so easy. We are returning to a person-to-person style of business. We can connect one-on-one over video. This is one place where we quickly decide if we Know, Like, and Trust others. You want to build up these 3 magical things with any prospect. Establish them to earn a direct phone call, Zoom meeting, or in-person meeting. Once meeting person-to-person, work to create these 3 things further.
KNOW
Give them something to KNOW you as a person.
- Offer them ways to know your company and brand. Put yourself out there in places like LinkedIn, Facebook, and elsewhere.
- What are your product’s benefits, benefits of benefits, and features?
- Imagery, audio, and video content are immense.
- Makes up 10% of the KLT Law.
LIKE
Knowing leads to them liking you. They can then choose to like that authentic piece of you.
- You can become likable by providing value.
- Be likable by letting prospects know they are significant. Make them feel important in your copywriting. Everyone has infinite value to offer the world. Awake the greatness in your prospects. Too often, we can tear down ourselves and others. You will stand apart by building people up.
- Makes up 40% of the KLT Law.
TRUST
The more they know you, the more similarities they’ll find with you.
- Similarity builds trust. Research your audience, mimic their language, see what values and interests you share, and emphasize them. There are two types of similarities.
- Current similarities are things you and your prospect share. You might have both grown up in California, for example.
- Desired similarities are things you have and your prospect would like. You may have written a great sales email that helped make a million dollars. They haven’t done this but would like to.
- Provide value without asking for anything in return. If it produces results, you gain trust.
- Social proof builds trust. Gather and share testimonials, recommendations, reviews, and case studies.
- Guarantees garner trust.
- Makes up 50% of the KLT Law.
Here are 3 actions you can take to build up KLT.
- Know
- Choose your biggest strength and find ways to show this to your audience.
- Like
- Make others feel real significance and value. Build them up genuinely. Write honest, positive recommendations for others on places like LinkedIn. Another way is to seek and value their advice on something. The following sentence details one way to do this.
- Trust
- Email at least 30 people that know you best. Ask the following in your own words: “What do you see as my unique strengths? I mean, what do you think I do better than anyone else in the world?” Compile the results and notice patterns. These are the strengths to illustrate, so people get to know you. Take a top strength and use it in the first action above!
“If people like you, they’ll listen to you, but if they trust you, they’ll do business with you.” - Zig Ziglar, author, and speaker.
Three Special words open the doors to business prosperity. Get your business prospects to Know, Like, and Trust you. They will want to do business with you. They’ll also come back for more. They’ll refer others to you. The Special words also work in your personal life. This Law of KLT worked on Pilgrim the Cat. He’s just a few feet away as I type this. We’ve been best friends since 2009!
Pilgrim the cat in dream land (Image courtesy of Charles Polanski).
Pilgrim the cat after being disturbed out of his nap (Image courtesy of Charles Polanski).