Give Them a Reason

Their eyes meet across a crowded room. He approaches her. The excitement mounts. But suddenly, she is distracted by a friend and he assumes she isn’t interested, so he retreats. On her way past him towards the door, she drops her silk handkerchief. He sweeps it up and rushes after her to hand her the handkerchief and talk with her. Romance blossoms.

Benjamin’s dog, Vicious, is a fluffy, white Toy Pomeranian that wears a powder blue T shirt on his walks around the lake of a sunny afternoon. Benjamin thinks the sun rises and sets on young Vicious and he spends a fortune on high-end dog food. He has even imported a special dog bed for his furry child. Lucy sells insurance. She mails Benjamin a hand addressed letter, offering him a complimentary dog walking and dog sitting session with her client, Paws Here. Benjamin is asked to collect the Gift Certificates at Lucy’s office.

How many times have you had someone call you up, offering to sell you something, without giving you any reason whatsoever to even talk with them? Desperate people do desperate things. We are busy people, inundated with 36,000 advertising messages a day, all vying for our attention. We have to be very selective and sophisticated in our approach if we want someone’s attention. Consider www.Pandora.com – this is the future of effective advertising – giving people more of what they want. Pandora asks what music you like and gives you the option of creating a bank of music you love (and then you might buy some of it from them!)

Give people what they want. Give them a good reason to contact you, listen to you and buy from you. Talk in the interest of the OTHER person because nobody cares what you want. Earn the right. Create massive, unprecedented, differentiated and visible value. We all have thousands of options. Answer the unspoken question, “Why should I listen to you, talk with you, buy from you or even notice you? What makes you so different? How do I know you care about me? How much do you even know about me?” Do your homework, find the Hot Button and customize/ personalize your product or service to fit the needs of your prospect. Hand addressed envelopes, for example, pull much better than printed addresses.

Get personal and get results.

Robin J. Elliott www.DollarMakers.com