[Michel Fortin]

Take a look at this thread... And read my 2 replies, below it...

What do you think?

http://www.warriorforum.com/forum/to...TOPIC_ID=29800

[Erik Mulder]

I totally agree with you on all points Mike..

I just checked out the John Carlton call today, I hadn't been able to do so earlier, and I loved the discussion on real salesmanship... strong hooks, a compelling offer and basically making a good case for your product, laying down the whole story.

The one thing that I'm focussing on more than anything recently is removing all adjectives and telling my story with the "power words" as you call them... I first heard about that from Perry Marshall and loved the idea since... But it's not as easy as I thought it would be.

I'm spending a lot of time thinking over what I'm trying to communicate and searching through thesaurus.com, but slowly I'm picking things up.

Oh man, everytime I think about it, I get a ton of new ideas that I should jump at to sharpen my copywriting blades and pack more ammunition as a writer.. But I guess that process never ends for guys like us.

At the top of my list is to do simple sales jobs more often. I did telemarketing for almost 2 years about 4 years ago and was one of the top earners.... but I really need to have more under my belt to start excelling.

But I digress, only thing I really wanted to say was: Good points!

[Mike Sigers]

Michel,

Great post ! Wish I was smart enough to know what you said !

My thoughts are along your lines, also. I've been a salesman for about 11 plus years now and have sold a little over $30 million worth of my company's products. I never say " to be honest " and if a supplier, customer or other salesperson does, I immediately get scared. The chances are that they are not lying, but it makes me cringe to hear that.

You wrote, " It ALL comes down to persuasion, influence, psychology and the power of storytelling, not superlative-laden used-car vernacular.

Bottom line, it comes down to 3 important points:

1. You gotta know your product.
2. You gotta know your audience.
3. And you gotta know how to sell. "

Wow ! That is as concise as it could be said. To the point, if you don't know jack about the product, or the audience or how to sell...get the heck out of the sales business ! If more of the would be internet marketers had actually learned how to sell, face to face, person to person, BEFORE they thought themselves to be guru's, we'd all have an easier row to hoe. Unfortunately, the internet is cluttered with 18-25 year old computer savvy young people who never, ever held down a meaningful job in the lives, as short as they are. They didn't learn to sell, they know nothing about business, they know no ethics, they have no parameters and mostly, they have no soul. You only get that after years in the trenches and having been thru every wringer there is. It's not their fault, just the way the internet has allowed them to become.

There are way too many people posting advice on forums who still live with mommy and daddy and only make enough to pay for hosting and ISP fee's !

If you want to learn to sell, don't copy someone's copy, that's not selling...get a freakin' job and learn to actually sell and incorporate those skills into your internet marketing. THEN try to sell me your crappy little gizmo.

Sorry for the rant, Michel, but some of the posters who were in the thread just make me sick !

[peter1510]

I couldn´t agree more about the importance of knowing how to sell in the real world. And - Gary Marketing Bullets Bencivenga recommends reading books on how to sell.

My background is sales and it helps me enormously when writing copy. I have been studying copy this year and now that all the material is sinking in I find myself reverting back to my offline sales experience.

I can tell I am getting better because subscribers thank me for ezine articles that I thought were sales messages!

My sales letters need to be rewritten to become more like the conversations I would have selling face to face. And the Carlton call is very helpful in this respect - thanks Michel.

For anyone who does not have a background in sales - a suggestion - sell your product to someone who does not know you in a one to one conversation. You will learn a lot and be amazed at some of the objections that come up.

Adios from Spain,

Peter