<< back | Home | Site Map | Articles

Offending the High Priests of Hard Sell

You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand. Woodrow Wilson; 1856-1924 28th President of the United States of America The late Rosser Reeves, who coined the phrase "USP" (unique selling proposition) back in 1961 once said to a client; "Let's say you have $1,000,000 tied up in your little company and suddenly, for reasons unknown to you, your advertising isn't working and your sales are going down. And everything depends on it. Your future depends on it, your family's future depends on it, other people's families depend on it. And you walk in this office and talk to me, and you sit in that chair. Now, what do you want out of me? Fine writing? Do you want masterpieces? Do you want glowing things that can be framed by copywriters? Or do you want to see the god-damned sales curve stop moving down and start moving up?" Marketing strategist Jack Trout says "Differentiate or Die" in his book of the same name. Ries dubs it positioning. No matter who says it, the bottom line is that if you can't differentiate your business from the competition, you're on borrowed time. But, how to do it? How, indeed? At risk of offending the high priests of hard sell, I dare to believe that humans are deeply conversational creatures. That something at our very core responds to the storyteller. To images painted on the mind in the colors of honesty and truth. There are thousands of newspapers published across North America and over 11,000 magazines in circulation. And thus, it follows that there are thousands upon thousands of journalists and writers desperately seeking stories with which to feed a nation of hungry eyes in order to feed themselves. Readers of Upclose Magazine were moved by the story of Lisa Rombado, who lost 75 lbs and rediscovered her self confidence and dreams. Recently signed with a Houston modeling agency, Lisa says; "Robin gave me back my LIFE." And when Forbes said; "Don't get fooled into buying "kona blends" ... The genuine article is grown on the Big Island, home of volcanic soil, high elevation and abundant morning sunshine. For the freshest coffee experiences, order from Koa Plantation in Captain Cook; it's a family-run operation..." the world listened. When Koa Coffee Plantation's sales shot from 30,000 pounds per year to 700,000 pounds per year... when customers ask Robin for "what Lisa took" ... rest assured it is not because of the genius of a brilliant ad-man. It is because in a world bombarded with advertising messages sprayed out like Raid on an ant hill, there are a few people who understand that heartfelt communication is the core of selling. Will you be one of them?

---

Feel welcome to reprint my articles as is. Please don't change them. All I ask in return is a credit link to my site. Thanks.