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The perfect balance between pitch and value?

by RobbieRodriguez
7 replies
I am not a copywriter and never present myself as one.

Yet, when I do come across proclaimed copywriters, their portfolio is filled with hard-pitched sales letters.

When I ask to see their pre-sell content, I am constantly told that a sales letter is synonymous with a pre-sell letter.

Yet, I look at sell pieces by marketers like Frank Kern, Andre Chaperon and Jon Benson and the difference is night and day.

I am a firm believer that if you want to "paint the picture" and get your reader excited, then you have to provide golden nuggets in your sales literature.

What do you guys think?

P.S. This is something that I have tried to achieve in my pre-sell, whose goal is to validate demand on a marketing service for insurance agents. Feel free to tear it apart and provide constructive criticism.
#balance #perfect #pitch
  • Profile picture of the author Alex Cohen
    Originally Posted by RobbieRodriguez View Post

    .

    When I ask to see their pre-sell content, I am constantly told that a sales letter is synonymous with a pre-sell letter.

    Yet, I look at sell pieces by marketers like Frank Kern, Andre Chaperon and Jon Benson and the difference is night and day.
    You're correct Robbie... a pre-sell letter is not synonymous with a sales letter.

    It depends on the situation whether a pre-sell is required or not. Sometimes prospects need to be warmed up and other times they don't.

    For example, in the wild and woolly world of CPA marketing, sending the prospect to a pre-sell first works more often than not.

    Alex
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    • Profile picture of the author RobbieRodriguez
      Originally Posted by Alex Cohen View Post

      It depends on the situation whether a pre-sell is required or not. Sometimes prospects need to be warmed up and other times they don't.
      I can see that.

      Usually a sales letter has the most impact when the prospect is warm.

      What about when you come across a cold prospect? What is a good value to pitch ratio? ie, do you go in depth to explain a procedure or do you merely provide the 'golden nuggets' to spark the aha moment?
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      • Profile picture of the author Alex Cohen
        Originally Posted by RobbieRodriguez View Post


        What about when you come across a cold prospect? What is a good value to pitch ratio? ie, do you go in depth to explain a procedure or do you merely provide the 'golden nuggets' to spark the aha moment?
        Sorry Robbie... the question is too abstract.

        If you can describe a specific situation and state plainly what it is you'd like to know, I'll be happy to help.

        Alex
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        • Profile picture of the author Pitchfork Marketing
          Banned
          I definitely agree with Alex^^
          Pre selling has its place in different situations.

          For instance in the IM space, using your presell content to educate your leads is seen as "adding value" and it has the likelihood to increase sells and conversion rates.

          However (in my opinion), some people just need to be sold.

          It depends on where they (your leads) are at in the buying cycle and other influential factors (such as whether or not they know a problem exists, whether or not the believe a viable solution exists and so on.)
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        • Profile picture of the author RobbieRodriguez
          Originally Posted by Alex Cohen View Post

          Sorry Robbie... the question is too abstract.

          If you can describe a specific situation and state plainly what it is you'd like to know, I'll be happy to help.

          Alex
          Take my presell draft for example, are my value-based nuggets enough or would I need to provide more depth instruction on each point to create a compelling sales piece?
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          • Profile picture of the author Alex Cohen
            Originally Posted by RobbieRodriguez View Post

            Take my presell draft for example, are my value-based nuggets enough or would I need to provide more depth instruction on each point to create a compelling sales piece?
            The purpose of a presell page is to warm the prospect up (prime his emotions) and get him in a receptive frame of mind.

            What do you mean by "value-based nuggets"? I'm not familiar with the term.

            Alex
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  • Profile picture of the author DavidTile
    A sales pitch is ultimately dependent on the product or service being offered. If its a meal at the best restaurant in town, then a hard pitch is completely appropriate. If its web design or copywriting, then a prospective customer may need to be "warmed up" via samples of past work or testimonials from trusted sources.
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