ewenmack

This post is inspired by an offliner and Bill B.

It's about dealing with competition for your services and
being in front of buyers when they are looking for what you've got.

When advertising services in classified ad places,
either for yourself or clients,
use this competition crushing secret.

Here's an example of it's brute power...

A Texas removal company did it in it's ads.
2 months later 2 of it's competitors went out of business,
9 months later the biggest survivor got bought out by the
former smaller operator using this method.

Yep, owned the market.

So here it is...

Your headline starts like this...

---------------------------------------------------------
WARNING: Don't buy [your service] until you ask them these
7 questions..
----------------------------------------------------------

The people reading it rang up the removal company's competitors
and started asking all these difficult questions which they couldn't provide.

Yep it was a set-up so they couldn't met the buyers new criteria.

What you do is list all the things that are important and give the reasons why they are.

This works on so many different levels.

First the word WARNING is a stopper.

Then "what, I'm being told, don't buy from an advertiser..?"
is a pattern interrupt.

Then you are re-setting the buyer's criteria.
Most buyers have vague ideas on what they want,
so you are clarifying it in their mind.

They come to you as an ideal client as you have sorted and moulded them to your will.

You are in control of the buying process.

There, you have your competition crushing secret for ads in classifieds.

Best,
Ewen

P.S. What most advertisers miss doing in classified advertising, is only tell the reader why they should do business with you instead of all the other advertisers there. After-all, the reader has made up his/her mind to buy, just is deciding which one to buy from!

dunkinbbb

Hey Ewen,

Thanks for sharing that.

The idea is good, I assume - not having tested it myself.

But, for me, the real value is when you explain your thinking behind each step, so that others can learn - as well as just blindly copy.

Reminds me from way back when, selling big software integration projects - the vendor who can best influence the selection criteria wins the war before its fought. - think that came from some Chinese guy :-)

Cheers, mate.

ewenmack

Thanks Bill.

Another little peak behind the curtain as how I wrote that post to get
maximum learning from it.

First tell the reader briefly, what's it about.

The reader wants fast payback for their investment of time.

Next, tell them where it fits into their lives.

Give an example of it working.
Numbers and time-lines are golden
as well as contrast, before and after.

As The writer to so many blockbuster infomercials at American Telecast Corp said,
"Yes you can lead a horse to water and make it drink, if you put enough salt on it's hay!"

So that's the little formula for "salting".

Now the reader is salivating...lol.. for the secret...

and you give it to them.

Going back and reading my post, you'll see it all in action...
not random thoughts.

Glad it was of help.

Best,
Ewen

mojo1

Thanks for this tip. It'll come in handy in repurposing some the many bonus plr reports just sittin' on my hard drive.

EnzoBlaque

Back in 2006 I did this exact thing. I was intentionally trying to think outside of the box and develop numerous untapped methods of generating Leads whilst gaining a larger share of my market at the same time.

I can say that this works.. Of course you have to do your due diligence to make 100% certain that none of your competition can provide sufficient answers to any of the questions, but once you do.. The return is just amazing.

Just from doing this, we were able to convert 20% more Leads.

Kung Fu Backlinks

Great share. I'm sure you'd have to do a lot of homework to make sure you had good questions and then better answers than your competitors, since it's only a matter of time before they come up with some lol

ewenmack

This big secret is now out!

Thanks for confirming this works Enzo.

Converting 20% more leads gets you lots more options...

Like using the extra money to pay for more advertising,
advertising in different media, or just spending the extra cash on yourself.

Best,
Ewen

midasman09

Holy Camoly...Ewen! I used this "marketing concept" waaay baack in 1974, in Chgo Suburbs (Evanston, IL) when I started my "Burglar Alarm" biz from my apartment...from scratch.

Most of you don't remember BUT...back in "74" there was a "mini-recession" and gas prices went thru the roof. UNemployment was high and, that brought about "creating Desperate people"....with the result being...Home Break-Ins were BIG!

So...I ran display ads in the local paper saying something akin to your words;

"WARNING! Don't buy a "Home Security System" UNTIL....you get answers to these 5 questions!"

I then went on to list the 5 questions WITH....the results being...my "Answering Machine" (that could hold 40 calls) was CONSTANTLY BLINKING, "40...40...40"...meaning...it was FULL!

This ad...got me started in a business I later sold for BIG BUX.

So...thanks for bringing this up Ewen. This is SO POWERFUL!....it sets YOU apart from everyone else!

I've spent my sales & marketing career coming up with "PROMO" Ideas that...GET RESPONSE! And I used them to build many of my businesses.

Thanks again,

Don Alm....Entroopeneer

ewenmack

Hey Don, it's great to dust off these oldie's, but goodie's
and hit the competition where it hurts!

People seem to forget these days, that they aren't selling in a vacuum, so they gotta have tactics to deal with competition...

other than lowering prices and having sales.

Glad it brought back fond memories Don.

Best,
Ewen

wsiebler

Ewen,

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

You awoke me from my marketing slumber!

This is a great idea. I'm off the rework my main site along these lines.

Thanks again.
Will

William Siebler
How To Increase Your Sales By At Least 33.1 Percent | Mobile Website Design | Seo Melbourne

ewenmack

Looks like this has come at the right time for a lot of people,
especially those that run ads and are dealing with annoying competitors!

Best,
Ewen

DianaHeuser

Thanks Ewan,

That's a very effective technique. I am going to put something like that in place today and test the results.

Di

StevenDelong

Thanks Ewen,

Now you got my sales mind thinking differently on things to come.

Steven Delong

Alex Makarski

Yes, this is an oldie but man does it work!

The reason so few people use it is because they refuse to do the hard work of thinking about how to create points of differentiation in their product or service. Thank you for reminding of this technique and giving some inspiring anecdotes.

"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." -Confucius

BlackVoid

Its curious how many seo marketers forget about headlines and ad copy. They skipped all that and went right to html. So much junk online as a result.

focusedlife

Very cool share. Whatever we want to accomplish, generally speaking, has almost always had a pioneer before that attained some degree of success in that very same endavor.

Thanks so much for the share.

Regards
Los

timmykins

Ewen, I recall reading something along these lines in one of the Jay Conrad Levinson's Guerrilla books, or was it one of Dan Kennedy's books?

Anyway, I wrote a post, some time ago, on my website along these lines, but I didn't use the warning headline. That post has converted, but I think I'm going to change the headline and test if it will convert even more.

Thanks for sharing

Tim

IMguy123

Internet marketers try to use this technique all the time but many if not most fall short of making it successful.

They might have in their headline/title "Warning: Don't buy that until you read this" but after clicking into their copy you see they didn't follow the technique thoroughly enough to reset the buyer's criteria.

Anyway, thanks for helping me revisit this technique and make it more clear to me.

Charles Huber

Ewen,

I am going to employ this tactic immediately with something I am doing right now. Love your posts, keep them coming. With everyones help on here I am going to force myself to be successful offline and online.

CH

Rus Sells

In roofing sales when I pitched people I did the EXACT same thing. I educated them on things I knew 99% of my competing sales people would not know or if they tried to answer it wouldn't match up with what I said.

So if I couldn't close the deal, which was rare to begin with, the prospect would ask the questions looking for the answers I gave them. When the salesperson couldn't answer or just rambled in an attempt to answer they'd instantly loose credibility and I'd ALWAYS get the call back with a contract and deposit check to pick up.

So not only does this work in print ads it works in face to face selling as well.

vndnbrgj

I have all my clients use this method two ways. One is having the info on a recorded message and the other is a report on an opt-in form. (I am testing videos instead of a report)
The trick is to find what you or your client is doing that the competitor isn't. This way you are the only option.
The headlines can vary:
The 5 myths about xxxxxx
The 6 ugly truths about the xxxxxxx industry that no one tells you
The 7 things you should know before contacting a xxxxxxx

For example, maybe you have a furnace guy that charges by the hour and gives the parts to the customer at his cost, while other companies charge by the hour and mark up the parts.
So a ugly truth is that companies mark up their price...... blah blah blah. While we at xxx furnace company don't because we don't feel you should have to pay twice for the same service. Once as a markup and then again at an hourly rate.

Gary Zaydman

This is a good technique. I have use this all the time and it's like fishing with dynamite.

Do you make these local marketing mistakes...? www.reputationrebelsystem.com

ewenmack

Do look forward to hearing how you've used it and your results Diana.

Best,
Ewen

ewenmack

Yes we need to think differently to beat the competition,
because the prospects have many choices.

Best,
Ewen

ewenmack

I'll also add Alex, marketers may not know of a number of different tools to deal
with different conditions they face.

And there are often "shop worn" words that turn off prospects.

Best,
Ewen

ewenmack

They have a valuable place on the internet to get things done in the engine room.

Best,
Ewen

ewenmack

So true Los.

The competition crusher ad was shown to me back in the 80's
as well as it's devastating effect.

The only credit I can take for it is passing it on to a new group of people.

Best,
Ewen

ewenmack

Could well of been in one of their books, I don't recall reading about it from them though.

Best,
Ewen

ewenmack

Yeah they don't apply it correctly and come unstuck.

Best,
Ewen

ewenmack

Thanks Charles.

I look forward to hear your soon-to-be success story.

Best,
Ewen

ewenmack

Thanks for reminding people Russ,
ads are just salesmanship in print.

Did you instinctively learn this method and put into use...

or did you learn it from somewhere else...?

Curios to know.

Best,
Ewen

ewenmack

Thanks for expanding on this method so we all can
see how it can be used.

Best,
Ewen

ewenmack

Lol.

Gary, it's been a long time since I heard that phrase.

Thanks for the cool reminder.

Best,
Ewen

Khemosabi

Thank you so much Ewen! This came just in time! You got my head spinning on ideas! I got my first marketing contract in a somewhat saturated market! With this, and their experience to back it up, I am hoping to set them apart from their competition!
Thank you all on this thread for the additional ideas and techniques.
There goes my day of gardening

ADukes81

Great tip!

I just noticed you used this "tip" in the title and used it on all of us

Well played sir. Well played.

Rus Sells

I figured it out on my own when people started calling me back saying they have a signed contract ready for me to pick up.

I'd always ask them why they chose me. The replies were that I gave them information about things the other companies didn't even mention or couldn't address.

This is when I realized what was happening so I made it a point to learn as much as possible and convey that to my prospects.

I wasn't worried if I was the first or last person my prospect talked to, every one else ended up being measured against me and because of that I usually won.

Wyteria Jacobo

Ewen, thanks for getting my marketing juices flowing again. This is exactly what I needed to spruce up my ads! This would work well as an advertorial on a postcard, too.

ewenmack

I don't see it that way Adam.

Sure the word WARNING was an attention getter, but there was no "don't buy, no pattern interrupt, or re-setting the criteria by using questions to ask.

However, I did lay out the method I used to write the post in my second reply.

Best,
Ewen

ewenmack

Pleased I got your juices flowing Wyteria!

Look out for a post coming up about
why a ad got such a great response and my notes
so you can use it as your check list,
whenever you want to write an ad.

Best,
Ewen

ewenmack

Thanks for your reply Russ.

Very cool how you asked the right question
and got the right answers to get future jobs.

Best,
Ewen

socialbacklink

I have much experience with this. I used this same method a few years back in a ppc ad campaign. Inside of 3 months we were hitting $35k per day in revenue. This stuff works like gangbusters.

The best part is that you really qualify and educate the potential customer at the same time. Just an awesome method. Still use it today and it never stopped working.

ewenmack

That's some serious moolah it brought in!

Thank you for dropping in to verify this works.

Best,
Ewen

fotosyste

Very good advice

It is true that such small TIPS excite many people...

φωτοβολταικα

PaulKlein

Grateful for the post and all the tips here. This is very helpful, not only for me, but the others now implementing to get better conversions!

TBone

interesting method... like someone else pointed out it would seem after a few people call asking their competitors about this that they would have answers to them and then start taking your potential customers because they have them on the phone?!? maybe Im looking to much into it?

TBone

I guess you could implement this rather cheap and see what kind of results you get.

mikeb1

just got my self a home security client mind posting your ad or sending me a PM ?

Rearden

Positioning, not prospecting.

As Jack Welch of GE said, "differentiation" is what makes the difference.

And when you differentiate... and position yourself as the expert... you have the authority to...?

somacorellc

You're kind of looking too much into it. If you're good enough, your prospects won't even think to go anywhere else because you've provided answers to questions they didn't even know they had. In itself, that's powerful. Once you've read their mind, you've made great inroads.

For example. One thing that 90% of my clients have said to me is "I like that when I call you, I talk to you instead of a machine."

So, I put that in my website and ad copy - get this - people will call me up just to confirm it's true. They like it too, and it gets a conversation going.

Web Design Columbia SC

vharlow

Thank you.