Copywiter vs Personal Salesman

8 replies
I was posed a question the other day that I wasn't quite sure about, so I'll ask you experts here at the WF.

Do good copywriters make good salesmen?
and
Does good salesmen make good copywriters?

Which is more true?
Any thoughts?
#copywiter #personal #salesman
  • Profile picture of the author Rezbi
    Neither is an absolute certainty, but it certainly helps a copywriter to have been a salesman at some time.

    A lot of great copywriters were once door to door salesmen.

    I've sold door-to-door and it helps because you have to think on your feet. In print you've got more time to think about those same objections.

    Also, in print you've got more to lose. As a salesman you only lose the customer in front of you if you get it wrong.

    In print you lose a lot more customers if you get it wrong.

    Of course, the revers is also true.

    Get it right in person and you get that sale.

    Get it right in print and you can potentially make thousands of sales.

    To answer your question, I think it's probably easier for a salesman to become a copywriter than the other way around. But that's my opinion and i'm not saying it's always true.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alex Peltonen
      Like what he'd said, there really is no absolute certainty if what among the two statements would standout. But as for me, Copy Writers aren't really as good as salesmen. If they are, then it simply means that they're both good at being a copy writer and a salesman. I think it's the will and determination between the two jobs that makes the difference. Because I know writers who just really loves to write but don't want to act what they're writing about even when they're so knowledgeable in that.
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  • Profile picture of the author livepsycle
    I'm not agreeing with the above answers. But I have to make a distinction to make my answer to your question clear.

    A copywriter can take several forms. There is for example a news copywriter or a sales copywriter. Right now I am talking about SALES copywriters.

    In that sense a copywriter IS a salesman. It's just that he's able to put himself in a thousand places at once. The ability to sell is paramount to successful copywriting. You must be a great salesman.

    But the ability to put salesmanship in print needs to be learned. And best learned by a good salesman.
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  • Profile picture of the author John_S
    I have sold face-to-face. I have written copy.

    I think sales makes one a better copywriter.
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    • Profile picture of the author The Content King
      I don't think a copywriter necessarily needs to be a great salesman outside of the office. Many writers are recluses and don't do so well in social situations, but they can sell ice cream to lactose intolerants all day if you give them a laptop and some time to do it.

      But social anxiety aside, if a copywriter knows the tricks of what it takes to mold human behavior, he could probably apply that knowledge to a real-time situation no problem. It would take time and practice, but anyone can sell if given time to practice.

      Selling on paper/screen and selling in person do require many of the same triggers and social manipulators, but the two are also very different.

      I've met many salesmen who couldn't write a sentence to save their lives and I've met copywriters who are socially awkward to put it lightly.

      What I'm saying is they're two different skills entirely, but each one helps if you know and have experience with the other.
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  • Profile picture of the author gjabiz
    First, my answer to your questions.

    Sometimes and...sometimes.

    A good salesman with command of the language, along with the motivation may become a good copywriter.

    I haven't seen many go the opposite direction, that is, I haven't seen a good copywriter (in particular, a direct response copywriter) want to do face to face sales...why would he?

    BUT, there was a time long ago, when many of the Modern Masters cut their sales teeth with direct in your face selling. Nothing beats it for learning human behavior.

    In my neck of the woods, Gary Halbert, Dan Kennedy, Ben Suarez and many others did the direct to you selling...and they became remarkable copywriters.

    I've known and worked with dozens of six and seven figure a year copywriters, and I haven't known one to go into direct face to face selling after reaching a certain success level.

    TODAY, my opinion is, it won't hurt you and could probably help you with your copywriting IF you had some direct face to face selling experience...however, it isn't as necessary as it once was.

    Today, especially selling virtual products, I feel timing and LIST (target) is more important than persuasion. Find the hungry guy...don't try to sell the steak or the sizzle to a guy who just finished his buffet.

    There are generational differences that also come into play.

    AND, there are different skill sets, and it is MUCH easier to sell in person, MUCH easier to persuade and influence, to take control of the process and to get the person to react the way you want.

    In print, real or virtual, persuasion is as much about numbers as it is about technique...that being said...the right message to the right person at the right time has created fortunes for many Internet Marketers.

    The EARLY bird "IM Gurus" were almost all schooled in Direct Response Marketing and many had face to face sales experience too.

    Before I'd hire either type, I'd want to know who the TARGET was. Perhaps, maybe, there is some cross over skills that either one could draw from for a particular project.

    gjabiz



    Originally Posted by The Niche Man View Post

    I was posed a question the other day that I wasn't quite sure about, so I'll ask you experts here at the WF.

    Do good copywriters make good salesmen?
    and
    Does good salesmen make good copywriters?

    Which is more true?
    Any thoughts?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3893511].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Raydal
    I've done door-to-door selling but knocking on doors
    made me a lot more anxious than writing copy, even
    tough writing copy can make you anxious about the
    results as well.

    As mentioned before, many writers who are very
    reclusive can be socially awkward. I'm fine with
    a crowd but 1-to-1 makes me more anxious. So
    I'll do better selling from the stage than face to
    face.

    -Ray Edwards
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    The most powerful and concentrated copywriting training online today bar none! Autoresponder Writing Email SECRETS
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    • Profile picture of the author Joe Benjamin
      It helps to be good at "both".

      Personally, I got really good at copywriting FIRST &
      eventually got good at sales. And I say "good" only
      in the context that I've made good money DOING a
      both (not to hype myself up as something I'm not).

      I discovered that I got good at generating interest...

      not so good CLOSING the deal.

      So, I got really good at doing it, both in print (email),
      by phone, AND in person.

      I tried things I learned in copywriting in person and
      by phone, and MOST of it worked -- but it's different
      when you are forced to do it "on the spot".

      You don't HAVE the time to think or erase a sentence
      that cost you a sale like copy.

      It takes practice like anything else, and I botched a
      few lucrative deals to learn -- and it was worth each
      and every screw-up :-)

      Copywriting and salesmanship (by phone or in person)
      are like "twins"...two different people -- yet look so
      much alike it's easy to confuse one for the other, and
      SOMETIMES they don't mind "playing along"...

      but occasionally they get irritated with the confusion,
      and it doesn't work.

      Solution? As a decent copywriter, it pays big time to
      get good at sales.

      It wasn't my copywriting skills that closed some deals,
      it was being comfortable in the flesh and on the phone.

      ...can't hide behind a pen and paper or a computer
      screen in ALL cases, because sometimes if you want
      to close the BIGGER sales -- it may require some form
      of human contact.

      Solution?

      Why not do "both"?

      It certainly made a difference in my life, and I have no
      doubt it'll do the same for others. It's a double whammy
      and BOTH skills, IMHO, are equally important.
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