At the Speed of Light

How many times has someone you've called said, "Why don't you send me some information on your company"?

Ask yourself, before you send anything: How will this be dealt with once it arrives at that person's desk. Aren't they already suffering from information overload? On the one hand, people say they they need more information in order to make the decision just to meet with you, let alone to agree to buy or hire. On the other, they have more information about everything than they know what to do with.

The problem is, your prospects are not usually looking for information. They are usually, politely, asking you to go away. Most salespeople at this point shovel a whole lot of information at their prospect, hoping something will stick.

A more effective way to respond to your prospect's request for more information is to send something that reaches them at a gut level. It doesn't have to be overwhelming, a subtle message can be as effective as a bold one, as long as it connects. How to achieve that connection on paper or a website is, of course, the big challenge.

Upon receiving your marketing material your prospect will ask themselves, "Is it worth my time to look at this? and "Do I have the time to look at it now?" This happens in the first glance. If your material doesn't elicit a yes to one or both of these questions, you have failed.

When done right, the connection is made with no effort on your prospect's part. Suddenly they recognize that someone is saying all the right things. Information alone does not have the power to move a prospect further along the sales path. Making a connection does. And it can happen to your prospect in the blink of an eye.

A well known, well received, Saturn commercial showed how in seconds we can come to a profound understanding and connection with an advertiser. A young woman calls the Saturn guys and asks a favour for when the new car is delivered to the showroom. We see her and her nice, average-Joe kind of fellow looking over the new car. He's paying lots of attention to the macho dashboard details and such and she seems a little nervous. As he turns to examine the rest of the interior, we see in a flash, (in one version, we see only a few square inches) what he sees--a baby seat. We have all the information we need. We know precisely, now, what this story is all about.

We cannot help but be caught up in the drama because it is up to us to make the story up for ourselves, as it unfolds in the remaining few seconds: in his eyes, surprise and (very obvious) love for the lady. On her face, the question: how will he take the news? Then the happily-ever-after answer. The connection with the audience has been made.

The thought of a mother-to-be doesn't make me go all mushy, and I've never even been in a car with a baby seat. But this reached me at a profound, personal level. I'm ready to look at a Saturn when my latest Honda is ready to be traded in.

You may not be selling cars, but the principle is the same. You must connect strongly and quickly, and the best way to do that is at the gut level. That gut level connection is often all your prospect needs to know before they will meet with you.

The average person has a unfathomable reserve of information that is accessed, processed, understood and felt in something approaching the speed of light. That kind of information--gut level understanding--is more powerful than anything else a marketer can thrust on a prospect. Does it really work that way? Does watching a boy call his grandfather from the beaches of Dieppe on his cell phone to say thanks work? Ask Bell. Not only does an image or a concept do the work of a thousand words, it does it in 1/1000th of the time, and with a thousand times the punch.

This is not to say you must include pictures with your marketing material. A good writer can paint vivid pictures with text in people's minds, using the power of a metaphor or a story.

The lesson: Don't turn your marketing materials into something like a manual, catalogue, lecture, or diatribe. Use the powerful informational forces already resident in your target market. Work to understand who they are and why they might want you instead of someone else. Speak in their language, and keep the focus on them.

Keith Thirgood, Creative Director

Capstone Communications Group

Helping businesses get more business through innovative marketing

http://www.capstonecomm.com/

Markham, Ontario, Canada 905-472-2330

Subscribe to Thrive-on-line http://list.capstonecomm.com/ma il.cgi?f=list&l=thrive_on_line

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Google News Updated : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:50:00 GMT Cough, Cold Drugs Not for Kids Under 4 - WebMD CBS News Cough, Cold Drugs Not for Kids Under 4 WebMD - 2 hours ago By Miranda Hitti Oct. 7, 2008 -- Don't use over-the-counter pediatric cough and cold drugs in kids younger than 4. Leading makers of over-the-counter pediatric cough and cold drugs are putting that message on the products' labels, according to the ... Cold, Cough Medicines for Children Get Added Warnings (Update3) Bloomberg Drug Companies Say No Cold Meds for Kids Under 4 Washington Post Chicago Tribune - New York Times - Bizjournals.com - The Associated Press all 1,485 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:48:20 GMT AIG's ex-CEOs blamed for crisis - CNNMoney.com Los Angeles Times AIG's ex-CEOs blamed for crisis CNNMoney.com - 1 hour ago House panel chairman says executives got undeserved riches, while ex-CEOs blame accounting rules and market conditions for leading to $85B bailout. Joe Cassano: The Man Who Brought Down AIG? Washington Post AIG CEOs Blame Each Other, Accounting for Insurer's Downfall Bloomberg Wall Street Journal - Financial Times - New York Times - Forbes all 768 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:11:18 GMT Qantas Involved in Another Air Incident - New York Times NEWS.com.au Qantas Involved in Another Air Incident New York Times - 25 minutes ago By Liz Robbins It has been 20 years since Dustin Hoffman’s character Raymond Babbitt in “Rain Manâ€� made Qantas synonymous with air safety, claiming he would only fly the Australian airline because it had never crashed. Qantas passengers arrive in Perth after mid-air ordeal ABC Online Fifteen badly hurt as Qantas jet drops Sydney Morning Herald The Standard - Taipei Times - United Press International - NEWS.com.au all 366 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:24:06 GMT Wells Fargo may get lion's share of Wachovia deposits: report - MarketWatch Sify Wells Fargo may get lion's share of Wachovia deposits: report MarketWatch - 32 minutes ago By John Spence, MarketWatch BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Wells Fargo & Co. may get as much as 80% of Wachovia Corp.'s deposits, with the remainder likely going to Citigroup Inc., according to a published report Tuesday. Citi, Wachovia, Wells temporarily halt litigation Bizjournals.com Wachovia shares waver as Citi, Wells Fargo wrangle Forbes BloggingStocks - Washington Post - New York Times - CNNMoney.com all 7,781 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:17:51 GMT Bernanke hints at possible interest rate cut - MarketWatch The Associated Press Bernanke hints at possible interest rate cut MarketWatch - 31 minutes ago By Greg Robb, MarketWatch WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke opened the door on Tuesday for a possible interest rate cut to help rescue the economy from a severe downturn, admitting that the global panic in the financial ... Video: Bernanke signals possible rate cut ReutersVideo Bernanke: Economic outlook weaker CNNMoney.com New York Times - Forbes - Reuters - MSN Money all 988 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:18:10 GMT Sleuth's Presidential Debate Watch Game - Washington Post Sleuth's Presidential Debate Watch Game Washington Post - 41 minutes ago Tonight's debate watch games probably won't be as much fun as last week's Palin Bingo. But don't fret, there are still games to be played during this second presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama. 'Aggressive' debate expected between McCain, Obama CNN * McCain looks for way to stop Obama's momentum Reuters The Associated Press - MSNBC - U.S. News & World Report - TIME all 1,199 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:08:21 GMT Thai Army Sends Troops to Help Police Keep Peace - Washington Post Voice of America Thai Army Sends Troops to Help Police Keep Peace Washington Post - 4 hours ago Thailand's military agreed Tuesday to deploy hundreds of unarmed soldiers to the streets of Bangkok to help police restore order after violent clashes between police and protesters that left at least 1 person dead. Video: Raw Video: Tear Gas Fired at Thai Protestors AssociatedPress Troops deployed as one dead, hundreds hurt in Thai protests AFP Reuters UK - Hindu - eTaiwan News - The Standard all 1,327 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:12:03 GMT Affiliate Data Feeds Amazon Tool

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