Buckle Up for 2005
Wow. I just spent 37 minutes previewing a Sunpop video soon to be released by Wizard Academy Press. Selling Customers Their Way features my partner Jeffrey Eisenberg with psychologist Dr. Richard D. Grant in an amazing discussion about high-level, face-to-face selling. Awesome stuff. But alas, that DVD is not yet available for shipment.
But there is good news: after months of testing, refinement and preparation, the long awaited New School Selling workshop will debut January 27-28. Attend this class and Steve Clark will give you a whole new way of looking at your sales career, complete with lots of specific, direct-application instruction that will put you in step with the values, outlook and expectations of the “get real” 21st century. Apply what you'll learn in this class and your customers will like you better, you'll like yourself better, and strangely, you'll make a lot more money. If you decide to read the New School Selling course description at wizardacademy.org, be sure to watch the Steve Clark streaming video. I love this guy.
In last week's PS, I gave you a link to the Free Wedding Chapel project that's being funded by the students, faculty and friends of Wizard Academy. It was my intention to give you a hyperlink this week that would let you purchase building materials online as a holiday gift to this non-profit organization, but alas, like the video, it will be at least another week before that shopping cart is available. So why didn't I just wait a week before mentioning it? Well, in the 7 days since last week's casual mention, about half the money we need to build Chapel Dulcinea has already been mailed in by readers who took the time to call the office and ask for an address so they could drop an unsolicited check in the mail. Unbelievable. What a fabulous group of people I serve. If you're feeling a similar itch, you'll find we've added our mailing address to the project description atwww.ChapelDulcinea.com.
Another new course we'll be adding in 2005 will be taught by me. I haven't yet decided if Ad Writing 101 will be taught live or online by streaming video. (If you have a preference and would like to express it, please email your thoughts to Dr. John Davis, Wizard Academy's official Dean of Curricula
- How to Find the Right Idea – Strategy Beats Copy
Don't worry that you're not a good writer… “If an ad campaign is built around a weak idea – or as is so often the case, no idea at all – I don't give a damn how good the execution is, it's going to fail. If you have a good selling idea, your secretary can write your ad for you.” – Morris Hite, legendary adman - Why Shorter is Better
“Customers can take no action until they've seen themselves do it in their minds.”The power of uncommon verbs. (Downloadable master list of attention-getting verbs included.) Be short, clear, concise, interesting. Don't clutter your effort. Let nothing get in the way of tight. - Transactional Ad Writing – How to Draw a Crowd
How to write ad copy when you must make things happen quickly. - Relational Ad Writing – True Branding
How to write Branding ads that are client-specific, rather than product or event-specific. - Where to Begin – Choosing Your First Mental Image
Where you'll find it. Open Big – Make one point: Rhino vs. Porcupine – Core Message - How to End – Choosing Your Last Mental Image
Close Big – Going full circle – “If you have an important point to make…” - What to Leave Out
The danger of the “clever” trap. How to avoid empty words. And why never to go looking for the “unique selling proposition.” - Keeping their Attention; Secrets of Mind's-Eye Participation
Examples of Unimaginable Ads made vividly Imaginable. How to do it. - How to Make Customers Mention Your Ad
Planting a WordFlag - Slogans, Taglines and Positioning Statements
Magnetic Meter and when/how/why to use it - Dialogue, Testimonials and Humor (Nitroglycerine)
The excitement of the high wire. And why beginners should avoid trying to walk it. - How to Write Copy that Keeps Clients Sold
Getting credit for delivering exactly what you promised.
Let us know your thoughts. We're going to have a fabulous 2005 and we want you to be part of it.
Yours,
Roy H. Williams