How to get the attention of prospective clients and customers

Not into video? See text version below.

The executive summary:

• People aren’t interested in what you do or how you do it until they know that you can solve their problem or give them the results they desire
• If you nail the problem/results message, 80% of your marketing message is looked after
• What problem do you solve? What results do you get for your customers?

What radio station do your prospective clients or customers listen to?

(I really thought this would be a familiar aphorism, but when I asked my Marketing Action Club members, they started listing local stations. So much for me trying to be clever!)

Anyhow, the answer I was looking for is:

WII FM – What’s In It For Me

People are wrapped up in their own lives. They’re focused on their problems…or the results/desires/goals they have.

They’re not interested in you, what you do or how you do it (your process) – unless they think you can solve one of their problems or fulfill one of their desires.

Sad, but true.

Want attention? Broadcast on WII FM. Speak to their problems and/or desires.

And use the same language as they would.

If you get this part right, people will cut you a whole bunch of slack on the rest. (This, btw, explains why people will buy things off a really dated website or from a homemade brochure or poorly worded craigslist ad.)

I’ll give you an example.

I recently heard a presentation titled:

How to lose 20 pounds in 4 weeks

The title is brilliant. A great example of WII FM: it speaks directly to the problem/desire of a specific market. In the language they would use.

The presentation, however, wasn’t very effective. The presenter:

• Conveyed a lot of scientific information using jargon and acronyms
• Didn’t actually tell us how to lose 20 pounds in 4 weeks
• Didn’t try to sell their program (didn’t even mention it)

That was awful…but I want to buy it

Afterward, I listened to someone complain about the presentation had a conversation with one of the audience members. She said (sounding quite frustrated, almost angry):

I really wanted to know about the program. How much does it cost? How does it work? I WANT TO BUY IT.

Even though he had done just about everything wrong during the presentation, he still had the attention of a prospective customer – because he was crystal clear about the problem he solved and the results he delivered.

If he had a presentation that even clumsily described his offer, he could easily enroll people into his program. They’re already hooked (and damned near sold) by the title.

To use this powerful technique in YOUR business, simply answer the following questions:

What problem do YOU solve? What desire do YOU fulfill?