Why "professional" doesn't sell
A lot of business owners are obsessed with their "image." They worry what others think about them, and they let that carry over into their marketing. Whenever they contact their customers they're "professional" (meaning proper, stiff, and antiseptic).
Whenever they run an ad, it's "professional"--full of nice color photos, a well balanced logo (designed by a professional graphic designer), and professional language--"you can count on us for trust, honesty, and integrity!"
Most business owners are also dead butt broke. And, the more professional they try to be in their marketing, the "broker" they are. Why? Because "professional" just doesn't sell--it doesn't create an emotion in a prospect--in fact, it bores them.
Ad agency idiots will argue this for hours, even in light of data that proves them wrong. "Oh you need to run the ad seven times to build momentum," they'll tell you. Or "you need to add more white space." The sad truth is, they believe what they say, even though they've never spent a dime of their own money on an ad campaign.
If you want to get people to take action and buy something from you, you have to create an emotion in them. You can't bore them--as Robert Collier says, you have to "enter the conversation they're having in their own heads." I'd add, "...using the language they're using."
See, a funny thing happens to "professionals" when they're out of the office. They use "unprofessional language" they watch unprofessional TV shows, they do unprofessional things like go to happy hour and get blitzed. The "professional act" is simply that--a façade designed to cover up what they're really thinking... which is quite unprofessional.
So, in your communication with your customers, you want to be "real," and communicate with them like you would your friends.
This creates an emotional bond, a relationship with your customers just like it does with your friends. The stronger the bond, they more they buy from you. Remember, people do business with people, not companies. SO... be sure you look and sound like a person, not a "professional company."
Let's get to it...
Mr. X.
Group M Marketing
Kimble and Kennedy Publishing
Whenever they run an ad, it's "professional"--full of nice color photos, a well balanced logo (designed by a professional graphic designer), and professional language--"you can count on us for trust, honesty, and integrity!"
Most business owners are also dead butt broke. And, the more professional they try to be in their marketing, the "broker" they are. Why? Because "professional" just doesn't sell--it doesn't create an emotion in a prospect--in fact, it bores them.
Ad agency idiots will argue this for hours, even in light of data that proves them wrong. "Oh you need to run the ad seven times to build momentum," they'll tell you. Or "you need to add more white space." The sad truth is, they believe what they say, even though they've never spent a dime of their own money on an ad campaign.
If you want to get people to take action and buy something from you, you have to create an emotion in them. You can't bore them--as Robert Collier says, you have to "enter the conversation they're having in their own heads." I'd add, "...using the language they're using."
See, a funny thing happens to "professionals" when they're out of the office. They use "unprofessional language" they watch unprofessional TV shows, they do unprofessional things like go to happy hour and get blitzed. The "professional act" is simply that--a façade designed to cover up what they're really thinking... which is quite unprofessional.
So, in your communication with your customers, you want to be "real," and communicate with them like you would your friends.
This creates an emotional bond, a relationship with your customers just like it does with your friends. The stronger the bond, they more they buy from you. Remember, people do business with people, not companies. SO... be sure you look and sound like a person, not a "professional company."
Let's get to it...
Mr. X.
Group M Marketing
Kimble and Kennedy Publishing
