Step 4. Prove That Your Solution Actually Works _______________________________________

People today are so SKEPTICAL. No one believes anybody anymore. Every marketing message is taken with a grain of salt.

That's why you MUST PROVE what you're saying is true. Proof can come through customer success stories, study findings, quotes from experts, before and after photos etc.

You have to consider yourself as being on trial and your prospects are sitting in jury box. You've got to prove to them what you're saying is true.

Are you proving your solution in your marketing efforts?

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Step 5. Offer Them Additional Help For their Problem ___________________________________________

The last step is to naturally offer your prospect additional help. Up to this point you've only teased them. Now you must lead them to next step.

The next step should be some offer for help. This could be a free report, a video, an audio program (notice that I like low cost information products) or a free catalog, or even access to a free question and answer help line.

If you want to decrease your response and increase quality of prospects that come to you, you can charge a small fee to make next step.

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A Live Case Study _________________

I used to do a lot of direct response advertising to generate leads for potential hot tub buyers.

I offered a free video to respondents. We were getting a lot of leads, but many of them were from people who already owned a hot tub (if you can believe that).

So we simply asked for a shipping fee of $2.95 for video and it cut down our leads but dramatically increased our closing rate.

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How to Use this Process for Your Own Purposes ___________________________________________

You might be thinking, thanks David, but "how" do I use this information for my own business.

It's simple...take each step and ask yourself these questions...

Step 1 - "What headline, photo, or gimmick can I use that would stop my unique prospect and make them pause for a moment?"

Step 2 - "What problem does my prospect have that is painful, ugly, dirty, and smelly?" When you have answer to that question, use it in a headline, sub headline or opening statement to engage them in your message.

Step 3 - "How can I make problem in Step 2 sound even worse and then how can I explain to them how my solution solves it."

Step 4 - "What proof can I come up with that my solution actually works and has worked for many companies (or people)?"

Step 5 - "What offer can I come up with that would be so irresistible that my prospects would have to pick up phone and call me immediately?"

If you ask yourself these five questions and can come up with some good answers then you're well on your way to getting people to chase you down instead of you begging to steal a moment of their time. (Yuck!)

Microsoft offers a free package that allows Word users to build a Web site from their word processing software package. Check out their web site for Internet Assistant for Word (http://www.mircrosoft.com). Adobe has a package called PageMill 2.0, using click-and-drag commands that create web pages. Less than $100, it has basics needed to create a site. Just call 800-833-6687. Corel offers a Web Graphic Suite of products. More expensive, but you can get more features. Corel’s number is 800-772-6735.

New packages become available frequently. Check out computer software catalogs and local stores for what’s out there.

Hiring a Designer. Companies specializing in Web site design are abundant. And new companies are springing up all time. Of course, it can cost up to $500.00 to develop a modest site. And about $30.00 per hour for updating site. You will still need Internet Service Provider to host your site.

Updating your site. The more often your site is updated, more successful it will tend to be. Active sites are updated weekly, maybe even more frequently. If you want your Web site to be more than a billboard, it could require several hours per week to keep site current. It all depends on types of products and services you provide.

Make sure your Web Site is “linked” to other similar industry sites, and professional associations.

© 2005 - Heidi Richards