TIP: Instead of listing professional credentials or personal achievements, convert them into benefits for your customers. For example, prospects and customers don't care that you were a top producer in your organization last quarter. They do care that you helped so many new distributors just like them get off to a fast start last quarter that their production made you a top producer in your organization.

PART 2: "...AND WHY DO I CARE?"

People buy things because they expect to gain something more valuable (to them) than money they spend to get it. What they expect to gain is a BIG BENEFIT. That's why they care -- IF they are right prospects for your product or service.

You control whether or not they're right prospects. How? By targeting your advertising to reach prospects most likely to have a strong need or desire for benefits provided by your product or service. It's easy to capture attention and interest of prospective customers when they already need or want benefits you provide.

TIP: Be sure to promote biggest single benefit you offer to prospects in your targeted market. If you target several different markets, determine most important benefit for each and promote it in that market. The big benefit may be different for each market.

You may never be asked, "Who are you and why do I care?" But prospects and customers silently and unconsciously ask it every time they see your ad, visit your website or listen to your sales presentation. You'll see a dramatic increase in results of any ad or promotion when you automatically give them answer.

1. State biggest benefit offered by your product or service. 2. Include a compelling reason for readers to request more information NOW. 3. Provide a quick and easy way to respond.

Keep your message brief. Most short ads I develop produce more replies than longer versions of same ad. For example, one of most responsive ads I ever developed has only 14 words. The version used on Internet read:

Discover How To Build ANY Small Business FAST! Offer ends soon. Free information. mailto:address@domain.com

The off-line version of this ad also included a phone number and postal address so prospects had 3 ways to request more information. I used it for classified ads in magazines and printed it on postcards and mailed them to targeted lists. Every version of ad produced a large number of replies.

Many prospects responded out of curiosity. That was OK. I knew they were part of my targeted market and had a compelling need for what I was offering. I controlled that by circulating ad where it would be seen only by prospects in my targeted market.

Follow this model next time you develop a lead generating ad or message. Place your ad where lots of prospects in your targeted market will see it. The number of leads it generates from seriously interested prospects will surprise you.