Sales secrets from a food lover

by Snappy Sentences on December 2, 2010

This week I went to a pantry tour at Black Pearl Epicure. It was for Brisbane Food Bloggers, and although I don’t have a food blog I figured I really do love food and was very keen to learn more about it.

The demonstration was hosted by Black Pearl’s founder Babak Hadi, and was simply amazing.  Babak took about 30 of us through the ins and outs of extra virgin olive oil, different vinegars (including aged balsamic – yum!), salts, chocolate, saffron, vanilla, and cheese.

We all left with a full belly and a better appreciation of how these staple ingredients are made.

So what does this have to do with writing?

The stand out of the night (in my mind) was Babak’s knowledge and passion for his products. He was really interesting to listen to, was very confident in what he was saying, and had answers for a couple of curly questions that were asked.

This knowledge and passion are the foundation for successful sales.

1. Know your product

Babak explained everything from how extra virgin olive oil was made, to the fermenting process of balsamic vinegar.

You should know your business and your products that well too. Describe it in your sales pages, detail it in your customer service info – show your customers that you’ve taken the time to learn.

2. Understand how your customers will use your product

Throughout the demonstration, Babak related all information to how we would use the products ourselves. This is a great technique for selling as we all were picturing using the product in our own kitchen before any purchase had been made.

Unfortunately, this is an area where I see many businesses fail. There are a lot of business owners who are really out of touch with their customers – make sure you aren’t one of them!

3. Love using your product

Sure the foods we sampled were all top-notch, but Babak has a genuine love for using them all. When you are excited about your own products or services, it acts as a reinforcement for potential customers. The old “I’ll have what he’s having” mindset.

So after all that eating (erm, learning), what did I buy? Check it out:

Note: I did get some chocolate too, but it was gone before I took this picture!

Are you passionate about your products? Share your thoughts below.

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Seminar: Web content strategy – Regaining control of your web assets

by Snappy Sentences on October 7, 2010

If you are in Brisbane, I’ll be speaking at the next International Association of Business Communicators Queensland (IABC QLD) event on 20 October 2010 at the Melbourne Hotel in West End.

Here’s the blurb from their site:

Web content strategy: Regaining control of your web assets as a communicator

  • Do you see web content as a valuable communication tool within your organisation? Or is it more a maintenance nightmare?
  • Not sure how to produce quality content with limited resources?
  • Are you about to embark on a web re-development project, but aren’t sure how to approach it?

Content strategy is a fast-growing discipline that connects the dots between information technology, usability, design, and communication.

It offers practical, easy-to-apply methodology to ensure that your website is working hard to meet the goals of your organisation.

This round-table discussion will be based around what’s happening in your workplace. To make this possible, when you register, we’ll ask you to answer a simple question:

What is the biggest challenge you face in your organisation in relation to web content?

So if you are around, please come along and join the discussion. Tickets are only $20 for IABC members and $40 for non-members and can be purchased online.

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Which comes first, the design or the content?

by Snappy Sentences on September 27, 2010

When you are working on a project like a new website, direct mail piece, or brochure it’s quite common to have a design ‘mocked-up’ before you have started writing the copy. In fact, for most web projects I work on, the design has already been signed off before I even provide a quote.

This can be problematic.

If you want truly persuasive copy with a strong call to action, it’s much better for the designer to see what content needs to fit on the page prior to commencing the design.

For example:

  • There’s no use developing a layout that only has small content boxes if you want long sales copy.
  • If your call to action ends up being a newsletter sign-up, this has to be reflected in the design.
  • Different header and body styles may need to be supported in the design – content is more than paragraph text.

Get the content written first. Be happy with the tone and language. Decide on the style.

It all influences the design.

And a final point: Once the design has been finalised and the content added, get your copywriter to have another look. The transition from a Word document to proper layout is a big one, and sometimes some minor tweaks to the words will make all the difference to the impact of the final product.

What do you think? Do you start with the content, or always have the design done first?

If you’ve got a copywriting project coming up, get in early and ask for a quote so I can start work on your content before the design is finalised.

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Choosing the right testimonial

by Snappy Sentences on July 26, 2010

Testimonials are great. Nice words from a happy customer can go a long way to help persuade a new customer to do business with you.

But some testimonials are better than others. Here are some tips when choosing which testimonials you’ll use:

Get testimonials from the type of customer you like working with

Like attracts like – and potential customers want to see if you have experience dealing with other people like them. So if you like working for big corporates, put their testimonials first. If you want to work with more business coaches, then get some of their words up front.

Use your testimonials to address doubts or concerns

It seems like a lot of work.

It’s a long way for me to travel.

I’m not sure if I can afford it.

A good sales process has momentum. You don’t want little snippets of negativity slowing it down.  You don’t want the customer to pause (with any doubts) or hold back because you don’t answer their concerns.

Use your testimonials to address the potential stumbling blocks of doing business with you.

I thought it was going to be really expensive, but I made my money back in new business in no time.

You have a to start somewhere

Not everyone feels comfortable writing testimonials. Even if the project has been a total success and everyone is happy, you may still find it hard to get something in writing. That’s fine, use what you have with the aim to replace them with better ones as they come along. In my opinion some good words are better than none at all.

Are you comfortable writing testimonials? Leave a comment below or go to my portfolio page to see some of my copywriting testimonials. I am in the process of updating them, but as I said above – some good words are better than none at all.

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Working with a copywriter for the first time? Read this.

by Snappy Sentences on June 30, 2010

Working with a copywriter for the first time can be daunting. Writing is very personal, and having an external person write about your business (your baby) takes a lot of trust and communication.

And to be honest, the actual writing is only one component of a much larger relationship. Get these other components right and the words will come much easier.

Completing the brief

I’ve talked about the importance of a good client brief as a key component of a successful copywriting project. Keep in mind that you know  your business best, and it may take a lot of questions and discussion for me to get my head around what you do, what makes your business so special, and who your customers are. If you don’t know the answers to some of the questions – be truthful. We can work through it together.

Allowing enough time

A rushed job is never good. As soon as you know you have a project, make contact so I can add it to my schedule. The more time I have to prepare and write, the better the outcome for everyone. It doesn’t mean that I’ll necessarily take longer to write your content, it just means I can spread it out and have enough time to refine  it.

Providing feedback

I like happy clients. I want you to be happy with the work I do. I want you to let me know what works and what doesn’t work. I want you to tell me why. It’s all about communication. Don’t be afraid to say what you think – I want the best outcome for the project just as much as you do.

Paying the invoice

My invoices are due within 14 days of the date of issue. If you know that your accounting department doesn’t work that quickly, please let me know before I start so I can plan accordingly. It may mean that I ask for a deposit up front, or issue more frequent invoices along the way.

What are your experiences? Please share them below.

If you are ready to take the plunge and work with a copywriter for the first time, contact me to arrange a quote.

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