One Common Mistake Copywriters, Salesmen & Direct Response Marketers Make When Pitching To Potential Customers.

I see this all the time when I read sales copies, posts and tweets from a lot of you here.

And this isn’t meant to criticise, but to draw your attention to something we are all missing.

Joe Karbo once wrote a sales letter where he promised to show his prospects how to make up to 1 million dollars in a few months.

How many people responded?

Not much.

So, what did he do?

He rewrote the letter.

But instead of rewriting the letter as a whole, he simply changed the BIG PROMISE.

From how to make up to $1 million to how to make up to $50,000+ in a few months.

And what happened next?

That letter sold like crazy.

But one thing I didn’t add was he also had to add things like:

“You don’t even need experience”

“You don’t have to quit your job”

“It doesn’t require talent”

“It doesn’t require education”

And why was that so?

Because It’s easier to tell Dangote you can scale up his business and get him up to a million dollars a day.

But how do you sell that same line to a poor guy looking for his next available meal?

For someone just starting out, all you need to help them get at the beginning is EASY wins.

Say he makes just 25,000 naira a month.

Can you help him get an extra 10k?

An extra 20k?

Can you double it for him by getting him up to 50k?

These are all easy and look achievable.

Especially for someone at his level of success.

Because even the Bible says everyone has been given a measure of faith.

Not the same amount, but different measures – meaning not everyone has the same level of risk taking in them.

Everyone isn’t trying to be a billionaire.

Some people just want to be comfortable, even though it sounds vague.

Most people just want to be able to pay bills, take care of their families, send their kids to private schools, own 2 cars and be able to send money to their parents at least once a month.

Which is why some people say things like I started an extra business because I just wanted to make an extra 10,000 or 100,000 naira every month.

It’s not a lack of ambition.

It’s someone operating from their level of knowledge and belief.

Work from there.

This is extremely important when selling to Nigerians too.

Most of us have been blinded to what’s possible because of struggle.

Most of us have been in survival mode our whole lives.

It sounds absurd when you tell someone they can make $200,000 a year legally.

Na jazz?

So, there’s no need promising them a million naira a week.

Rather show them how they can make an extra N20,000 in a week or month.

And also how they can do it CONSISTENTLY.

N20,000 every week for 52 weeks is an extra 1 million naira in a year.

Their whole mental model will shift once they begin to understand what’s possible.

That’s how you unlock someone’s ability to make more.

Not by making a thousand promises.

But by showing them what’s possible at their current level.

Gracias!

Uche Okoro

Writer. Sales & Marketing. Business & Investing Afficionado.

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