by Do you ever wish that your prospects were a little more… obedient?
That they took the action you want them to take?
The trick is to treat them like dogs… all is explained in this video!
Do you ever wish that your prospects and customers were a little more obedient?
Do you wish that more of your customers and prospects took the action you suggest in your emails, website pages, letters and brochures?
The trick to getting your customers to be more obedient is to treat them like dogs…
Let me explain…
Imagine that I’m telling my dog to “not sit”.
What do you think my dog, Minnie, would do?
Why, she sits down, of course!
Minnie, didn’t hear the word “don’t”… she only heard the word “sit”.
Humans are much the same…
Although we may hear negative words, such as “not” or “do not” or “don’t”; our brain picks up on the main word in the sentence. So the negative word affects our ability to communicate clearly.
Let’s have a look at some examples to show what I mean.
Here are some common things that I’ve seen business owners write in their marketing:
Here’s a classic example: “Don’t hesitate to contact us.”
Now let’s look at that again…
The message that sticks in my brain is: “Hesitate to contact us.”
Or what about: “Don’t forget to sign up.”
Ugh, the word that I’m hearing is “forget”! Of course I’ll forget, my To Do list is long enough!
Or: “It’s not a problem.”
Oh dear, all I’m hearing is: “Problem!”
Have you used negative phrases like that in your marketing and business communications?
Here’s a better way… instead of writing: “Don’t hesitate to contact us”, write, “Please get in touch”.
Doesn’t that sound a lot friendlier?
Instead of: “Don’t forget to sign up”, write, “Remember to sign up”.
And instead of: “It’s not a problem”, write, “It’s a pleasure”.
Do you see how those small changes make your business seem far more friendly, approachable and positive?
It’s such a small thing, but it really makes a difference.
Go on, give it a try next time you write some marketing copy.
Then have a look at your existing marketing materials – printed and online.
Zap those negatives and replace them with the positive actions you want your readers to take.
That way, you’ll get more customers and prospects taking the action you want them to take… and you’ll get to earn more, um, dog biscuits.
Talking of earning dog biscuits, notice how this is a small tweak you can make to your marketing that is absolutely free to make?
My Marketing Tips newsletter is jam-packed with effective marketing tips and articles just like this. Simply use the boxes below and get on the list for free marketing tips updates!
