Great Leads: The Six Easiest Ways to Start Any Sales Message

the lead is strongest that promotes one compelling idea by supporting that idea with all the appropriate techniques ... stories, predictions, statements, promises, and so on … but all unified by that single idea and by a single emotion that drives the sale.

Do they know the name of your product? Yes. Do they know the benefits you claim? It’s pretty likely. But, making up their minds whether to buy, that’s a different story. First, you’ll need to win their trust. And, because they’re not completely decided, they’re skittish.

The challenge is to find one good idea that the reader can grasp immediately, Porter said. And then, stick to it.

we want to draw your attention here to that last part of the formula, the “reason why,” because it’s the element many copywriters overlook.

knowing how aware your prospect is will change the conversation. And, it will especially change those first key moments of the conversation, which in advertising we call the headline and the lead.

concept of “customer awareness.” And, we’re not the first. It was the late, great copywriting legend Gene Schwartz who first wrote about this idea, in his classic book Breakthrough Advertising.

Promise Leads work best with “mostly aware” prospects who are almost ready to buy.

why target these buyers? Because it’s in these last two categories where you’re going to find the customers that help businesses grow.

The challenge is to find one good idea that the reader can grasp immediately, Porter said. And then, stick to it.