4 WAYS TO GET YOUR PROSPECT'S ATTENTION FAST
By Bob Leduc

Can you remember the last dozen advertising messages beamed at you today?
Can you remember even one of them? Most people can't.

This illustrates the biggest obstacle you need to overcome to successfully
promote YOUR product or service. You must capture your prospect's attention
in the first few seconds or your sales message will be ignored. This is
especially important on the Internet where a visitor can simply click away
from your Web site -- forever.

Here are 4 proven techniques you can use to quickly capture a prospect's
attention. They apply to all media including the Internet.

1. MAKE A DRAMATIC STATEMENT

Did you ever write a headline for an ad, web page or other sales message?
You probably used a dramatic statement. It's the most obvious way to get
someone's attention. For example:

"Lose 8 Pounds In The Next 2 Weeks Without Dieting"
"My Doctor Uses These Nutritional Products"
"Double Your Sales And Reduce Your Advertising Expenses"

TIP: Your dramatic statement will be most effective when it describes a
major benefit for your prospect.

2. SURPRISE THEM WITH SOMETHING UNEXPECTED

Unexpected surprises always attract attention. It's often negative attention
caused by something going wrong. But you can also use an unexpected surprise
to attract positive attention. It happened to me last week.

The office supply company I use sent me a letter announcing an automatic $50
deduction off my total bill for this month. I immediately placed an order
for items I wasn't planning to buy for another month or two. I even stocked
up on several items I normally buy elsewhere. Their unexpected surprise got
my attention and generated a large order during a month I hadn't planned to
order anything.

3. ASK A PROVOCATIVE QUESTION

I once saw a direct mail letter that began with the question, "If you're
such a smart executive why aren't you making a six figure income?" Not many
executives could resist reading that letter, especially if they weren't
making a six figure income.

Provocative questions startle your prospects and compel them to find out
more. Here are 2 more examples of provocative questions:

"Why are you paying so much for your health insurance?"

"Do you really expect to get rich working for somebody else?"

4. GET PERSONAL

Personalization also attracts immediate attention. Your personalization can
be individualized or group oriented.

Use INDIVIDUALIZED PERSONALIZATION when you're communicating directly with
one person by email, postal mail, telephone, etc. Use your prospect's name.
It's the number one attention grabber. Merge it into the subject line and
the opening line of your email message. Do the same in your postal mail.
Include other personal information you know about them. But be careful not
to overdo it.

You can personalize with a name when you're communicating directly with one
prospect. But how can you get personal with a prospect visiting your web
site, reading your ad or listening to your radio commercial?

Use GROUP ORIENTED PERSONALIZATION when you're NOT communicating directly
with one person. You can get personal by referring to known characteristics
of prospects in your targeted market. For example, use phrases like:

"When you started your business..." for business owners.
"Your favorite NFL team..." for sports fans.
"Every mother knows..." for women with children.

Group Oriented Personalization isn't as effective as using a person's name.
But it still attracts attention because your prospect can react with,
"that's me".

Take some time today to plan how you can use these four proven techniques to
attract more attention to your sales messages. The results will probably
surprise you. So, will the increase in your sales and profits.

Bob Leduc retired from a 30 year career of recruiting sales personnel and
developing sales leads. He is now a sales consultant. Bob recently wrote a
manual for small business owners titled "How to Build Your Small Business
Fast With Simple Postcards" and several other publications to help small
businesses grow and prosper. For more information e-mail him at
BobLeduc@aol.com.