In this 7th part of your “Lost Secrets of Marketing Legends” e-course we’re going to look at some more master wordsmiths.
One from the past and one more recent.
Ted Nicholas has probably made more money in direct mail than anybody else. He is a self-made millionaire and claims: “The secret to becoming a millionaire is simply using the right words.”
Ted has opened, operated and sold 21 profitable businesses. He has published hundreds of best selling books and publications. His most notable being: “Magic Words That Bring You Riches” and “The Golden Mailbox.”
His respect from his peers has earned him the title: “Guru of Direct Mail Marketing.”
Ted Nicholas has been responsible for generating sales of over $47 billion. At that level he must be doing something right.
If ever you can get hold of *any* of Ted’s works, you are well-advised to do so.
And how do you think gurus of today got their words and their phrases? They certainly didn’t re-invent the wheel. No, they studied the works of our next “guest” and others like him.
Our master wordsmith from yesteryear is Elmer Wheeler.
Elmer Wheeler was another marketer of pure genius who knew that certain words produced vast increases of results over other, less effective wording.
In 1937 he wrote his: “Tested Sentences That Sell”. An almost forgotten classic but probably one of the best books ever written on the subject. And here is the story of how he did it.
Wheeler was an ad salesman for several newspapers and it all started big for him when he tried to convince retailers that an ad in his papers would drive people to their stores. This, the retailers didn’t doubt, but people just visiting their stores was not enough – they were not buying. Sound familiar?
This still happens today. People visit stores; receive direct mail; and log on to internet sites. But very few of them actually buy anything. Why?
Probably because in the majority of cases the prospects are not given any reason to buy. In bricks and mortar businesses this could be due to poor salesmanship. In the case of direct mail and the internet it is more likely due to poor copy.
After some careful analysis, Wheeler concluded that the reason people weren’t buying in their stores was because the salespeople were not saying the right words.
This led Wheeler to set up his famous “Word Laboratories”. You may have heard the expression: “Sell the sizzle not the steak.”
Well, it was Wheeler who first coined that phrase and went on to write his first book: “Tested Sentences That Sell.”
During 10 years of research, Wheeler tested over 105,000 words and phrases on more than 19 million people. An incredible feat.
The results of which you can profit from today.
Here are some examples of Wheeler’s work:
A pharmacy was having difficulty selling shoe insoles. After some trial and error, Wheeler got the salespeople to ask the customers: “Are you on your feet much?” Then they’d hand them a shoe insole and say: “This will ease your feet. It’s made especially for people who are on their feet a lot.” These words sold hundreds of insoles every week.
Here’s another example from Wheeler of how he dramatically increased sales of oil at a garage. He tried and tested 100 such sentences until he found one that really worked. Salesmen were asking the naive question: “Can I check your oil?” This nearly always resulted in a “no” reply. So Wheeler tested and found that the question: “Is your oil at the safe driving level?” worked 58% of the time.
Wheeler studied all trades and retail situations. For example, he found that if a waiter in a restaurant asked: “Would you care to order a red or a white wine with your dinner?” It would double the sales of wine.
Also, if a customer asked for a drink and the order-taker replied: “small or large?” The majority of replies would be: “small one.”
But if the order-taker asked: “large one?” then it was found that 70% would reply: “yes.”
Sounds simple. It is. And so effective.
Small words. Small simple words.
You may be thinking again, “but my business is different. I don’t have a pharmacy; a gas station; or a restaurant.” But there’s a basic principle at work here.
Wheeler found that you need to ask a question that customers cannot say “no” to.
Wheeler also invented what he called: “Wheeler Points.” There are five of them. Here’s an example of one of them:
Phrase your words to give your prospects a choice. Not a “do you want it or don’t you want it.”
Give your customers a choice. Just like the waiter did with his: “Would you care to order red or white wine with your dinner?”
How many restaurants have you been to where the waiter has said: “Would you like wine with your meal sir?” We’ve experienced it many times.
So offer your customers something or something. Not something or nothing.
All Wheeler’s principles and tested results are adaptable to any business.
To get the full low-down on Wheeler and his five Wheeler Points you need a copy of his first book: “Tested Sentences That Sell”.
You can get it, and three other classics, in the Long Lost Marketing Secrets package at www.secretsofmarketinglegends.com.
That’s just about it for part 7 of your e-course. In part 8 we will reveal to you two outstanding resources on the subject of letter writing and many secrets to writing good letters.
