If you are busy writing a critical sales pitch or producing new marketing material, it’s easy and tempting to write about what you like about your business. But don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s all about you … it’s about your clients.
You have to work that bit harder (or start again from scratch) to see your business from your client’s point of view. Why should they choose you – what can your business do to make their life better?
It’s like applying for a job. Not, “I want this job because it will help me develop my skills” but, “Give me this job and my skills will bring you real competitive advantage”.
This is what Editing Edge does every time when we create sales and marketing copy for our clients. We get into the headspace of their customers and tap into their problems, aspirations and needs. We write from their perspective. (See our blog – A lesson in how to think like your customer).
How to give your sales pitch impact
If you want to get quantifiable results from your sales and marketing literature (or website), follow some advice from copywriters who spend their life writing on behalf of others.
The crux is to isolate your core messages:
- Think about what will make your clients choose you over the competition.
- Be realistic and focused about what you are promising to deliver.
- Choose words and phrases that show you understand your client. (See our blog – You talkin to me)
- Make sure your message matches your clients’ priorities and problems by researching their needs.
- Ask questions about how they want things to pan out in the future – so you can offer ways of helping them get there.
- Keep your message strong and simple.
- Write — or let us help you rewrite — your brochure, website or script to reflect the above.
Case studies
How can Editing Edge help with your sales and marketing message?
We write on behalf of many businesses so when it comes to understanding their clients, we’ve got plenty of experience. But don’t just take our word for it – here are a couple of case studies:
- We created a White Paper for ChangeQuest to position them as thought leaders and provide more in-depth material to attract their key clients. The background material came from a webinar they had hosted and our task was to create something that resonated with their audience and brought them new business leads. The White Paper attracted much attention from their clients on social media and through their newsletter.
- Blanchflower Lloyd Baxter’s previous website presented them as experienced surveyors, but with no compelling reasons why clients should choose them over a rival practice. We turned their inward-looking copy into something client-focused by shifting it 180 degrees to concentrate on the benefits clients reap from working with them. This was a classic example of a company writing their own website copy then doing a double take and thinking, “What if we asked a copywriter to look at it …?” The result for BLB was much brighter, persuasive copy with more human examples of the ways they help their clients.
