When you’re out there in the world searching for a mate, you have to pay attention to a couple of things:
- Your appearance
- Your approach
No, you don’t have to look like a movie star, but you do need to wash your face, comb your hair, and put on clean, appropriate clothing. If you look like you just crawled out from under a rock, you’ll only attract other rock-dwellers.
And then… if you want someone to talk to you long enough to become interested in you, you first have to be interested in them. Walking up and saying “Hi, I’m Joe (or Josie) and I’m wonderful” just isn’t going to get you very far.
Prospecting is much the same.
First: Appearances
If you’re out knocking on doors, you need to look well-groomed and appropriately dressed.
If you’re writing a letter, you have to make it easy to read. That means:
- Short paragraphs – never more than 7 lines
- Blank lines between paragraphs
- Sub-headings
- Bullet points, such as these
And then, sparingly, use:
- Bold print
- Underlines
- ALL CAPS
Then… your approach
If you’re knocking on doors, you have to show some interest in the homeowner and offer them something in return for talking with you. Perhaps you have a market report. Perhaps you’re there to invite them to a “neighbors only” open house. Perhaps you’ll just offer to answer any questions they have about the market.
If you’re writing a letter, you also have to be interested in them first.
Always remember that your marketing copy is NOT about you. It’s always about them.
That means you must never, ever, ever begin a marketing piece with the words “I” or “We.”
Later on in your copy it will be necessary to use those words, but be stingy with them. Before you finalize your copy, do a search for the words “I,” “we,” and “you.” “You” should outnumber the combined total of “I’s” and “we’s” by 3 or 4 to one.
And of course, your entire prospecting message should show that you’re aware of issues that matter to your reader, and that you can help them either solve their problems or reach their goals.
Be specific. “I’m wonderful” doesn’t work in dating and it doesn’t work in marketing.
