Direct Marketing News

“I will sell your home in 60 days or lessor I will buy it! At a price acceptable to you. Guaranteed!”

If you were selling a house, wouldn’t you take this realtor up on his offer? If you wanted to put your house on the market, wouldn’t you call him first? But more importantly, wouldn’t you want to continue reading the rest of his message?

This was the headline on a 14″ by 11″ yellow/orange flyer printed and/or photocopied with black ink. It was found wedged in the front doors of all the homes in the neighborhood. This got my attention even though I’m not a homeowner. I found myself wanting to read more.

Why?

Because the flyer hooked me in the headline. It made a big promise of what I will get in return if I go with this realtor. And that’s the only thing I’m concerned about: What I will get in return.

If you think I’m going to call a realtor because she has a pretty logo, a pretty face, shows me the photos of the houses she’s sold or gives away pens and calendarslet me make this real clear: NOT!

But it doesn’t end there…

If a realtor tells me, “Call me with all your real estate needs,” or “You get a no-cost estimate of your property,” or “We’re the A-team sellers in this area,” or gives away a colorful flyer with all the homes she’s soldI’m going to run as if from a fire.

But I’m getting ahead of myself:

Because I want to talk about your hook. The single, most-important attention-grabbing element in your marketing promotion. And the element most businesses fail to spend significant time on.

Your hook has to immediately get your prospect visualizing and experiencing a big granddaddy benefit. A benefit is simply what your prospect will get. If you’re selling a 5-bedroom/3-bath house, some benefits might include:

1) Moms get to stroll their baby carriage in a safe neighborhood;

2) There’s a park nearby to walk their dogs;

3) There are no prostitutes, dope dealers or drive-by shootings;

4) Enough room for starting a family;

5) A nice backyard to entertain friends and hold barbeques;

6) Save a ton of money by setting up a home office; and,

7) Make extra money by renting out a bedroom.

Or the hook can warn your prospect of a huge, impending loss. Financial and health newsletters frequently use this method. However you word it, your hook’s main job is to get past your prospect’s force field and entice her to continue reading.

Your hook must not be dry. It has to excite some deep emotion in your prospect. Its duty is to grab them by the collar and not let go.

Why is this important?

We’re assaulted with so many daily messages that most people will disregard them if it doesn’t connect on a deeper level. If you walk through the aisles of your local supermarket there are thousands of messages vying for your attention. It’s the same in your mailbox, on radio, television and the Internet.

If you want to engage your prospect with your marketing message, then you must produce a thermo-nuclear hook that will push their hot buttons. Otherwise your sterile message gets deleted, by-passed or ends up becoming more landfill.

Tommy Yan helps business owners and entrepreneurs make more money through direct response marketing. He publishes Tommy’s Tease weekly e-zine to inspire people to succeed in business and personal growth. Get your free subscription today at www.TommyYan.com

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