confidenceOver the course of my first decade in marketing, I’ve had the good fortune to work with the world’s best copywriters…

At least, my kind of copywriter.  That is, a copywriter who is judged as a salesperson, on the results generated.  A copywriter who considers advertising and marketing to best be defined as “selling multiplied” through the media used to deliver the message.

These are copywriters whose work have generated well into the billions of dollars, who’ve written individual campaigns that have brought in 8- and even 9-figures in revenue.

As grand as my multiple million-dollar-plus campaigns have been, they pale in comparison to the grand-slam-home-runs from folks like Gary Bencivenga and others who’ve literally paid for their retirement with a single piece of copy.

One of whom, I’m working on a project with right now.

And as we were discussing my current promotion, he was underscoring a message I’ve heard from so many others just like him.

And while I’ve always tried to incorporate this into my selling messages, it’s good to get reminded from time to time, so you can redouble your efforts…

You’re not selling benefits, a solution, or even the results — you’re selling confidence…

When it comes down to it, we make our buying decisions based on confidence.

Think about this.  Imagine you’re up for emergency brain surgery.  You have a growth that needs to be removed, you could face irreversible brain damage and even death…

And since we’re imagining things, you actually get the opportunity to consult with two brain surgeons before deciding which is going to operate on you.

The first brain surgeon is honest, and well-educated.  She sits down with you and tells you the truth.  “This doesn’t look good.  I’m well-trained.  I’ve been doing brain surgeries for 23 years.  And I’ve saved a lot of lives.  But looking at this growth, I’d say you have about a 60% chance of making it through this with full functionality.  And a 10% chance you don’t even make it through the surgery.”

The second is similarly qualified, but exudes confidence.  She says, “We’re going to go in there, and we’re going to remove that growth.  I’ve been doing this for 23 years.  I’ve saved a lot of lives.  And I’m going to save yours.  You’ll come out of anesthesia and walk right down to the hospital lobby and play Rachmaninoff on the grand piano!”

To which you reply, “But I can’t even play Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star!”

“You’ll play Rachmaninoff!” she exclaims…

As much as you want to believe you’d pick the honest doctor, the sense of confidence you feel from the second one will drive your decision.  Just about every time.

The more confidence you have, the more persuasive you’ll be…

It’s important to understand your product’s features.  It’s important to understand the benefits those features will provide to the prospect.

It’s critical to understand the problem or challenge your prospect faces, and the solution your product or service provides.

And since your prospect wants results, it’s important to be able to talk about how buying your product or service will get them those results.

But it’s one thing to talk about those in a highly-qualified, couched way where you weigh probabilities and chances against each other…  And it’s another thing entirely to take a stand in favor of your prospect.

“Exactly 12 months from today, gold prices will have doubled — and you will collect over 400% profits as a result…”

Is VERY different from…

“Gold is likely to go up from here, and it could even double soon — and if that happens our recommended investments are very likely to outperform the bullion prices.”

I’m not writing about gold for this project, but you get the point.

Your predictions must be confident.

You must be confident in your ability to get the result.

You must be confident you can provide the solution or outcome the prospect wishes for.

You must be confident your customers will experience the benefit.

You must be confident in your guarantee.

If you sell a great product and are willing to back it up with a 100% satisfaction guarantee, there’s no reason NOT to be confident…

Here I’m assuming you deliver a ton of value.  That you sell a product or service that will better the lives of your prospects.  Where, by the time they’re done, they feel like they got the better end of the deal.

Assuming that’s the case, and you’re not ripping off customers, you have no reason not to step into your most confident self when you make your sales presentation.

We’re not talking hype.  We’re not talking lies.  But when it comes time to make your pitch, be bold and direct and confident that you (and your product or service) will deliver.

Then, back it up with a 100% satisfaction guarantee so that at any point, if your prospect feels they didn’t get the best end of the bargain, they’re out nothing.

The more confidence you can channel, the better your results will be.

Yours for bigger breakthroughs,

Roy Furr