In one of his copywriting classes, the legendary copywriter Gary Halbert asked his students, “If you and I both owned a hamburger stand and we were in a contest to see who could sell the most hamburgers, what advantages would you most like to have on your side to help you win?”
Superior meat, better buns (with sesame seeds), good location, and lowest cost were the most popular advantages his students had asked for.
After his students had finished telling him what advantages they would most like to have, he said, “Okay, I’ll give you every advantage you have asked for. I only want one advantage, and if you give it to me, I will (when it comes to selling burgers) whip the pants off all of you!”
“What advantage do you want?” they asked.
“The only advantage I want,” he replied, “is…A Starving Crowd!”
Think about it. You can have the best products or services in the world; if your target prospects don’t need them, you have the wrong prospects!
You may have excellent sales skills, know some secret codes, or apply some voodoo NLP techniques; when you have the wrong prospects, you’re not going to sell anything.
So, stop wasting too much time trying to learn new selling skills and attending courses repeatedly. Instead, start spending more time looking for the right prospects – someone who is looking.
Remember, the hungrier your target prospects, the easier it is to attract them, and the fewer sales skills you need to win them over.
Only look for people who are looking. Always.
