10 Simple Steps to Create “Ready to Buy” Customers… Especially in a Recession
By: Michael Stelzner
Renowned B2B Marketer Reveals How These Steps Brought Him 80,000 Leads, Millions in Revenue and a Best-selling Book
Following the dot com crash of 2002, entrepreneur Michael Stelzner had
a crazy idea. Scrambling with few leads, a sinking business and a
family to feed, he decided to woo customers by literally putting his
trade secrets in writing and giving them away for free.
Unsure whether his big risk would pay off, Stelzner’s skepticism
quickly turned to wide-eyed amazement as the results first trickled
in—then exploded. Despite the economy, Stelzner’s “crazy idea” is still
putting money in his pocket.
Giving away his best ideas propelled him right through tough economic
times, delivering more than 80,000 leads, a steady stream of
“ready-to-buy” customers, millions in revenue, a best-selling book and
business ventures beyond his wildest dreams.
Stelzner went on to launch a successful 25,000-subscriber newsletter
and a thriving conference business and wrote the best-selling book
Writing White Papers: How to Capture Readers and Keep Them Engaged.
Now he teaches business owners and marketers how to grow their companies
using the very techniques he pioneered.
What’s Stelzner’s secret to quadrupling his business during not one,
but two major recessions? Using educational white papers as a way to
sell “under the radar.” By packaging the right information in the right
way, Stelzner has taught thousands how to transform anonymous readers
into paying customers. The press calls him “The grandfather of white
papers.”
“My business was sinking faster than the Titanic before I used this
simple method. It’s the one marketing tool that allowed me to make more
money and grow my business beyond my wildest dreams,” said Stelzner.
Studies show white papers remain the most effective lead generation
tools, bar none. Prospects turn to white papers when making large
purchasing decisions. These marketing tools are so powerful that
corporations repeatedly pay up to $10,000 to professionals to craft
them.
But you don’t have to spend a lot of money or hire someone else to put
the power of white papers to work for you. Anyone who can pen a
business letter can learn to successfully market his or her business
with white papers.
Here are Stelzner’s 10 essential rules to help you create “ready-to-buy” customers with white papers:
1. Embrace readers by talking about their issues.
Actually write about your prospects’ fears and frustrations. What are
their problems? Lay it out in writing. Then go ahead and tell them how
to solve their challenges.
2. Share your proprietary secrets.
Don’t hold back. Tell readers the very secrets that you’d normally only share
with paying customers. The response will blow you away. It’s often,
“How much more will I gain if I hire this company or buy this product?”
3. Accept that your audience isn’t a clone of you.
Your readers don’t think the way you do. Get inside their heads, meet their
needs and use language that doesn’t make you sound self-serving. Kill
the fancy words, stop talking about yourself and simply speak your
reader’s language.
4. Use the movie trailer open.
Your first words matter most. Craft an opening that sounds like a good movie
trailer-it creates an interesting drama in the minds of readers without
giving away the whole story, ensuring they keep reading.
5. Fire your silver bullet by writing a list only YOU can satisfy.
When you use educational content, there’s always the chance readers will
compare you against the competition. You virtually eliminate your
rivals when you tell readers how to shop. Generate a list of
requirements that only your company can meet. The result: you provide
great value your readers and help them filter out your competitors.