Building Bridges to the Next Steps
By Jonathan Kranz
Open up your brochures, reports, white papers and other collateral, then skip to the end. What’s there? For too many businesses, it’s a flat record of contact information, as if there were a Geneva Convention-like obligation to present only one’s name, address and phone number. Or, perhaps, you’ve thrown down an almost apologetic request for engagement, the hoary old, “if you’d like more information, call…”
Such a waste! Assuming that your collateral has been effective – that it has demonstrated your company’s value and credibility – the end is the moment of opportunity, the transition point between the reader’s passive absorption of information and a more active engagement with your company.
If you have a strong offer to make, here’s the place to make it. If you don’t, or if the nature of the collateral (its long shelf-life or its intended audience) simply isn’t appropriate for an offer, try this: a “quiz” or check list that invites readers to compare their current lives/products/practices with the better life/product/practice your company offers. In essence, you’re restating your collateral piece in a summarized format that reinforces the benefits you bring to the table.
For a consumer product, it can look something like this:
The ThunderCutter comes loaded with features that make lawn care easier and more rewarding. Can your current mower…
…make short work of even tough or wet grasses?
…cut through dense brush and thickets?
…move easily across rough, rocky or uneven terrain?
…switch to mulching to bagging in one simple step?
…start with just one flick of a switch – without pulling and sweating?
If you answered “no” to any or all of these questions, your mower just doesn’t “cut it.” Request a demonstration of the ThunderCutter by calling…
For a B2B service, it might look like this:
With more than 20 years of experience, Dodge & Associates has mastered dozens of techniques guaranteed to improve sales performance. How many of these tactics do you use?
[ ] Consistent training of all new personnel
[ ] Online refresher courses offered at regular intervals
[ ] Incentive programs aligned with your company’s interests
[ ] Communications materials that can be customized for each prospect
[ ] Visible, easy-to-use reporting systems
[ ] Electronic lead capture and distribution systems
[ ] Automatic feedback collection for ongoing sales improvement.
Every box you failed to check represents lost sales, lost revenue and lost opportunity. Learn more about any or all of these techniques by calling…
Simple, right? Yet powerful. By writing them you…
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Remind readers of all the valuable content you gave them on the preceding pages of your collateral.
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Cast a pall of doubt on your prospect’s current situation. Remember, your greatest competitor isn’t another business or product, it’s inertia. The checklist pointedly reminds readers that they may be missing out on something important.
- Assure prospects that there are good reasons to contact you, that the person on the other end of the line has something meaningful to say or offer.
The next time you write a piece of collateral, think about the end first and plan on creating a checklist that serves as a bridge between your information and the action you want the reader to take.
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Kranz Communications
(781) 620-1154
This article originally appeared in the Kranz On Copy newsletter. To subscribe, click here.
