Published on 12/12/2005

Do you know what one of the most powerful incentives you can use in your marketing is? One that is guaranteed to capture your prospects' interest and attention?

WHAT'S THE MOST POWERFUL WAY TO ATTRACT NEW CLIENTS?

by Charlie Cook
www.marketingforsuccess.com

Do you know what one of the most powerful incentives you can use
in your marketing is? One that is guaranteed to capture your
prospects' interest and attention?

You may be surprised to learn that it's not m0ney or love. Is it
making offers of products that are "guaranteed", "limited",
"proven", "easy and simple to use", "on sale", "includes a free
offer", or "new"? You're getting warmer.

Offers like the ones above are helpful in getting a prospect's
attention and are some of the most important words you can use
in your marketing, but they pale in comparison to the number one
motivator that makes your products and services irresistible to
your prospects.

What is it that makes your target market want to read your
marketing materials, email you, call you and buy from you?
Before I give you the answer, let me tell you a story.

I remember getting up at five on Christmas morning when I was
six years old. I tiptoed halfway down the stairs and sat there
in my pajamas looking at our Christmas tree and the presents
underneath. I stayed there for hours until my parents finally
got up sometime after seven.

What got me out of bed so early? Yes I was awed by the tall tree
draped with lights and dripping with tinsel. But the presents
were the key motivator. Not so much because I was dying to
possess more toys or eat more fruitcake, but because I wanted to
know what was in each one of those colorfully wrapped boxes
under the tree. My curiosity was so powerful I couldn't sleep
and I was up long before anyone should be on Christmas.

Whether you're six or sixty, curiosity is one of the most
powerful motivators. What prompted you to read this far? You
wanted to know the answer to the question I posed in the
article's title.

We're all curious. Dorothy Parker said, "The cure for boredom is
curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity." Spark a prospect's
curiosity about your product or service, and there is no
stopping them. They'll want to know if you can help them and how
you are going to do it. Get them curious and you'll get their
business.

How can you use curiosity in your marketing?

The headlines you use in your marketing are like the brightly
colored wrapping on Christmas presents. With the right words,
you'll grab your prospect's interest and it won't let up until
they've satisfied their curiosity.

Below you'll find two ways you can use headlines to prompt
prospects' curiosity.

Suggest a New Solution to A Problem. Use a question or a
statement such as:

"Want to Attract More Clients and Grow Your Business?"

"How Much More Could You Be Making With These Ideas?"

"Discover How to Attract All The Clients You Want"

"Sign Up For Your Financial Analysis To Find Hidden Resources
You Can Retire On."

Ask a question that is relevant to your prospects, and they will
look for the answer to follow. Promise a solution to a problem
and its guaranteed to get the curiosity of your prospects and
prompt them to contact you. Then deliver on your promise.

Use unusual and provocative headlines to engage your prospects.
Get their attention with a headline that is thought provoking or
incomplete. Create a "cliffhanger" with your headline and
prospects will read your marketing copy to satisfy their
curiosity.

The tabloid newspapers use this strategy to sell papers every
day. Take a look at these three samples:

"How to Use Liposuction to Repair Adobe Reader 6? And give it
mouth-to-mouth respiration too" - from the Inquirer

"Monkeys At My Car!" - from the SUN

"February To Be Canceled" - from the World Wide Weekly News

Unusual, unexpected or incomplete headlines can generate
interest. The problem with many of the tabloid headlines is they
aren't always credible or accurate. Instead you can use the
cliffhanger idea, but use it ethically and accurately to catch
your prospects' attention. For example:

"My Prize-Winning Roses Would Wither Up and Die If It Weren't
For"

"Soup on the rocks." - by Ogilvy for Campbells

"Have you ever seen a bald-headed sheep?" - from a 1954 ad for
NIL-O-NAL, a lanolin cure for baldness

"They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano But When I Started to
Play!" - written by John Caples for a mail order course

A creative headline will make your audience pause. It will
prompt people to read your marketing materials and lead your
prospects to buy.

Curiosity is a powerful motivator. Put it to work for your
business. Create curiosity with your business card, mailings,
s.ales letters and website. The more curiosity you create on
the part of your prospects the more inquiries and sales you'll
generate.

The author, Charlie Cook, helps service professionals, small
business owners and marketing professionals attract more
clients and be more successful. Sign up to receive the F.ree
Marketing Strategy eBook, '7 Steps to get more clients and grow
your business' at http://www.marketingforsuccess.com