The words we speak and the words we use to promote our side hustle or what we do in our full-time self-employment can bring life or death to what we do.
A friend of mine sent me the following story that powerfully illustrates the importance of the words we use.
A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: “I am blind, please help.”
There were only a few coins in the hat.
A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.
Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were.
The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, “Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?”
The man said, “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.” I wrote: “Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it.”
The Story’s Moral
The words used on both signs told people that the boy was blind.
The first sign simply stated the boy was blind.
The second sign expressed his message in a way that brought up an emotional response from the people.
That message was that they were fortunate not to be blind like he was.
My friend shared that the moral of the story was “Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively. When life gives you 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile. Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear. Keep the faith and drop the fear.”
Become A P.A.S.T.O.R.
In his book, “How to Write Copy That Sells: The Step-By-Step System for More Sales, to More Customers, More Often,” Ray Edwards created a formulas using the acronym P.A.S.T.O.R.
“P” is for PROBLEM
“A” is for AMPLIFY
“S” is for STORY and SOLUTION
“T” is for TRANSFORMATION and TESTIMONY
“O” is for OFFER
“R” is for RESPONSE
If you follow this formula, you will be able to help more people and earn more than enough to live the lifestyle your want.
Defining The Formula
When we talk about the PROBLEM we are describing the person, problem, and pain.
Who are we trying to reach, what problem are they facing (that we can solve), and the pain caused by that problem.
Regardless of what you service you offer, there are people that need it.
You could be a comedian. You people are those that need to laugh and feel good. Their pain is they are feeling down. We know that laughter releases endorphins. So if you can tell jokes and stories that get people to laugh, you are improving their lives.
We want to AMPLIFY the consequences of NOT solving the problem. Additionally, we talk about the aspirations. Who wants to live a sorrowful life that is depressing and without laughter? No one.
The comedian can then share a STORY and SOLUTION on how “Bob”, a overworked and under appreciated accountant learn to see humor in the world and life.
The TRANSFORMATION and TESTIMONYis not about the “stuff” you do or sell. With each laugh, Bob improved his outlook on life and was about to smile more and be more joyful. Then we have Bob explain how his life is better now.
Now is the time to share the OFFER. For our comedian, it could be his DVDs, his live performances (at clubs, big venues, or corporate parties). Tell the potential buyer exactly what they get.
The RESPONSE is often the most overlooked part. We need to ask the customer to buy!
Leading them through this who process is in vain if we do not ask for the sale.
Be specific, tell them the exact steps to take.
Next Steps
This has been a a brief overview of one chapter of Ray’s book, “How to Write Copy That Sells: The Step-By-Step System for More Sales, to More Customers, More Often.”
To go deeper and learn specifics on how you can generate sales to live the life you want, buy the book today.
You might fear sales. You don’t need to. Ray will show you have to overcome you fear and how to “sell without being salesy.”
