Isn't Anybody Gonna Answer That?
How many times in a day, week, month . . . in your lifetime are you busy - doing anything - and the phone rings?
Out of all those times the phone rings, how many times do you stop what you're doing to answer it?
I'll bet it's a lot. 90%? 95%? I don't know for sure but I'm guessing it's up there.
I know because I used to stop whatever I was doing to answer it. Didn't matter what I was doing, I would just stop - and answer the phone.
Until one day something dawned on me:
I don't HAVE to answer it! It's not required. I can let it ring and let my answering machine get it. After all, that's what it's designed to do.
It used to annoy the heck out of my wife when the phone would ring - right next to me - and I would ignore it (inasmuch as you can ignore a ringing phone). She would rush for the phone saying "Geez . . . aren't you gonna answer that?". And I'd ask "Why?"
And for a long time I wondered why people stop whatever they're doing and answer their phone.
The answer is simple - because we're conditioned to, that's why. Sure, you could argue - Because it could be important; What if it's my broker with a hot tip; What if it's an emergency.
The bottom line is, though, it's all conditioning. Just look around you on any given day in any given location. People can't even leave home without a telephone!
Conditioning.
I would love to be able to get my readers to just stop whatever they were doing when my newsletter hits their mailbox and read it from start to finish. Better still, to purchase products I recommend. Wouldn't that be great?
Well, we may never be able to achieve that level of conditioning, but there are some things you can do to help stop the conditioned response of just deleting your emails before they're read.
First and foremost, you must build and earn their trust. People are by and large conditioned to "shoot first - ask questions later". At least until they get to know and trust you. Building trust takes work and honesty, so keep at it.
Next, create a distinctive image - brand yourself. This can be accomplished in so many ways: A catchy name, a unique product or service, a creative writing style that people enjoy, a logo. Whatever it is, it should make people remember you.
Repetition. Advertising to your market on a regular basis. Writing articles and submitting them frequently so that not only do new prospects get to know you but so that your regular readers or customers don't forget you. It is imperative, though, to know when enough turns to too much. The object is to get them to read/buy/recommend your products or whatever your offerings may be.
Create positive association in your prospects long term memory. Remember, when a prospect is ready to purchase, their decision is reached by the information retrieved from memory (even impulse purchases at times are made by a positive association to that product and retrieved from their long term memory at the time of their purchase).
Here's an excercize - see if you can finish the following:
"I'd like to buy the world a . . . . . . . " "Sometimes you feel like a nut; . . . . . . . . . . . " "Plop plop fizz fizz, . . . . . . . . . . . . "
I'm willing to bet you remembered them just fine. Ask yourself why. Effective advertising - sure. Repetition - you betcha. Name recognition? You remembered them, didn't you? Now we're conditioned to know exactly which product is referred to even if only part of the jingles above are heard or read.
I'll bet even a few of you went to your fridge to get a Coke after reading them . . . ;-)
So what does all of this have to do with a ringing telephone? I don't know. But I know this . . . my wife has now been reconditioned to only answer the phone when she WANTS to. Not because it's ringing.
So get busy. Condition your market. Make a name for yourself.
About the author: Michael Ambrosio is the owner and webmaster of Get Profits Now as well as a few other internet businesses.
He has been "online" since 1995 and running various web businesses since 1998. His Get Profits Now newsletter was started in 2002.