We are often bombarded with tips on how to write better. However, I have decided to organize these tips in an old but simple memory device: Alliteration and repetition, thus this blog entry is titled, “The 3 “C’s” to Make Your Articles Better”. I hope this makes my thought easier to follow and hopefully, harder to forget. This is what good writers and speakers do continually.
Effective use of the 3 “C’s” will help you to have a distinct flavour in your articles and enable your readers to remember it more vividly.
1. Contrast and comparison
Contrast and comparison brings life to your article. They flow subtly but effectively through the best creative articles. Examples include comparing ourselves with others or society norm, comparing the present and the past or differences in personalities and backgrounds.
Comparison and contrast weave the various arguments and facets of the piece together. This helps to establish ground with your reader as you acknowledge the opposition or have given thought to their common concerns.
2. Characterisation
Opportunities for characterisation are aplenty in humorous articles. The ability to draw vivid characters is also important to personal experience articles.
This may play on stereotypes and is pretty fun as how little descriptions insinuate and plant images into a reader’s mind. Take for example, what kind of a mental picture is evoked with the following description, “As she flashes her new Tiffany & Co. bracelet to her friends”. Perhaps a materialistic and flamboyant young lady comes to mind. Nothing much has been said except for the key words, “flashes”, “new Tiffany & Co. bracelet” and “friends”, indicating she probably does this frequently and seeks external validation.
Thus give your characters some thought and make them come to life. This gives your work that extra quality that sets it apart from the ordinary.
3. Catchphrase
A catchphrase may make a lively title or it can be what your article is remembered for. It could be a single sentence or a bit of dialogue taken even from the movies. Do you remember Jerry Maguire starring Tom Cruise back in 1996? “Show me the money!” became an unavoidable catchphrase for a long time and emotions or images associated with crisis of conscience or life will be evoked with a simple use of that catchphrase.
Catchphrase is especially effective in nostalgia pieces or in the personal essays as it catches your attention. However, do remember to use it sparingly for maximum effect.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
3 Simple Tips to Master the Art of Selling
3 Simple Tips to Master the Art of Selling
Selling is essentially an art of persuasion, which is based on relationships. In its simplest terms, success in selling is determined by your ability to form high- quality relationships with your customers. This can be established by listening to your customers, fulfilling their needs and increasing your credibility.
1. Listen to your customers
It has often been said that God gave you two ears and one mouth, and in a sales conversation, you should use them in that proportion. The best salespeople are superb listeners and are skilled at establishing relationships. Very often, customers who start off uninterested in your offering will warm up to you and decide to buy from you for the simple reason that you listen well and you seem to care about them and their situation. You understand their needs and seek to aid them. Similarly, this helps you by fine-tuning your sales pitch to fulfill their needs. It is important at this juncture, to emphasis on the sincerity involved when making the sale.
The truth of the matter is that people don’t care about you or what you sell. They care about themselves and their problems. Customers buy solutions, not products or services. When you make sales presentations, you are persuading your customers that the value in the product or service you offer in return is of greater value than the money they pay.
Start perceiving yourself as a professional problem solver rather than just a salesperson and your sales will increase tremendously.
2. Fulfill existing needs
If you have followed the 1st tip well, you will have uncovered a wealth of information about your perspective customer. Top salespeople are skilled at asking good questions and listening carefully to the answers. This essentially enables them to focus on satisfying the most important and pressing needs of the customers with their products or services. Show your customer how the benefits of your products is able to fulfill their existing needs.
Thus, in order to sell, your job is to uncover and satisfy the needs that already exist. Your job is not to create new ones, but to define clearly the real needs of your customers that your products or services can satisfy. By doing so, you create a connection with your customer, which helps you to get a foot in the door. If you want your product to stand out, make sure you beyond the obvious benefits and satisfactions. Your products must offer the subtler, but no less important needs.
3. Increase your credibility
In the world of sales and marketing, creating credibility and rapport with the masses is essential. Increase your credibility with the following methods: positive online ratings in auction sites, real- life testimonials, reputation in the field of expertise, quality of article contributions, pictures of products or yourself.
Do not be myopic and hanker after short term gains. Instead, focus on long term gains in the deliverance of true value to your customers and audience. The foundation of the successful sale is when the trust bonds between the salesperson and the customer.
Selling is essentially an art of persuasion, which is based on relationships. In its simplest terms, success in selling is determined by your ability to form high- quality relationships with your customers. This can be established by listening to your customers, fulfilling their needs and increasing your credibility.
1. Listen to your customers
It has often been said that God gave you two ears and one mouth, and in a sales conversation, you should use them in that proportion. The best salespeople are superb listeners and are skilled at establishing relationships. Very often, customers who start off uninterested in your offering will warm up to you and decide to buy from you for the simple reason that you listen well and you seem to care about them and their situation. You understand their needs and seek to aid them. Similarly, this helps you by fine-tuning your sales pitch to fulfill their needs. It is important at this juncture, to emphasis on the sincerity involved when making the sale.
The truth of the matter is that people don’t care about you or what you sell. They care about themselves and their problems. Customers buy solutions, not products or services. When you make sales presentations, you are persuading your customers that the value in the product or service you offer in return is of greater value than the money they pay.
Start perceiving yourself as a professional problem solver rather than just a salesperson and your sales will increase tremendously.
2. Fulfill existing needs
If you have followed the 1st tip well, you will have uncovered a wealth of information about your perspective customer. Top salespeople are skilled at asking good questions and listening carefully to the answers. This essentially enables them to focus on satisfying the most important and pressing needs of the customers with their products or services. Show your customer how the benefits of your products is able to fulfill their existing needs.
Thus, in order to sell, your job is to uncover and satisfy the needs that already exist. Your job is not to create new ones, but to define clearly the real needs of your customers that your products or services can satisfy. By doing so, you create a connection with your customer, which helps you to get a foot in the door. If you want your product to stand out, make sure you beyond the obvious benefits and satisfactions. Your products must offer the subtler, but no less important needs.
3. Increase your credibility
In the world of sales and marketing, creating credibility and rapport with the masses is essential. Increase your credibility with the following methods: positive online ratings in auction sites, real- life testimonials, reputation in the field of expertise, quality of article contributions, pictures of products or yourself.
Do not be myopic and hanker after short term gains. Instead, focus on long term gains in the deliverance of true value to your customers and audience. The foundation of the successful sale is when the trust bonds between the salesperson and the customer.
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