Some time ago, a friend asked me for some help. Specifically, she wanted to know how she could write better sales copy. She is a business coach and has a high-end coaching package.

It all sounds good so far, right? Not quite.

This package really wasn’t selling as well as she hoped it would, and she realized that she needed help with her sales copy.

So, she came to me.

Now, I’m going to share the advice that I gave to her, and then show you how this seemingly trivial tip can transform your sales copy from so-so into frickin’ amazing sales copy.

So, when my friend came to me asking to show her how to write better sales copy, there were two things that I needed to know first:

  • What she was selling
  • Why it was so expensive

However, when I asked her these questions, I got a response that really didn’t tell me too much. She said: “This package offers individual time with me over a full year.”

In other words, it was expensive because she was investing a lot of her time into it. That certainly makes sense – but it also makes for terrible sales copy.

My response was brutal, but straight to the point: “If I’m making so much money that I can afford to drop this much on you – why would I want to spend all year sitting around, talking to you each month? I could be doing something else. More productive, more fun, more anything. It sounds like a waste of time!”

My friend laughed. “That individual coaching time lets me really work through the problem. That’s when I can help them…”

I cut her off.

“Then tell them THAT instead!”

Here’s what the deal is with sales copywriting. You want to sell something to someone. First, you need to tell them what they’re going to get. Then you need to tell them what it will do, how it will benefit them, and why they should care about it.

People are busy, often forgetful, and they need reasons to care. Nobody cares if you offer 100 variations, multiple hour-long calls, or a huge video training course.

Nobody.

What will make them care is something persuasive. Here’s an example:

  • BAD: You’ll get a full year of one-on-one individual business coaching from me
  • GOOD: You’ll get a full year of one-on-one individual business coaching from me – share your biggest hurdle with me, and we’ll solve it together

Is that the best example of better sales copy? No, it’s not.

What it is meant to do is illustrate the difference that it makes to your sales copy when you give someone something to care about.

A benefit.

You need to tell them why your offer matters – and most importantly, how it will benefit them.

Don’t just say what you’re going to do, but also how it is going to be awesome for them.

You might be thinking how this is all just common sense now, but it really isn’t.

What is common sense is knowing that people are busy, they don’t have time, they’re only half-interested.

You need to hook them on their own self-interest, and that means talking about how your offer – whatever it is – is going to make their life better.

More importantly, you want to be in control of what people think. You don’t want them to invent their own expectation (often at complete odds with your intentions) – or worse, create their own benefit that simply isn’t compelling to them.

In short, you need to tell people your story and your benefit. Tell people what they’re getting, but always tell them why this is something that they need.

Have you made this mistake before? I know I did when I was just starting out! The key to better sales copy is really just telling people what they want to hear!