How To Get More Leads By Using The 'SO WHAT' Test
Right now, people are looking for your product or service.
That’s the good news.
The bad news is, there are other companies offering the exact same product or service as you, so prospects have options… depending on your field – they have many, many options.
So when someone reads your marketing material, you better be sure you’re going to convert that person into a lead. You can’t afford to squander your chances of getting a new customer because if you do – they will become your competitor’s customer.
How do you know if your marketing will give you the best opportunity to impress a reader?
Well, to start with, you better use a strong prospect-focused headline, include many benefits people will get by using your offering, create a reason why they should contact you right away and give them an irresistible call-to-action to compel a response. Of course, simple language is a must.
Overall, it can be pretty tough to put together a good piece of content.
But there’s a really simple way of measuring whether the copy you’ve already written stands any chance of succeeding.
It’s called the ‘So What Test’.
Here’s how it works:
First, you’ve got to put yourself in the position of a prospect reading your marketing content for the first time. Think like your potential customer.
Now – simply read through the copy looking for any statements you can respond to with, ‘SO WHAT!?’
For example, say you read something like:
‘We are passionate about our business and what we do’ — SO WHAT!
‘We have been in business since 1996’ — SO WHAT!
‘We have pride in our high-quality widgets’ – SO WHAT!
You’ll notice that ‘So What’ copy is all about the company doing the marketing rather than about the audience they are trying to reach. And the great danger of a reader saying ‘So What?’ is they often stop reading there and then. The more times they can say it, the higher the probability they’ll click away or throw your material into the trashcan.
Content should always be focused on the reader – how you can help them achieve their goals or get rid of a current problem.
When you write about yourself, it should only be in the context of how you will help readers get what they want.
The ‘So What Test’ is a simple little method of reviewing your content to see how it will stack up.
When you’re able to remove all the ‘So What’ moments from your copy, you’ll be ahead of 99% of your competition and have an opportunity to beat the pants off of them.
Give it a try.
