Words That Sell

By Dawn Josephson

English is a rich language that contains hundreds of thousands of words. But did you know that only 21 of them can easily sell your clients? Once you learn these golden words and how to use them, you'll save both time and money.

What's in a Word?

The exact words you use in your company's marketing materials can make the difference between success and failure. Choose the right words and your prospects will find you and your company irresistible. Choose the wrong words and you'll spend most of your time convincing prospects to do business with you. Why waste your time selling prospects on your products or services when you can let strategically written marketing pieces do the work for you? When it comes to writing marketing pieces, your word choices do matter. Following are the top 10 of the 21 words that sell. Use them wisely and watch your marketing response rates soar.

The Top 10 Words That Sell

1. You/your—"You" is the most powerful word in the English language. It's more powerful than the word "money;" it's more powerful than the word "sex." Prospects want to feel as if you're talking to them directly, and the word "you" accomplishes just that. So instead of writing, "Our clients report increased productivity as a result of using the Widget 2100," write, "You will experience increased productivity as a result of using the Widget 2100." Keep every sentence in your prospect's perspective.
   
   
2. Money—Ask people what they wish they had more of, and chances are they'll say "money." People love to save money just as much as they love to earn it. So if a benefit of your product or service is that it saves people money or helps them earn more money, state it along with a monetary figure. For example: "Using the Widget 2100 saves you money—over $5000 per year!"
   
   
3. Health/healthy—The second thing people wish they had more of is good health. People want products and services that are going to either improve their health or at least not negatively impact it. For example: "Vitamin X improves your health and well being by …" or "Pesticide Y has no known health implications," or "Product Z is part of a healthy diet."
   
   
4. Guarantee/guaranteed—Most people are not risk takers. They want assurance that your product or service can live up to its claims and that they're not wasting their money. By giving some sort of guarantee, you put prospects at ease and gain their trust. For example: "We're so confident the Widget 2100 will work for you that we offer a full money-back guarantee."
   
   
5. Easy/easily—Between 40+ hour workweeks and increasing demands at home, people don't want products or services that are going to make their lives more difficult. So always state how easy your company makes things. For example: "The Widget 2100 makes it easy for you to…" Or, "With the Widget 2100, you can easily remove spots from your carpet once and for all."
   
   
6. Free—Everyone loves getting something for nothing. That's why the word "free" continues to be one of the top selling words of all time. Realize that the free offer doesn't have to have a high monetary value, just a high perceived value. Some freebies that work include: "Free consultation," "Free estimate," "Free report," "Free shipping" and "Buy one, get one free."
   
   
7. Yes—Face it, you love being told "yes," don't you? "Yes" means you have permission, you were right or you can get what you want. "Yes" is one of the most pleasing words to the human ear. So tell your prospects "yes" often. For example, in your marketing materials, you can ask a series of positive yes/no questions, and then write, "If you answered 'yes' to any of these questions, then the Widget 2100 is what you've been searching for."
   
   
8. Quick/quickly—In today's microwave-age society, people want things quickly. They don't want to wait weeks or even days for the results you promote. They want to know they'll see a quick return for their investment now. So while the perception of quick results may vary from person to person, if you know that your product or service is quicker than something else, state it. For example: "Lose weight quickly," "Make money quickly" and "Quick and tasty meals from your own kitchen."
   
   
9. Benefit—Most written marketing pieces do state the benefit of the product or service; however, they neglect to actually use the word "benefit." When people read the word "benefit," they subconsciously perk up. They know they're about to learn something that will impact their life, so they want to know more. For example, "As an added benefit to this product, you get (state the benefit)."
   
   
10. Person's name—Everyone loves hearing their own name and seeing their name in print. That's why so many souvenir shops sell personalized items, from magnets to coffee mugs. Including the prospect's name in a marketing piece, especially in the middle of a sentence, boosts attention levels. For example, "As you can see, Steve, the Widget 2100 makes perfect sense for your needs."

The Other 11 Words That Sell

1. Love
2. Results
3. Safe/safely
4. Proven
5. Fun
6. New
7. Save
8. Now
9. How-to
10. Solution
11. More

While synonyms to these 21 words are acceptable, synonyms are not as powerful as the actual words themselves. So in order to avoid redundancy in your marketing piece, use the appropriate word wisely--don't overdo it. As your marketing writing prowess increases, consider combining words that sell within the same sentence. For example, maybe your product works "quickly, safely and easily." Or, perhaps your service makes cooking "easy and fun." Or, are your "proven results guaranteed"? You get the idea. Since short marketing pieces are more powerful than long ones, make sure every sentence packs a punch.

When you use these 21 words in every marketing piece, you'll quickly increase your prospect's interest in what you write, which ultimately leads to more money for you. Can you do it? Yes! And you're going to love the results. Guaranteed!

Want to learn more? Consider these AMA seminars:

• AMA's Course on Direct Marketing
• Effective E-mail Marketing

Author Bio: Dawn Josephson is the president and founder of Cameo Publications, an editorial and publishing services firm. She is the author of Putting It on Paper: The Ground Rules for Creating Promotional Pieces That Sell Books . Contact her at dawn@cameopublications.com or 843-785-3770.