The meaning of your communication is the response you get.
Far too many sales people over complicate with their choice of words.
No matter what you sell it's best to write out your sales argument first.
Why?
Because you'll soon see if it follows a logical step-by-step approach that influences others.
When you do you'll have an amazing advantage over the lazy salespeople who don't.
And the good news is - most sales people are lazy!
Here is what Dick Hodgson has to say:
I suggest testing everything you write for readability.
This is not difficult nor time-consuming.
After you do it a dozen or two dozen times, you will estimate reading level without testing.
There are many different formulas for measuring readability, but the most popular, and certainly easiest to use, is the Rudy Flesch formula.
The Flesch formula, and most other formulas, are based on two facts that have been demonstrated over and over.
1. The longer the sentence, the less the reader will get out of it.
2. The more short words, the more the reader will get out of it.
Now this sounds very simple, and if we follow it to its logical conclusion we would write nothing but one-syllable words and three or four-word sentences. Surely, then, everyone would understand so they would, but few would read or listen to you.
The Flesch formula is based on the average length of sentences and the average length of words.
Some sentences must be long and some words must be long, but if they are varied with short sentences and short words, the overall readability will be good.
Writing at the correct level of readability for your audience will not in itself ensure a successful piece of persuasion-but at least you will know you are not throwing roadblocks in your reader's path.
Verb-Adjective Ratio.
The next thing to watch for is the verb-adjective ratio. Verbs are the motion words of communication - they carry the reader along, they paint pictures of action in which the reader can see himself as an actor.
Verbs bring movement, excitement, and flow, and lead the reader quickly to the conclusion you want him to reach.
Writing you cannot put aside until you have finished has a high verb-adjective ratio, about three verbs to each adjective. This ratio follows reading difficulty. Too many adjectives force the reader to stop and reconstruct his mental picture - each additional adjective adds more qualification to your statement, adds another fact the reader must carry in his mind to arrive at complete understanding.
Comic-book copy uses almost no adjectives; theses written for college degrees run as high as two qualifying adjectives for every verb.
Try to keep all action words in the present. Try to keep your story happening today, not yesterday or tomorrow. No one ever lived yesterday or will live tomorrow. All human beings have always lived today - the future and the past are artificial concepts we build in our minds - that takes effort and imagination.
As you can clearly see this guy was a genius.
I recommend you use Microsoft Word. Inside or Word is "Readability statistics." This tool takes all the hard work out of writing in simple ways designed for the average age of readers in the western world.
You must write to the level that a ten year old would understand.
Even if you're influencing adults!
Especially if you're influencing adults.
You may not be a writer. That's okay. You still want to get your own way, right?
And you hate the word "no."
Then learn to use readability statistics.
Aim for no more that 5% passive sentences. (verbs to adjectives as you read earlier.)
Readability is above 70%.
Flesch-Kincaid score 5-7.
And one more thing...
No more than 14 words per sentence.
Many years ago, Paul Bringe offered this valuable advice, which is just as true today and it was when he wrote it:
A good copywriter isn't in love with words, he is in love with people. All kinds of people, everywhere and anywhere. He is intensely interested in people, watches them closely, listens when they talk, lives their bad moments with them and rejoices in their victories.
He is so interested in other people he forgets all about himself, his own needs and wants, and after a time he knows why they think as they do. And he recognizes himself in them and knows what they do he is capable of doing whether it is good or bad. The way to write believable copy is to love people.
Know what every living person fears, hates, loves and rejoices just as you do. Let everything you write say to your reader, "I understand you. I have been in your shoes, I can help you, please let me try."
The readability statistics for this short essay from Paul Bringe was.
8.3 words per sentence.
0% passive sentences.
Readability score of 83.4% that means over 80% of the population can understand it.
The grade level is 3.5.
Now add four to that score and you get the reading age for those in the UK. And that's 7.5, well under 10.
You now have another important piece of the persuasion puzzle.
Use this to your advantage. Very few people know about this, and most of those who do would never reveal it.
I can tell you this. Everyone I've ever shown this to has gone on to become excellent influencers.
Of course there is more to it that this and you'll find I have more great ideas for you.
Persuasion is the most sought after skill in society today. Politicians abuse it. Entrepreneurs thrive on it. Here's how to be skilled at influencing others http://whypeopleresistyou.com/2013/08/selling-how-to-get-past-resistance/
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