Would you like to be able to write better B2B sales copy in less time? You can with the five-part strategy I use to produce winning B2B sales copy for my own clients.
If you use this strategy before you write any kind of B2B sales copy, your copy will be more on target, it will have greater depth, and it’s likely to be much more successful for the client.
Let me give you some background on this…
When most copywriters write sales copy, here’s how they typically do it. They’ll get all the information from their client — background information on the product, the offer, and any other information the client offers.
They think about it for a while, then they start writing. They’ll start experimenting with headlines and work on writing the body copy. They feel their way through it. And I admit, I write sales copy like that sometimes too.
But if you do some work just before you start actually writing the copy, you’ll keep your copy on track and make the process a lot faster.
Copywriting = Strategy + Writing
When you are writing copy, you’re actually doing two things.
The first part is where you’re strategizing what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it. And then, the second part is where you’re doing the creative work of writing the copy.
When you try to do those two things together at the same time, it makes the process a lot slower. So now I use a five-step copy strategy. It’s simply five questions I ask myself, either on paper or in my head.
When I have answers to these five questions, then I know I’m on track. The writing process becomes a lot clearer and a lot simpler. And what I write ends up being far better and more on target.
My 5-Step B2B Sales Copy Strategy
Here are the five questions you’re going to ask before you start writing the copy:
- Who is the prospect?
- What is the offer?
- Why is this important to the target audience?
- What is the next step?
- What is likely to pique the interest of your target audience and motivate them?
So, let’s go through each question one-by-one…
#1. Who is the Prospect?
Who is the target audience for this sales copy? Is it accountants? Is it accountants in private practice? Is it accountants in a corporate environment? Is it midcareer accountants? You want to be as specific as you possibly can.
It’s okay that you might have two or three different target audiences for the same promotion. But still try to be specific and have as much clarity as possible.
It’s even better if you can put together a buyer persona.
#2. What is the Offer?
Is it a free white paper? Is it a free consultation? Is it product information? Maybe you’re writing a product page or a service page for a website. So then what you’re offering is detailed product information the prospect wants to know.
#3. Why is It Important to the Target Audience?
If you’re offering a free white paper, what is it about this white paper that is important to the prospect? Why should they be interested in it? If you’re offering product information or some other type of information as part of your sales copy, why is it important to them?
Perhaps you’re offering a free or paid event. Why is it important to the prospect?
If you can’t answer that question, you’re in real trouble with your sales copy. It’s not enough just to describe a product or service and tout the features and benefits — you have to know why this information is important to your prospect, and why this should pique their interest.
#4. What is the Next Step?
That’s simply the call-to-action. If it’s an email campaign, is the next step to click and go on to a landing page? Is it to pull out a credit card and sign up for the event? Is it to call for a free consultation? Or maybe it’s more of a subtle awareness ad or web page you’re offering.
Whatever the next step is, you want to be clear about it. What specifically do you want the prospect to do?
#5. What Is Likely to Pique Their Interest and Motivate Them to Act?
This is kind of a catch-all question for ideas and strategies and anything you can think of that might motivate and pique the interest of these prospects.
If you’re writing an ad, for example, you may have an idea for a visual or a headline or a Big Idea that you think might get their interest. Whatever you have in mind, put that under #5.
If you can answer those questions before you sit down and write copy, it’s like having a compass that’s pointing to true north. You know you’re on the right track. You’re going to be on target because you have those answers. And it’s going to make the writing process so much easier for you. And when you write the copy, it’s likely to be that much more effective.
Now, let me give you an example of this in action…
Let’s say you are writing an email campaign for a sales training company. They’re offering a free white paper in an email campaign.
So question number one is — who is the prospect?
And of course, you want to talk to your client about this to get clarity. Let’s say the answer is “sales managers of mid-sized companies.”
Number two — what are you offering?
Your client offers sales training to small sales teams. Mid-sized companies often have smaller sales teams. The topic of the white paper being offered is a three-step technique for getting more sales meetings with prospects. This technique is based on the latest, science-based research.
Number three — why is this important to them?
Remember, the target audience is sales managers of mid-sized companies. These people might not think they can benefit from sales training because it’s expensive and it’s just for big companies. The really good sales training companies only target big companies, and they’re a mid-sized company.
Well, your client specializes in mid-sized companies. So sales managers may be interested simply because of that.
The topic of the white paper — getting more meetings with prospects is inarguably the fastest way to boost sales. So sales managers would be interested in the white paper because of the three-step technique.
Maybe they could share the white paper with their sales force today and start seeing results right away. Wouldn’t that be fantastic? So the white paper would be very important to them.
Number four — what’s the next step?
The next step is to fill out a landing page form and request to download the white paper.
Finally, number five — what’s likely to pique the interest of sales managers of mid-sized companies and motivate them to download this white paper?
They want practical ways to boost sales for their sales team. Perhaps they could use the three-step technique described in the white paper and start seeing results right away. That’s a big motivator.
The white paper is based on science-based techniques. It’s not fluff or guessing. It’s not some guru with a system or formula that he’s selling. This is science-based research that has a better chance of working in the real world.
And the whole idea of getting some top-shelf sales training without needing a big budget can also be a motivator as well.
So, let’s say you’ve answered those questions in just that way. Now that you have the answers, won’t writing that sales piece be so much easier?
Won’t it be easier to stay on track, when you’re clear on who the prospect is, what you’re offering, why it’s important to the prospect, and what the next step is? And now you’ve got some initial ideas as to what’s going to pique their interest and motivate them.
So, next time you write some sales copy for your B2B client, start by asking those five strategy questions. If you answer those first, trust me… Writing the sales copy is going to be so much easier and the results are going to be so much better.
