Backwards Talking

The Client Letter
November 26, 2013
The Desert of Arizona
Sun 33 Degrees
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The vast majority of service providers, when given a moment of silence in front of a potential client, will jump in and start talking about what they do. It’ll be me, me, me.

Depending on how caught up in themselves they are, they might even miss the yawn their poor prospect tries to hide in a fake smile or something.

The average service provider will repel their potential client by talking about the wrong thing at the wrong time.

Smart service providers will do things the other way around. They’ll engage in something you might describe as “bakckwards talking.”

The reason you want to master this skill is simple: it’s the only way to get and keep the attention of anyone… about anything.

This is how I spend much of my thinking time. I do a lot of direct response copywriting work for both information marketing companies and single service providers selling high ticket services. And this skill is my bread and butter.

The key is to focus on what they want. Not the service they want, but the ultimate goal that is achieved because of the service.

Have you ever really stopped to think about what that is for your prospects? What are they ultimately after?

When you’re clear on that, that’s where you start. You start there when you’re talking, you start there when you’re writing.

From there, you talk your way backwards to little old you. In other words, you connect the end result they want, with the service you provide… in that order. It takes a little time. It’s almost like following a trail of bread crumbs back to the treasure chest.

But you have to start with the end and work backwards, or your prospect simply won’t come along. They’ll lose interest the minute you open your mouth and start talking about you.

People think that copywriting is about words. And in part, that’s true. But to me, it’s far more about developing the ability to work backwards. It’s about being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and then walk them where you want them to go.

If you want to learn how to put this to use in your service business, this’ll show you.