If you’ve ever taken a Dale Carnegie Sales class, you’ll remember the “Feel, Felt, Found” sales approach.

Whether you’re selling your product or service face to face or on the web, your clients care about one thing only – what you can do for them. In fact, this is the only way to get the product sold. Your prospects need to know not only what you are selling, but why they need it right now.

They want to make sure you understand how they feel (perceived needs). Not only do they want to know that you understand. They also want to know that you have felt that way or know others who have. Your prospective customers want to know that your product, service, or benefit was found by others to have the same benefits they expect.
That's why customer product reviews are so hot - they re-enforce the perceived need!

Think about car dealers. They share their "great deals" on cars with you through noisy ads on TV. You’ll be safe. You’ll be sporty. You’ll attract lots of attention from the opposite sex. Whatever the angle, they have it in their ads. All of this is aimed at not only amusing you, but also at convincing you (the client) that you need, in fact, want, to buy a new car.

How do you write sales copy so as to achieve the ultimate goal?

The first step is to decide who your customer will be. Knowing this is critical to your success. For example, selling orthopedic hose to a senior citizen as opposed to selling the hose to a senior in college. You get the idea. Choose a benefit or feature that you want to highlight. This would be what’s best about your product or service. Next, be sure to write an interesting headline. Getting the attention of a potential client may seem like a monumental task, and it is. It's absolutely essential to attracting the attention you need.

Start by listing all of the characteristics of your product and explain how they will benefit the customer. Remember that you are trying to convince prospective customers that they need your product or service. Find the need and address it. Including an emotional connection is particularly effective. If you go straight to the heart, you will be more likely to make the sale. One way to get to their emotions is to include a testimonial or two. If the client can relate to someone just like them, they will easily draw the same conclusions as the person giving the testimonial. Next thing you know, they will be getting out their credit card!

Once you've got your list of needs and associated benefits, wrap it all up in a neat little package that includes some urgency. You create urgency by including what is referred to as a call to action. A call to action tells the person what you want them to do. Examples include "Request more information today" or "Call us now" or "Visit your local dealer today."

It's important to note that if prospects understand that the product or service will only be available for a limited amount of time, they will be more likely to act sooner rather than later. Don’t forget to share all critical information (whether they need to call or visit your store - and when the special offer expires).

If you follow these simple instructions, you’ll be writing sales copy that sells!