It's hard to write sales copy that doesn't feel "salesy", says Ray Edwards, which is why he wrote a book that breaks down the process step-by-step.
But before we help you gain fame for your sales prowess, we begin with Marcus Aurelius' warning words about fame itself.
In our mailbag, Steve is drawn into his broken record-like reminders about how clunky and miselading many Google warning emails can be.
Then, for something different, we launch the first of nine Perspicacity segments that will focus on elements of David Sandler's very grounded and effective approach to sales.
Get ready to take notes!
Talking About Marketing podcast episode notes with timecodes
02:18 Person This segment focusses on you, the person, because we believe business is personal.
Fame Is Vanity
Marcus Aurelius was a Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD. He practiced Stoicism and wrote about his own Stoic practice in his journals.
Steve opens this episode by reflecting on a passage from Aurelius' book, Meditations, which is a unique document.
As the Daily Stoic points out, "it is the private thoughts of the world’s most powerful man giving advice to himself on how to make good on the responsibilities and obligations of his positions. Trained in Stoic philosophy, Marcus Aurelius stopped almost every night to practice a series of spiritual exercises—reminders designed to make him humble, patient, empathetic, generous, and strong in the face of whatever he was dealing with."
However, Steve draws out quotes about how fickle fame is, and for us, he uses the insight as a keel to give us balance as we get drawn into the rough and brutal seas of social media.
11:10 Principles This segment focusses principles you can apply in your business today.
Ray Edwards On Writing Copy That Sells
Ray Edwards is a copywriter and communications strategist who's worked for some of the most powerful voices in leadership and business.
Some of his clients include New York Times best-selling authors Tony Robbins (author of Awaken the Giant Within and Money: Master the Game, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (co-authors of Chicken Soup For the Soul), Jeff Walker (author of Launch), and many more.
David leads a discussion about Edwards' short and functional book, How To Write Copy That Sells.
20:12 Problems This segment answers questions we've received from clients or listeners.
Google Analytics Has Stopped Gathering Data
Google continues as one of the companies that writes the most alarming and obscure error messages.
The latest is one announcing errors with Google Analytics, now that it has stopped version 3 of the product and is only gathering website data through version 4.
If you get one of these messages and have already configured Google Analytics 4, it is safe to ignore. Often, the error messages are come from old Google Analytics 3 set ups which are being held for historical data, given that GA4 cannot import old data.
If in doubt, check with your trusted web/analytics person.
24:26 Perspicacity This segment is designed to sharpen our thinking by reflecting on a case study from the past.
Introduction To The Sandler Selling System
Each Perspicacity segment this series, will focus on one part of the Sandler Selling System.
David Sandler created this approach to sales after teaming up with a clinical psychologist so he could develop an approach to sales that would break the traditional stereotypes of salespeople.
The Sandler Selling System focusses on mutual respect, clarity, and qualifying decisions.
As David and Steve discuss, one of the critical aspects is the understanding of how important your own sense of self-worth is to your success (or otherwise) when it comes to selling.