Many of the most effective sales letters of all time have been written in the form of a metaphor. For example, there’s one famous letter that was used for years to sell subscriptions to the Wall Street Journal. The letter told the story of two guys. Both graduated from college, both got jobs, and both had productive lives.
One guy had a decent lifestyle and income. The other guy, however, had a very lucrative career. He made a lot more money, enjoyed a lot more promotions, and was much more respected. What was the difference? One had a source of valuable information, the other didn’t.
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Of course, the underlying suggestion was that if you buy the Journal, you’ll have that information which will allow you to become much more successful. The letter just didn’t say it outright. It merely alluded to it.
That’s the power of metaphor. Most people know a sales pitch when they hear one. And most people are instantly turned off by somebody trying to sell them something. Even if it’s something they think they need.
But when you use a metaphor, you bypass this “conscious resistance” and more fully engage the subconscious mind. As many psychological experts will tell you, we make all our decisions from our emotions, and then only later (usually a few milliseconds) rationalize them with logic.
The reason metaphor is so powerful is it doesn’t trigger that “sales pitch” response in most of our brains. It just sounds like a story. But told well enough, it allows the reader to come to the conclusion, on their own, but buy the product or service.
Metaphors have been used since the dawn of time. If you remember any of Aesop’s fables, they were all stories that were designed to illustrate an important point.
For example, consider the story of the Grasshopper and the Ant. The Grasshopper was diligently preparing for the coming winter, while the Ant was goofing off. When winter came, the Grasshopper was well prepared, while the Ant was in big trouble.
This short story illustrated the point a lot better than a lecture from a parent or teacher. It allows the reader to actually experience both sides of the situation, and come to the conclusion on their own that preparing yourself is better than goofing off.
One of the main reasons that Ericksonian Hypnosis is so powerful is that it gently guides the listener to come to their own conclusion. And when told with skill, consideration, rapport, and a strong intention, that conclusion is exactly what the story teller intends.
So it is with metaphorical sales letters. The reader will go through the story, and come to the exact conclusion that you’d like them to come to, all on their own.
And because it’s there own conclusion, for their own reasons, they’ll be little resistance.
This, of course, means a much higher conversation rate.
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