![\"homerun](\"https:\/\/www.marketingforsuccess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/homerun-copywriting.jpg\" "\\"homerun")
<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nAs Dan Kennedy likes to point out, the best copywriters often have a strong background in real-world selling.\u00a0 But not just any type of sales.\u00a0 In fact, there are two specific types of sales experience that help a writer crank out home-run copy effortlessly. <\/strong><\/p>\n You see, the best copywriters tend to have experience in the cutthroat world of face-to-face, commission-only selling.\u00a0 And that\u2019s important, because there\u2019s a world of difference between salespeople who are paid a salary plus commission and salespeople who only are paid when they sell something.<\/p>\n That\u2019s because the commission-only salesperson is forced to sell to survive.\u00a0 If they don\u2019t make a sale, they don\u2019t eat.\u00a0 It\u2019s that simple.<\/p>\n The high-pressure world of commission-only selling forces you to either get good\u2026or get out.\u00a0 That\u2019s why so many salespeople burn out or quit within the first 12 months.\u00a0 Most of the ones who survive those first 12 months will make an \u201cOK\u201d living.\u00a0 But a select few will master the art of selling.<\/p>\n And of course, the same skills a successful salesperson uses every day translate perfectly into copywriting<\/a>.<\/p>\n For instance, if a salesperson doesn\u2019t know how to create excitement about whatever it is they\u2019re selling, they get nothing for their time and energy.\u00a0 If they don\u2019t know how to clearly present the benefits of their product, they lose out. And if they\u2019re not willing to ask for the order, they won\u2019t make a penny.<\/p>\n Likewise, good copy uses emotional language to get the prospect excited.\u00a0 It clearly presents the benefits in a way the prospect can understand.\u00a0 And it always asks for the order\u2014usually more than once.<\/p>\n After all, what is copywriting but \u201csalesmanship in print\u201d?\u00a0 The same skills that make a face-to-face sale are what makes for great copy.\u00a0 So if the copywriter you\u2019re talking to has zero experience in face-to-face, commission-only selling, think twice about hiring them.\u00a0 Unless they can show you a portfolio of proven home-run promotions, they may cost you far more money than you\u2019ll ever get in return.<\/p>\n That\u2019s it for today.\u00a0 In my next article, I\u2019ll tell you about the second most important question you must ask before you hire a copywriter.\u00a0 The answer to that question may surprise you. It will blow one of the biggest copywriting myths out of the water. And it will certainly upset many of the \u201cgurus\u201d in the copywriting world.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s OK by me.\u00a0 My goal with these articles is to dispel the myths around copywriting.\u00a0 I want to give you the tools you need to make the right choices.\u00a0 And if that upsets a few of my fellow copywriters along the way, so be it.<\/p>\n See you next time!<\/p>\n – Paul<\/em><\/p>\n