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A Lesson From "The Apprentice" That Can Make You A Master
by Karon Thackston
© 2004
http://www.copywritingcourse.com
I
have to admit, I was curious. When I saw previews of a new
show called "The
Apprentice," it made me want to at least watch the premiere to see what was
going on. Immediately, I was hooked. The whole idea of candidates - from
all walks of life, not just college grads fresh from their commencement
ceremonies - vying for a position in one of Donald Trump's
organizations piqued my interest. What kept my interest were the
real-life advertising lessons every business owner needs to be reminded
of.
Take, for instance, one episode where the teams were challenged to
create an ad campaign. I was, needless-to-say, on the edge of my seat for
the entire show. One team immediately decided to phone the client and setup
an appointment to find out about the product, the end user, and other aspects
that would make a big difference in creating the campaign. (Smart
move!)
The other team, however, said they didn't have time to talk
with
the client. They were running behind schedule. Meeting with
the
client - in their opinion - would just waste an hour or two that
could
have been spent on more important tasks. (Excuse me?)
What happened?
First of all, my husband came charging into the living room asking, "Do you
believe that? Even *I* know you have to talk to the customer first!" Yes, he
had been listening to me after all.
In the end, the campaign from the
team who did speak with the
client won the challenge. Once the losing team
arrived in the
boardroom, the project leader, Jason (Mr. "We Don't Have Time
To Talk With the Client"), really got it from all sides.
Donald
Trump's assistants, George and Carolyn, made a point of bringing up the fact
that the client was not contacted. Jason's
own teammates made a point of
bringing up that the client was
never contacted. And Donald? To quote,
Donald said, "That was a HUGE mistake. you're fired!"
This was fairly
early in the show so you would have thought the
other contestants would have
learned from Jason's mistake. Not so. There was yet another episode where
an Apprentice put what they wanted over what the client
wanted/needed.
In this task, the teams were charged with selling Donald's
new
product, Trump Ice (bottled water). The winner was simply the
team
who sold the most in a given period of time. Nick, a
salesman by trade, was
immediately confident his team would win if they would just step aside and
let him work his magic.
Ereka, the project manager for Nick's team, urged
Nick to sit with her at the computer and research the market and the
customer base for bottled water. Nick wouldn't even hear of it.
To quote, "Telling me how to sell is like someone telling the Pope how to
pray." So off went Nick using his same "high energy" sales pitch on every
customer and focusing on what Nick wanted to sell - instead of finding the
best benefits for the clients.
What happened? Nick flopped time and time
again. A teammate (Bill) jumped in during one sales meeting and helped the
client to understand the benefits of buying Trump Ice. Bill made
the sale.
In the boardroom, George immediately noted his
disappointment in how little the team seemed to know about their
prospective customers. And Donald chimed in by saying he had no idea
why Nick thought his sales skills were so great when he had no clue about
the customers he was selling to. Ouch!
The bottom line? The team lost.
Why? Because Nick was busy trying to sell what he wanted to sell, and in the
way he wanted to sell it, with no regard for the customer
whatsoever.
The moral of the story? Know your customers. They are the
ones with the money. It doesn't matter what you like. If *they*
aren't
happy with your site, your copy, your graphics, your
product, or your
service. they'll abandon you cold.
When you're creating a business plan,
when you're writing copy,
when you're creating a website, or developing a
brochure. It's
not about you. it's all about them. If one of the richest
and most profitable businessmen in the world tells you target
market
research is vital to success, you can bet it is a wise strategy to
follow.
Copy not getting results? Learn to write SEO copy that
impresses the engines and your visitors at
http://www.copywritingcourse.com.
Be sure to check out Karon's latest e-report "How To Increase Keyword
Saturation (Without Destroying the Flow of Your Copy)" at http://www.copywritingcourse.com/keyword.
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