The Secret of How to Sell Anything

by Brian Clark

Find out what people want and help them get it.

Thanks, Gary.

It’s amazing how many people don’t get this.

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{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }

1 ezg December 13, 2008 at 2:56 pm

Thank you for great link. :)

2 Bamboo Forest - PunIntended December 13, 2008 at 2:58 pm

The simple answer is sometimes the best answer.

3 A. Dawn December 13, 2008 at 3:12 pm

It’s always about “YOU” meaning customers. It’s about figuring out what customers want and meet their needs.
Cheers,
A Dawn Journal
http://www.adawnjournal.com

4 Janice Cartier December 13, 2008 at 3:30 pm

I love his bullets. One a month, simple and right on target.

5 Jerry December 13, 2008 at 3:45 pm

Yeah, but mr/mrs customer, let me tell you what I have for you, and how great what I have for you is, and how much you’ll like what I have for you.

—-

6 Michael Martine - Remarkablogger December 13, 2008 at 3:50 pm

Gary’s bullets are the BEST. Love ‘em.

7 Franck Silvestre December 13, 2008 at 4:01 pm

Gary’s bullets are really powerful… I was stuck when I discovered this.

It’s one of the best thing I read about copywriting.

Franck

8 Noah Kent December 13, 2008 at 5:11 pm

Great simple tip even a child could love.

9 Sonia Simone December 13, 2008 at 5:19 pm

Nice. I was going to blog this, but would have waffled on a lot more over it.

I love Bencivenga.

10 Melvin December 13, 2008 at 6:41 pm

yeah a lot of people both on online and offline world are having difficulties getting it…

11 Jon Morrow December 13, 2008 at 7:03 pm

Gary Bencivenga isn’t just the greatest living copywriter. He’s maybe the best copywriting teacher… ever. If you guys think his bullets are good, check out his seminar product. I’ve gone through just about every copywriting product there is, and in my opinion, his seminar is the best.

12 Franklin Bishop December 13, 2008 at 8:20 pm

That is probably the most simple secret there is. It is actually common sense but a lot of times people overlook those kind of things.

13 David Stanford December 13, 2008 at 8:55 pm

…and just think-the last COPYBLOGGER e-mail said to keep things simple. I am unsure what these jargon words mean..robust? I am robust but I am trying to lose weight. As for bullets-I have barely learned that they are the unnumbered items in a list. So Gary’s unnumbered list items are profound, yes?
Just below this form are html notes. I am unclear what they are for. I have been filling out forms for 40 years without html. What purpose does html serve in these forms and in such arenas as craigslist? I am learning a lot with COPYBLOGGER, so any help is appreciated, thank you.

14 Tzaddi December 13, 2008 at 9:03 pm

Such brevity is music to my ears. Thank you for pulling the gem out of that way-too-long-for-my-eyes post.

15 Chris Brogan... December 14, 2008 at 12:27 am

You told me so.

16 Noah December 14, 2008 at 12:28 am

We can only learn from masters.

17 Ryan December 14, 2008 at 12:32 am

What is missed in this brevity is that usually you have to show them what they want without them realizing that they want it.

18 E-Advocate December 14, 2008 at 12:32 am

The Secret of Fundraising:

Find out what they have and get it from them.

Perfect. The NPO version

19 John Kane December 14, 2008 at 5:16 am

This is a perfect example of why I think copy writers produce boring and annoying work. They seem to believe the most important achievement is to drag readers into pages and pages of irrelevant topics when the only thing they want to say is: “Find out what people want and help them get it!”

To me every single copywriting product smells like a scam for this reason.

Enjoy.

John

20 Poyan December 14, 2008 at 7:26 am

Good article, but what a bad headline.

21 Darko December 14, 2008 at 7:39 am

This is actually from Harry Brownie who died and his book “The Secret to Selling anything.” Garry recommends reading his book which is very powerful indeed.

22 Young December 14, 2008 at 9:56 am

Just find out what they are looking for.

23 Brian Clark December 14, 2008 at 10:07 am

John, keep in mind that “help them get it” often requires lots of information, proof and a good story or two. :)

24 Blog for Bloggers December 14, 2008 at 1:02 pm

Thanks for the link, I think I have just come across something great.

25 Anne Wayman December 15, 2008 at 12:52 pm

lol, thanks for the reminder!

Anne Wayman, now blogging at http://www.aboutfreelancewriting.com

26 Linda December 15, 2008 at 2:31 pm

Most people buy what they want and not what they actually need.Problem solved.

27 Rowell Dionicio December 15, 2008 at 4:55 pm

That was a great read, Brian. It gave me some new knowledge as to how I could write my blog titles. I’ll be checking out his other bullet points.

28 gendut December 15, 2008 at 10:10 pm

thanks for sharing the secret…… I will visit the link now

29 YellowSEO - Search Engine Optimization December 17, 2008 at 4:33 pm

I always wondered what was in the secret sauce…
Short and to the point

30 Joel December 20, 2008 at 8:42 pm

Now I don’t feel so bad about publishing short posts.

31 Chad January 16, 2009 at 2:29 pm

Yes, thanks Gary. But thank you to Harry Browne even more. I purchased his ebook “The Secret to Selling ~ Anything” based on Gary’s recommendation and it is seriously right up there with “Scientific Advertising” and “How to Win Friends and Influence People” as far as practical sales and marketing advice goes. Truly great stuff!

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