When I was writing copy for the credit and debt industry I stumbled across an interesting phenomenon.
When I wrote copy that focused on hope, good feelings, and positive solutions from the start, it never performed very well.
It always puzzled me.
However, when I focused on the pain, frustration, and anguish of the situation FIRST… I got a much better response.
So I naturally fell into the habit of taking my readers through a pain funnel that grew more and more painful until I released them by offering up a solution to their problem.
It worked so I never bothered to figure out why it worked.
Recently, while going through David Garfinkel’s phenomenal “Breakthrough Copywriting” course, I realized that there was a name for what I had discovered.
And I want to share it with you.
David calls it “Negative Optism” and although he has a few different templates for this concept, the one I was using was called Sympathy.
Here are the steps to this powerful template:
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1. Acknowledge what the prospect may be thinking or feeling.
2. Validate it.
3. Talk about how horrible it really is… from your own personal experience,
if possible.
4. Talk about how hopeless and overwhelmed you felt.
5. Reveal that you found a solution.
6. Transition by promising to share your solution with the prospect.
***
Think about how powerful this is, and what it accomplishes.
By sharing your personal experience (which is exactly similar to the one your prospect is currently going through), you are letting them know that you have experienced the same amount of pain, frustration, and anguish in your life.
Suddenly you have an emotional bond.
Your prospect begins to think, “Ah, this person understands what I’m going through,” and they can identify with you more closely.
It makes it okay for them to open up to you more, because you’ve been where they’ve been.
And if the situation is an embarrassing one (debt, money problems, marital problems, etc…) most people are too embarrassed to be discussing it with their regular circle of friends and acquaintances.
And if they are able to find someone who understands their problem you become just as much of a therapist as a problem solver.
Even through the written word, having someone UNDERSTAND what you’re going through RIGHT NOW is critically important for sales.
And finally, when you’ve taken them through the darkest corners of their soul… it’s only THEN that you show them the light.
You start telling them that YOU had discovered the solution to this seemingly impossible problem, and now you want to share it with THEM…
Do you see the power at work here? You are taking your prospects by the hand and leading them through this intense range of emotions.
If you do this properly, by the time you offer up a solution, they will be much more open to it.
If you began painting bright and sunny pictures from the start, you can see how the rapport, credibility, and connection wouldn’t be there.
But a couple things to keep in mind.
First, Negative Optism works better in markets where people have more emotionally serious problems.
Painting a gloomy, frustrated picture probably wouldn’t work so well if you’re selling a Tomato Growing Ebook.
But it worked like gangbusters in the credit and debt industry, and I imagine it would work well in markets like marital counseling, health (maintenance and cures), and business opportunities.
Second, the REASON that Negative Optism works in these markets is that you are starting where the prospect ALREADY IS.
Did you get that?
Chances are, a person who is experiencing marital problems, financial problems, or failing health, is probably not very bubbly or cheery.
Coming at them from a bubbly or cheery angle will do nothing to gain rapport with them.
That’s another reason why Negative Optism is so powerful in the right circumstances.
You are starting from where they are, and slowly and methodically letting them know that, hey, I’ve been there too. But I figured a way out, and here it is…
Hope this helps.
And thank you to David Garfinkel for reinforcing a powerful technique that we can all plug in and use.
Try this out in your business and see how it works.
-James D. Lee
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