Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1947)

hi Sell Items or Ideas applicable, "So what?" or "Let's hear more!" Beware of long leads. When your lead has accomplished its purpose it has no more reason for existence. Don't drag it out and waste words. Body to create desire The thought in your lead should travel in a straight line to your sales story, in most instances, directly to your primary salespoint. After you have your lead, the next problem confronting you is the body of the commercial. Your problem is to create desire for the product or idea you are selling. That desire can best be created by emphasizing those salespoints, or features, of a product that cause most people to buy it. It's not human nature to sit down and scientifically and impersonally evaluate a product in the light of cold hard facts, and base a decision to buy on the facts uncovered. Presenting facts alone is not selling. People buy a specific product or service simply because they want it . . . because they have an emotional desire to possess it, and the wherewithal to pay for it. Your job is to make them want it — not merely to give them a description of it. Your primary salespoint MAY be only distantly related to the basic function of the store or product. The basic function of a soap is to clean, but the primary salespoint of a particular brand of soap may be its perfume. The primary function of a shoe repair shop is to do a good job of shoe repairing, but the primary salespoint of a particular repair shop might be its comfortable booths for fix-while-Uwait patrons. Whatever salespoints you select, present them with an emotional slant. Paint word pictures of the product or service in action. Give the listener the vicarious DE CEMBER, 1 947 experience of enjoying the benefits you have to offer. This is more important in radio advertising than in any other medium, for radio advertising is direct salesmanship! Suppose your product is an upholstered chair. You have decided that your primary salespoint is the chair's extra large, comfortable size, and perhaps as a secondary salespoint you have picked its durable construction. You might write it up this way: "The chair is big and comfortable, a full 42 inches wide. It is sturdily constructed of fine hardwood, with durable upholstery ..." But how much better your copy sings and sells if you say it this way: "Sink down in this big, roomy, comfortable lounging chair . . . Man O man, what a glorious feeling! . . . the kind of relaxation you've always dreamed about! And it's YOURS — day in and day out, for YEARS to come!" Close compels action The third part of the straight commercial, the close, is to compel action. There's an old saying among salesmen that "You'll never get a sale unless you ask for it." To some extent that holds true in your radio commercial. Give your listener a physical outlet for the desire you^have created. Write down an address ... go to the store . . . write a letter ... examine the rug . . . get a free folder . . . TAKE A STEP TOWARD A SALE! It may be as brief as "Get a pound of Blank's Coffee today!" Or it may include complete directions for getting to an out-ofthe-way store, or writing a letter of request. Never use the close line earlier in the commercial and once you use it, never ring in another salespoint. OTHER COMMERCIAL FORMATS The straight commercial is the basic form for all radio commercials, and the one used by about 95 per cent of all 401