"TEST THE WATERS?"
by Roy Williams
www.WizardofAds.com

There are approximately 120,000 sales people responsible for selling advertising on the television and radio stations of America. Each of these sales people will make ěprospecting callsî on an average of 3 business owners each day. One business owner out of twelve will say ěPerhaps your station is the right one for my business. Iíll buy a small schedule to test the waters, and if it works, Iíll start using your station on a regular basis.î Sounds reasonable, doesnít it? In reality, itís no different than standing at a roulette wheel saying ěPerhaps black is the color for me. Iíll place a small bet on black and if I win, Iíll start betting on black on a regular basis.î

 Each day, approximately thirty thousand business owners decide to ětest the waters,î and while most of them are very disappointed with the results, they are typically not surprised, because most of them have been ětesting the watersî for years with very limited success, and the few successes they did have were rarely repeatable.

The reason business owners keep doing what theyíve done before and expecting a different result is because every one of those hundred and twenty thousand sales people will sing a beautiful song whose chorous line is ěThe secret of successful advertising is to reach the right people, and our people are the right people for you!î Once again, the logic of ěreaching the right peopleî is extremely appealing, mostly because itís common sense. The problem with advertising is that it so often defies common sense.

Want to hear the really sad part? Virtually every one of the disappointed business owners would have been delighted with the station they chose had they only understood two simple laws of advertising.

Law of Advertising #1: Itís what you say, not who you say it to, that will determine your success in advertising. Most people are ěthe right peopleî when you say the right thing! Be Convincing!

Law of Advertising #2: Short schedules are always a gamble. Few people will be convinced quickly, and few of those who will be convinced will have any immediate need for what you are selling. By the time their need arises, your ětesting of the watersî will be over and the prospect will have forgotten you.

You must decide what to say and then say it to as many people as you can afford to reach relentlessly. The longer you keep saying the same thing to the same listener, the greater your chance of success. Youíve got to stick with your plan.