“I have a little rule about killing people. Well, actually I have two rules. One, I do not date musicians, And two, I do not kill people, ok?”
Playboy Playmate Jordan Tate, Under Siege (1992)
I’m currently talking to a very successful direct response copywriter. I’m considering hiring him as a coach to help me get to that top level myself.
He had me answer some questions in preparation for an intro call, including:
“Why should I work with you? What sets you apart from other copywriters?”
How the turn tables. Because this tricky question is something that copywriting clients used to ask me as well.
In my less experienced days, I would have tried my darndest to answer in a persuasive way.
“I’m smart…”
“I work hard…”
“I’m good at writing copy…”
That’s what I would have said once upon a time. But not any more.
Now I don’t say much at all.
It’s not any kind of a tactic. I’ve just come to realize that I really don’t know why (or even if) I would be a good fit for somebody I hardly know.
But shouldn’t I try to answer anyhow?
My experience is that by trying to answer, I just end up sharing a lot of pointless information that the other person doesn’t care about — but that puts doubts and objections into their mind.
It’s kind of like the Playboy Playmate in the Steven Seagal classic Under Siege. She says she won’t date musicians, while Steven is off fighting a bunch of Uzi-wielding terrorists. Nobody cares, muffin.
Speaking of Steven Seagal, though…
He offers a good model of how to actually respond to this tricky type of screening question.
Simply use the other person’s energy and aikido-flip it.
So for example, when the copywriting coach above asked me why he should work with me, I told him:
“I honestly don’t know. I’d say I’m dedicated and coachable, but that’s probably everyone you talk to. That’s why I’d like to first find out who does well with your coaching? And who doesn’t? And who do you like to work with?”
This same kind of principled approach can help you with prospective copywriting clients as well.
Anyways, enough Under Siege for today.
If you are a copywriter, then you might want to know that the CopyHour enrollment window is currently open. This is your opportunity to learn Steven Seagal-like skills, just wielding persuasion instead of a knife. Check it out: