What’s your first thought when writing a marketing piece?

If you’re like most people, you start by asking some variation of the following question:

How can I create a sale?

If this is similar to your question, you may want to re-think your process.

Although the sale is the end-result, there are many crucial steps you must take before you can convince your prospect to loosen the choke-hold on his wallet and pay for your product or service.

You need to grab his attention … build credibility … establish trust … demonstrate value … create a compelling offer … provide reasons why it’s critical that your prospect take action right now …

When you think about making a sale, your focus is completely on you – and that’s a big mistake.

Instead, step inside your prospect’s brain. I guarantee there’s at least one question floating around that mushy mass of macromolecular matter:

What’s in it for me?

Our brains are hard-wired to seek solutions to this question. When you provide answers, the desire for your product or service grows.

I recently read Drew Eric Whitman’s book, “Ca$hvertising.” In one chapter, the long-time copywriter explains how he drives home this point during his workshops. He pairs up participants and asks one person to play the role of the seller, while the other serves as a prospect.

The seller starts by explaining a feature of his product or service. Whitman (without the “seller” knowing) instructs the prospect to respond by saying, “BIG DEAL! What’s in it for me?”

The seller – who has to begin a response with “You benefit by …” – must then dig deeper for a stronger reason why the product or service is worth the prospect’s money.

As the exchange between the two people develops, true benefits are revealed.

For example, let’s say you sell office phones. A feature could be the one-touch mute button.

Now imagine a prospect forcefully shouting out, “BIG DEAL! What’s in it for me?”

Well, you benefit by being able to instantly eliminate outside noise, especially if you work from home and your 3-year-old daughter enjoys interrupting conference calls with your highest-paying client.

By simply answering “What’s in it for me?” you can easily transform a lackluster feature into a sale-driving benefit. The more responses you provide, the greater demand you build for your product or service.