Prospect thinks I’m a miracle worker

Story time:

I just hopped off a call with a prospect who was interested in hiring ye olde humble daily-ish narrator. But he thought I was a miracle worker. And he presented more red flags in our 10-minute convo than an incel on his first date. 

Like, for example: 

* He responded immediately to an email I sent him this week (even though it’s been months since we last talked) 

* He joined the meeting a few minutes late - and had a shoddy WiFi connection the entire time. This ain’t the end-all-be-all of red flags. In fact, this past Wednesday I fought my WiFi all day long. But it certainly ain’t a green flag either. 

* When I asked him why he was interested in working with me, he told me my offer was good. 

My offer is "good," yes, but it’s also misleading… Wut mean? Lemme explain - this particular offer is really only good at getting responses from businesses who can’t afford my “outrageous fees.” It uses a specific number and a guarantee, which makes these broke businesses chomp at the bit. But it also scares away actual qualified businesses because my specific number, in some cases, seems too low. 

(I phased out this offer entirely, but brought it back because I was wondering if I did it with haste. Alas, I was proven to be correct.) 

* He told me that he’s “looking to get the ball rolling” when it comes to email marketing, but failed to answer my zynple questions about the overall email strategy. For example, I asked if he had automations set up and he didn’t even know. 

* He also didn’t know how much revenue email marketing brought in nor how much revenue the business made on a monthly basis. He blamed his shoddy WiFi, which is understandable. But I simply can’t overlook showing up woefully unprepared for a meeting that could change your entire business around. 

* He had a tiny list that he treated only like a one-night stand, e.g. he only sends them an email on holidays when they have a sale. He even told me that he’s “probably” going to set up a Memorial Day promo email… despite a sentence earlier telling me that they’re trying to get away from offering endless discounts. 

I got enough problems without the “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde no-strategy” approach he’s taking to email. 

And perhaps worst of all?

* I could tell that he wasn’t the final decision maker. 

And so, instead of trying to sell him or convince him (which is a naturally needy behavior and can steal defeat from the jaws of victory on sales calls), I zynply told him that we’re not a good fit.

At least he had the decency to thank me for my honesty. 

Anyway, moral of the story? 

Copywriters aren’t miracle workers. 

I can’t write an email so persuasive that it takes a business from doing 4 figures to 8 figures overnight. 

No copywriter can do that. 

Copywriting is instead fuel to an already proven business. 

If that sounds like your business, hit reply, and let’s set up a call. 

(Just make sure you re-read this email at least twice before we hop on Zoom, so you don’t accidentally come with a handful of red flags like this guy did.) 

John