Lesson Nineteen: The Applicant

You are in the process of hiring a manager. It’s an exciting move for you because you will finally be able to delegate some of the responsibility that has kept you from doing the really important work.

You’ve pinned it down to one of two applicants. They both look good on paper, solid education, great work experience and credible references. You call them both in for an interview.

Applicant one comes in. She’s dressed conservatively and professionally,much like you. She immediately seems to fit into your office. Your first impression is “she’s the one.”

You begin the interview. As you run through the questions she gives you straight answers. She is clearly trying to win the job—telling you what she thinks you want to hear. Not what you actually need to hear. You attribute it to nervousness. She’ll come around, you think.

Applicant two arrives. She is a few minutes late and looking dishevelled. She’s not half as professional looking as applicant one. You practically decide right there to go with one, there is just the formality of the interview.

As you run through the questions, applicant two comes alive. She tells you her opinions and beliefs about her work, and backs it up with stories and insights about why she approaches her work the way she does. She talks about her visions, and at one point even challenges you outright about something you say. It’s clear she has thought a lot about the subject
and speaks with passion and clarity. She ends by summarizing her qualifications, and outright asks you for the job.

Who do you hire?

I’ve tested this scenario with several people and their answers back up what I suspected. Everyone chooses number two.

Here’s what it proves:

In advertising, message is far more important than form— what you say is more important that how you say it. By presenting an argument that speaks to the heart of the customer, and backing it up with examples and facts that overcome objections and drive towards a conclusion, you will greatly outperform an ad that simply looks good.

However, having created hundreds of ads I’ve noticed that 95% of a client’s effort goes into how the ad looks, not what it says.

The ad agencies may try to convince you that advertising is for getting the message out there. “Ad’s aren’t meant to directly sell anymore.They are for establishing name recognition and building brands,” they say. But if you chose applicant two, then you know they are wrong.

Advertising is about selling. In fact, it’s even been proven that a simple change of headline can increase an advertisements response by 20 times!

What are you selling, why is it worth buying, and what benefit will your customers gain from it? Answer these questions and you’ve got money in the bank.


Principles of Persuassion by Shane Spark