A few weeks ago I was on my way to the dog park with George, and I got pulled over by a cop.
Basically I was in a right turn only lane, and I decided to go straight.
So he flipped on his lights, and signaled for me to pull over.
Now I’ve been pulled over probably 7-8 times in my entire life.
Mostly for dumb stuff like this…
But I’ve never actually gotten a ticket.
And in a lot of these situations I should have gotten a ticket.
Especially this time.
Not only did I not turn when I was supposed to…
I also didn’t have my insurance card on me…
And I also still have an old Ohio drivers license (which is a no-no since Im a Texas resident.)
So this cop could have given me 3 violations.
But he didn’t.
He let me go with a warning.
Why?
I don’t know exactly.
But my gut tells me it’s because I talked to the cop the exact OPPOSITE way that most people do.
Let me explain…
From a cops point of view, he deals with idiots all day who are making up excuses for their mistakes.
Most of these people get angry with him.
And they act like it’s his fault.
So what does he do?
He writes them a ticket.
And in reality he’s writing them a ticket more for being an asshole than for what they did.
Well when I get pulled over, I do the exact opposite…
Instead of coming up with an excuse…
I apologize profusely.
And I own up to it.
“I apologize, that was my fault. I shouldn’t have done that, and that’s on me”
When a cop hears this, they’re usually caught off guard.
Cause he’s used to hearing the 57 different excuses for why someone had to run a light.
But I don’t make up excuses.
I just own it.
And I’m always very polite when I do it.
I’m not mad at him for pulling me over.
I know I made a mistake.
And I tell him that.
And guess what?
They let me off every single time.
“I could write you up for all of three of these violations, but I’m just going to give you a warning since you were nice about it“
That’s exactly what this cop said to me.
“I appreciate that sir – thank you”.
That’s all it took.
And he let me go with a warning.
Now there’s a reason I’m telling you this story…
And it really has nothing to do with helping you get out of traffic tickets (although feel free to use this strategy the next time you get pulled over).
My point with this story is it always has to be about THEM.
In this situation, all the cop really wants is respect.
And for you to admit that you made a mistake.
So that’s what I do.
And it seems to work for me.
Well, same thing happens with your readers.
What is it that THEY want?
This is probably the most basic principle in copy, but it’s one that we all screw up (me included).
Cause we get so focused on what we want.
And how we want our business to look.
So we forget it’s all about what THEY want.
That’s a question you should ask yourself like 5x a day.
What do THEY want?
That question can get you out of traffic tickets, just like it can help you come-up with winning offers.
So keep it at the front of your mind.
What do THEY want?
You might be surprised at what you come up with when you start thinking like this…
– Justin
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