Business strategists loudly proclaim the merits of repetition.

Yet, from the pages of time, the voice of late author Tryon Edwards whispers an inescapable truth;

“We rarely forget that which has made a deep impression on our minds.”

Neil Armstrong landing on the moon. Bob Hope’s smile. September 11th. The assassination of JFK. Our first love, first kiss. Moments forever etched in our memories. Not by repetition, but by emotional impact.

Ninety percent of websites fail. Eighty percent of new businesses fail.

They fail, not by lack of desire, but by lack of impact. Most business owners are afraid to walk the edge. Afraid to stand up, or stand out, or take a stand. Afraid to be too different.

Sadly, the best results the timid get is to stay forever invisible.

Anita Roddick’s vehement protests against animal testing in the name of beauty rocketed The Body Shop to success despite an advertising budget of zero. And Seth Godin’s Purple Cows, Tom’s Shoes, and the Starbucks experience.

And who of the Coke generation can’t sing along with the tune “I’d like to buy the world a Coke…”

If you long to be remarkable, but you’re a little short on courage, ask yourself this; What do you stand for? What stirred your heart and led you to the path you walk?

Harness the power of what you stand for, what you believe in, what you love – and in the words of a humble Jesuit priest – you shall have discovered fire.

There was a buzzing in the room, the kind that comes from many voices speaking with whispered enthusiasm. Anyone walking by would have thought there was some type of covert operation going on. Heads bent, brows furrowed, pencils scratching furiously. Ads were being rewritten.

It’s funny how one small noise can freeze a room. All heads lifted in synch, eyes turned to the front of the room at the sound of Groucho turning the paper on the flipchart.

He uncapped his felt marker with a flourish and wrote boldly on the flipchart;

“Advertising is all about Unleashing Desire!”

He pointed his marker at a slouching Elvis type in the second row. Wagging his eyebrows and rolling his eyes in his best Groucho impression, he drawled “What is it YOU desire?” .

After the laughter, he surveyed the room, arms crossed on his chest. “Seriously. What do you think are the two things that people desire most?” he asked. Someone snorted.

A tentative voice from the back of the room suggested, “Money?” He paced the room thoughtfully. “Anyone agree?” A few voices mumbled in agreement.

“What’s the first thing you’d do if you won a million dollars? he asked. He pointed at students at random. “Pay off bills,” “Quit my job,” “Go on vacation,” “A new car.”

“Do you suppose,” he asked “that people don’t really want money itself? That maybe they really want what money represents to them?”

The instructor paced the room silently. Looked out the window and combed a hand through his hair. Turning, brows furrowed, he asked; “Did you know that all your wants and all your needs stem from two primal desires? Gut level, deeply instinctive primal desires.”

You could have heard a pin drop. Elvis was actually looking curious.

Striding to the front of the room, he underlined the words on the flipchart. Carefully, he printed underneath it;

Advertising is all about Unleashing Desire!

Our primal desires are to experience pleasure & to avoid pain.

Tapping the marker on the flipchart for emphasis he stated clearly; “Every–single–thing–humans–do – stems from one of our primal desires.”

He went on to explain that if an ad focuses on primal desires, it will be more successful than if it just talks about features. An ad that elicits emotion based on a primal desire is a powerhouse ad!

He explained that “Stop the pain” sells better than than “The best headache remedy”. That “You can afford the house of your dreams” is better than “Affordable mortgages”.

He asked us to open the newspaper and find six ads that did not address a primal need. And rewrite them so they do.

Do you want to write ads or copy that will sell? Look for ads that don’t address a primal desire. Attach each ad to a piece of paper. Rewrite it so it addresses a primal desire.

When you’ve done a few dozen, you’ll start to see a difference in the oddest place. Your sales.

It was 1979. A home computer was almost unheard of and my calculator was the size of a paperback book. I worked in advertising & retail sales management for a national company.

I sat among a room full of strangers, awaiting the start of a course called “The Psychology of Selling.” Little did I know the impact it would have. I use those lessons still today. They apply as much to selling on the Internet as they do offline.

Just as the class was starting, a somewhat frazzled young man, tie askew and hair ruffled, hurried in the door. The instructor yelled out very loudly; “DON’T SLAM THE DOOR!”

Then, he turned and looked at the class, grinning, and asked us: “What did you just visualize?” The entire class started to laugh.

When the laughter subsided, he softly said, “Please close the door quietly.” The poor guy closed the door and slunk off to a seat, probably wishing a hole would open up in the floor.

The instructor grinned. “Not bad,” he said. “Not even five minutes into the class and you learned lesson two.” He turned and wrote on a flipchart:

People do not visualize a negative

Wildly waving his felt marker, he went on to explain that if we give people a negative command they will visualize just the opposite. That if you say “Don’t” slam the door, they’ll visualize a door slamming.

That applies to marketing commands, too. That’s why “call today” and “do it now” will get better results than “Don’t wait”.

One brave soul (was that me?) raised a hand and asked what rule number one was. The instructor stopped. He made a great show of capping the felt marker and placing it on the table.

I was beginning to wish for that hole in the floor. Mr. Late was grinning at me across the room.

In a very melodramatic manner, the instructor, who looked too much like Groucho Marx, sauntered up to a young lady in the first row. I breathed a sigh of relief. He stared at her for a minute, then held out his hand and said, “Give me your pencil”. She did.

Grinning again, the instructor walked through the rows of chairs waving the pencil over his head.

“People – follow – directives”, he announced.

Suddenly he stopped. He pointed the pencil at yet another student. “If I told you to jump off a bridge, would you?” he asked. The student snorted and said no. The instructor went on to say that people- as a rule – will follow a directive if there is no apparent reason not to. Personal harm is a pretty good reason not to. As a whole, we are even more inclined to follow a directive if it will result in a positive gain.

With that thought in mind, take a good look at your ads and your copy. Do you include a directive? The buzzword for it is a “call to action”. Are you telling people what “to” do? Or what “not” to do?

Test your ads and copy. Try changing the ending directive. Keep a notebook and log the results with each change. Sure… it takes a little time. You’re worth it. The difference could be absolutely amazing!