Let’s talk baseball for a minute (sort of…).

What is going through your mind as you’re settling down in the batter’s box? Most people would answer "Hitting the next pitch over the fence and winning the game with one swing of my bat." Sure. But that doesn’t happen often.

Let’s go back to reality. What you should be thinking of is getting to first base. That’d be a good start. You can’t bat a run in and you can’t score one yourself if you’re sent back to the bench with your head hanging low and your bat dragging behind. You just gotta get to first.

Same thing in business. You gotta get to "first base" if you want to get the lead, the prospect, the customer, the client, the subscription, the sale. It won’t happen if you’re "sent back to the bench" which, in advertising, happens when someone leaves your ad, email, flyer or Web site to go check out another one. That’s like saying "Yer out!"

Now, as much as I agree that first base is important, I think it will be much more profitable if, instead of merely getting to first base (which can be accomplished by putting a giant billboard featuring a semi-naked Madona on Times Square) you get to what I call "Firm Base".

My business philosophy is that from first base… well, you might get some reaction, and possibly some action… but from Firm Base, everything is possible.

What is Firm-Base? It’s when you have someone’s full attention, when they are truly interested in what you’re telling or showing them, not just merely curious – as is the case with the Madona billboard. Full attention is the key!

Now, as was pointed out in one of my recent articles, "interrupting people’s brain pattern" to get – and hold – their full attention long enough for them to do what you want them to do (so you will generate the leads and prospects you want, acquire the customers and clients you want, and make the sales you need so you can make the money required for you and your loved ones to enjoy the good things in life) is not an easy task. So many things are competing for their attention!

But it is paramount that you DO get their full attention if you are to achieve any significant level of success advertising your business, regardless of the type of business, and regardless of what advertising tools you’re using – Web sites, business cards, flyers, banners, networking events, emails, ads, articles, billboards, etc.

Here is a powerful tip: to grab people’s full attention, start by telling them WHY what you are advertising should be of interest to them. And THEN, you hold their attention by telling them HOW you will provide them with the benefits promised in the WHY.

WIII-FM is the most listened-to radio station in the world (What Is In It For Me?). You want to get people’s full attention? Tell them right away what is in it for them if they do what you will ask them to do – visit your Web site, subscribe to your ezine, purchase your product, join your business opportunity.

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