Interrupting the prospect is the first step in marketing and you could also say sales especially when discussing cold calling.

Interrupting or getting the attention of the prospect is the usually function of the headline or the value proposition in selling. The job of the headline is, and I quote Eugune M. Schwartz’s great book “Breakthrough Advertising here:

“Your headline has only one job—to stop your prospect and compel him to read the second sentence of your ad.”

It is obvious of course that if you don’t get the reader’s attention, if you cannot get them to read about your offer, you will not get their business.

Typically attention is gotten by stating something that is: familiar or connected to the reader, something unusual, strange, unusual, or abnormal, or by things that are threatening, dangerous, or problematic.

Any good marketing piece must start buy getting the prospects attention or interrupting them. This goes for a website, a brochure, a cover letter, or your LinkedIn or other social media profile.

Learn the art of interruption and you will earn the right to tell your story. This is actually the key to cold calling in sales and most certainly a key factor in on line marketing.