— Mark Twain
The Story of the Surprising Way a General Improved the Conditions at Fort Benning
I came across a very interesting story about the supposed way that General George C. Marshall enacted change at the new post he was assigned to.
You see, when General George C. Marshall took command of the Infantry School at Fort Benning, GA, he found the post was in really run-down condition.
But, instead of issuing orders to clean up and improve things, he decided on a surprisingly different approach.
He simply got out his paintbrushes, lawn equipment, and other tools and went to work on his personal quarters.
The results of his example were amazing.
The other officers and men — first on his block, and then throughout the post — did the same thing with their personal quarters.
Because of his example, Fort Benning became a completely different (and better) place.
NOTE: General Marshall led the Army’s Infantry School at Fort Benning during the post-World War I period from 1927-1932.
Show AND Tell: A Lesson for Content Marketers and Direct Response Marketers
By default, most content marketing and direct response marketing tends to focus on telling people what to do.
And telling people what they should do is an important and needed part of powerful content or copy.
But the thing we must never forget is the annoyance that Mark Twain spoke of and that lesson General Marshall showed us.
Let’s never forget that the power of showing our prospects and customers what we want them to do by giving them an example.
How Do You Use This in Your Content or Copy?
How do you do this effectively? I just showed you two ways:
- You can use powerful quotes, sayings, and testimonials from others. (Mark Twain)
- You can use stories and case studies from others. (General Marshall)
Think about how much more effective this article is in influencing you to use examples, because of the simple fact that I used them. 🙂
