I just got done talking to a company who wanted to get the biggest bang possible for their marketing buck.  They wanted a skillfully crafted ad with a call-to-action that enticed the prospect to buy.  I had to break the news to them that their strategy wasn’t going to work.
     I tried to steer them toward a compelling ad that would hypnotically command the prospect to respond.  They wanted to include everything in the ad; I wanted it simple.  They wanted multiple points of attack in the ad; I wanted a single focus - to get a reply so that the company could follow-up on the leads.  I shared with them the old marketing axiom: The more you tell, the less you sell.  I explained that when you say too much, you often create reasons for the prospect to not respond.  The goal at each step of the sales process is to get the prospect to the next step.
     If you have a product that is high-priced or highly complex, lead generation is probably the way to go rather than trying to close the sale with a one-shot ad.  With a lead generation campaign you do not want to get into the nitty-gritty of features and price.  All you want to do is get a reply.  From there, you can move the prospect to the next step.