You Irresistible Offer Should Solve a Problem

Some people make the huge mistake of just trying to come up with clever things that make them different.

Again - the question is, “Why should I buy from you vs. the competition?”

People will buy from those who are best equipped to solve their problem or get them out of pain. So your USP should center around that and speak to it directly.

Your business cannot and should not attempt to create a need that consumers do not already have. No matter how great your USP or marketing schemata, if your product ultimately does not satisfy your customer, then your product and consequent business will fail.

You need to do plenty of valid and reliable research on your target market in order to understand which emotional responses will drive them to your product instead of your competitors.

Simplicity. A great product. Combine these two entities together to form the perfect USP for your company and product/service line.

To quote Rosser Reeves from his book Reality In Advertising:

"Each advertisement must make a proposition to the consumer. Not just words, not just product puffery, not just show-window advertising. Each product must say to each reader: ‘Buy this product and you will get this specific benefit.'"

* * *
Again, from Matt Hockin’s website:
www.interactivemarketinginc.com

The following are 6 powerful USPs that alleviate the "pain" experienced by the consumers in their industries..

Example #1 - Package Shipping Industry

Pain - I have to get this package delivered quick!
USP - "When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight." (Federal Express)

Example #2 - Food Industry

Pain - The kids are starving, but Mom and Dad are too tired to cook!
USP - "Pizza delivered in 30 minutes or it's free." (Dominos Pizza)
(This USP is worth $1 BILLION to Dominos Pizza)

Example #3 - Real Estate Industry

Pain - People want to sell their house fast without loosing money on the deal.
USP - "Our 20 Step Marketing System Will Sell Your House In Less Than 45 Days At Full Market Value"

Example #4 - Dental Industry

Pain - Many people don't like to go to the dentist because of the pain and long wait.
USP - "We guarantee that you will have a comfortable experience and never have to wait more than 15 minutes" or you will receive a free exam."

Example #5 - Cold Medicine Industry

Pain - You are sick, feel terrible, and can't sleep.
USP - "The nighttime, coughing, achy, sniffling, stuffy head, fever, so you can rest medicine." (Nyquil)

Example #6 - Jewelry Industry

Pain - The market hates paying huge 300% mark-ups for jewelry.
USP - "Don't pay 300% markups to a traditional jeweler for inferior diamonds! We guarantee that your loose diamond will appraise for at least 200% of the purchase price, or we'll buy it back."

The Secret to Being as Radical as We Want to Be

A powerful article by Michael Shuman:

The Secret to Being as Radical as We Want to Be is to Finance the Revolution Ourselves

Adbusters
March-April 2006
Michael Shuman, author, The Smallmart Revolution


If Mohandas Gandhi were a typical North American activist these days, he would probably be wearing a three-piece suit and working in a plush office with his law degree prominently displayed. He would have little time to lead protests, since every other week would be spent meeting with donors – and those power lunches would hardly go well with fasting. He would be careful to avoid salt marches or cotton boycotts, so as not to offend key donors. To sharpen his annual pitch to foundations, he would be constantly dreaming up new one-year projects on narrowly focused topics, perhaps a one-time conference on English human-rights abuses, or a documentary on anti-colonial activities in New Delhi. To ensure that various allies didn’t steal away core funders, he would keep his distance and be inclined to trash talk behind their backs. In short, there’s little doubt that the British would still be running India.

The problem with activism today is that it is largely funded by grants and gifts from rich foundations and individuals. The long-standing assumption that you can take the money with few strings attached, and then run, needs to be fundamentally reexamined.

Building a philanthropic base of support can cripple an organization’s mission and wreck it altogether when the well runs dry. Most nonprofits have engaged in a kind of fundraising arms race in which our best leaders focus more time, energy and resources, not on changing the world, but on improving their panhandling prowess to capture just a little more of a philanthropic pie that actually expands very little from year to year. Armies of “development” staff spend as much as a third of an organization’s resources, not to advance the poor, but to cultivate wealthy donors. Significant numbers of our colleagues create campaigns, direct-mail pitches, telemarketing scripts, newsletters and other products exclusively to “care and feed” prospects and to frame positions that will not offend the rich.

Nonprofit structures dictated by this mode of funding also burden organizers with the heavy regulatory hand of the state. To qualify for tax-deductible contributions, for example, US nonprofits must agree to limit lobbying and not to campaign for political causes of candidates.

We believe it’s time for North American progressives to break free from the philanthropic plantation. Those of us serious about social change increasingly must get down to business, figuratively and literally. Every social change group may not be able to generate all its funding through revenue-generation, but every nonprofit certainly can generate a greater percentage than it is doing now. In other words, we should become our own funders. Once we start generating our own resources, we can invest them politically – as corporations do now – largely without limitation, without wasting our time on fundraising appeals, without worrying about that next grant, without apologies.

To get a sense of the possibilities, check out Cabbages & Condoms, a popular restaurant in Bangkok. As your senses become intoxicated by the aromas of garlic, ginger, basil, galangal and lemongrass, you cannot avoid noticing the origins of the name. On top of each heavy wooden table is a slab of glass, under which are neatly arranged rows of colorful prophylactics. Posters and paintings adorn the half-dozen large rooms, all communicating the restaurant’s central message: the AIDS epidemic afflicting Thailand can be checked only through the unabashed promotion and use of male contraception. With balloon animals made from carefully inflated and twisted condoms and the after-dinner candies replaced with your own take-home “condom-mints,” even teens cannot escape the message prominently framed on the wall: “Sex is fun but don’t be stupid – use protection.”

What makes the five “C&C” restaurants unique, along with an affiliated beach-front resort and numerous gift shops, is that they are all owned by the Population and Community Development Association (PDA), a rural development organization that has been a leader in promoting family planning and fighting aids in Thailand. Seven out of every ten dollars spent by the PDA on such activities as free vasectomies and mobile health clinics are covered by the net revenues from its 16 subsidiary for-profits. Were the PDA dependent on funding from the Thai government, the World Bank or even the Rockefeller Foundation, it no doubt would be told to tone down the message. Jokes on its website – like “the Cabbages and Condoms Restaurants in Thailand don’t only present excellent Thai food, the food is guaranteed not to get you pregnant” – would certainly be discouraged.

The cash flow gives the PDA a measure of confidence and boldness. The founder, Mechai Viravaidya, has no qualms about his decision to employ for-profits:“Unlimited demand is chasing limited supply [of charitable donations]. No longer are gifts, grants or begging enough. From day one, thirty years ago, we have been acutely aware of sustainability and cost-recovery.”

Consider some US examples of social entrepreneurship:

Housing Works in New York uses its Used Book Café to generate more than $2 million annually for its work, which prioritizes advocacy for homeless people with HIV. The organization runs clinics, conducts public policy research, lobbies federal and state officials, even leads sit-ins. It is fearless, aggressive and stunningly effective – and its $30 million of annual work would be impossible were it not for its vast range of real estate, food service, retail and rental companies that help pay the bills.

Pioneer Human Services is a community development corporation based in Seattle that assists a wide range of at-risk populations, including the unemployed, the homeless, ex-convicts, alcoholics and addicts. The organization serves 6,500 people a year and generates nearly all its $55 million budget through a web of ambitious subsidiary nonprofit businesses: cafes and a central kitchen facility for institutional customers, aerospace and sheet-metal industries, a construction company, food warehouses, a real-estate management group and consulting services for other nonprofits. Most of the jobs in these businesses are awarded to its at-risk clients,
allowing it to further its mission to integrate clients back into society.

The Rocky Mountain Institute, a leading promoter of alternative energy technology in Snowmass, Colorado, created E-Source in 1986 to provide in-depth analysis of services, markets, and technologies relating to energy efficiency and renewable energy production. In 1992 RMI secured a program-related investment from the MacArthur Foundation to move the work into a for-profit subsidiary. By 1998 it was generating about $400,000 for the parent nonprofit, but rmi decided it could do even better under new management, so it sold the company to Pearson plc in Britain for $8 million. Today, RMI assists and benefits from other for-profit spinoffs, such as Hypercar, Inc., which aims to create a lightweight body architecture to improve the efficiency of the entire US automobile fleet.

Judy Wicks’ White Dog Café in Philadelphia is as much a community organizing center as a restaurant. Radical speakers from around the country provide a steady stream of public lectures. An adjacent store sells fair trade products and will soon be introducing a line of locally made clothing. The White Dog itself embodies principles of social justice and environmental stewardship by paying all employees a living wage, insisting on humanely raised meats and eggs, using locally grown ingredients and running on wind electricity. Twenty percent of profits from the restaurant go to the White Dog Café Foundation, carrying on the café’s mission through nonprofit
activities.

These examples embody many possible models. A for-profit subsidiary can generate money for a parent nonprofit. Or, better still, a for-profit can become the change it seeks, by producing and selling socially important goods and services. While we reject the libertarian argument that every human problem has an economic solution, many social-change issues clearly have economic dimensions that are susceptible to creative business plans. Hate nuclear power? Launch energy-service companies to spread conservation measures, or build local wind farms to take control of your own electricity future. Concerned about the poor, minorities and women having equal access to credit? Create more community banks, credit unions and micro-enterprise funds. Troubled by pharmaceutical prices that make life-saving drugs unattainable for impoverished people across the globe? Start, as several companies based in the developing world did, companies that mass-produce affordable generic versions of high-priced American drugs.

Socially responsible business should be not just a boutique sector of the private economy, but its mainstream. We have been impressed in recent years by the growing number of local businesspeople who not only “walk the walk” of social justice in the small details of their operations and products but also tout the virtues of local ownership. This third generation of entrepreneur-organizers is being led by groups like the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) and by the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA). Each promotes local ownership of business, champions social justice and neighborhood revitalization, and pushes for new public policies that remove the tilts in a playing field that favors badly behaved
big business.

Sooner or later, the concepts of social-change organization and of social-responsibility business should become indistinguishable. Truly responsible businesses would be owned by all members of a community (rich and poor), hire locally, expand local skills, comport with local labor and environmental standards, produce goods and services that meet urgent local needs and become allies of social justice movements. What better way to help the poor than to transform them into the captains, worker-bees, shareholders and customers of community-friendly business?

If foundations and donors had never existed and professional panhandling had been outlawed, social-change groups would have been forced to turn to creating and running new enterprises or new networks of local businesses, and our movement would be considerably healthier than it is today. Progressives have become the classic 20-something kid still living at home, expecting an allowance from deep-pocket parents for a few basic chores, while agreeing, as a condition for the chump change, to obey someone else’s rules on social change. It’s time to grow up and strike out on our own.

Here’s a challenge to activists (one we take seriously ourselves): let’s try to wean ourselves from the charity habit, say by three percent per year. Think about just one piece of your agenda that could be framed as a revenue generator, dream about it a little, develop a business plan and give it a try. If you lack the skills, skip your next fundraising class and instead attend one of thousands upon thousands of entrepreneurship programs around the world. Or hire someone who might start the entrepreneurial subsidiary of your nonprofit.

Gandhi understood that the key to freeing India was to transform his fellow citizens into economically productive agents by spinning their own cloth and taking their own salt from the sea. Martin Luther King Jr. implored African Americans to form their own credit unions and community development corporations. The secret to being as radical as we want to be – and as radical as we need to be – is to finance the revolution ourselves.

* * *

Michael Shuman is the vice president for enterprise development for the Training and Development Corporation. Merrian Fuller is a managing director of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies. This article was adapted from “Profits for Justice,” which first appeared in The Nation.

Seven Secrets To An Irresistible Offer

Seven Secrets To An Irresistible Offer - Dan Kennedy

www.dankennedy.com

#1: The offer must be clear. People must be able to understand it instantly. Confused people do not respond. For example, half off is better than 50% off and a lot better than 35% or even 60% off. People have difficulty understanding percentages. Two for one is usually better than half off.

“Is your product positioned as part of a general class, then differentiated on the basis of it's most needed attribute? That's the way people hold things in their heads: "the dandruff shampoo that doesn't dry out your hair". The cereal that adults have grown to love." "The luxury four wheel drive". If you can't state your product in such succinct terms, chances are your customers will not be able to describe your product either. And if your product can't survive word of mouth, it probably can't survive at all.” - The Secrets of Word-of-Mouth Marketing, George Silverman

“Always remember - The confused mind says ‘no’. If there’s too much information, consumers get overwhelmed and they don’t know what to do. What happens is they stop, dead in their tracks. We find if you offer people more than 3 options, they won’t make a decision. They’ll just sit and look over and ponder the information.” - Colette Chandler, www.marketing-insider.com

#2: The offer must be a good value. It has to be understood as a good value. That's why percentage off coupons doesn't usually work well. People get suspicious. They think as soon as they see I have coupons they'll just raise the price to recover the discount. Percentage off coupons work well where there are known published prices.

#3: The offer should involve either a discount or a premium or preferably both. Sometimes premiums work much better than discounts. A premium is something you give away as a free gift to someone who comes in or who makes a purchase. Bill Glazer in his retail store meticulously track results of all his offers and has found that by adding a premium he will average a 30% increase in response.

#4: There should be a logical reason for the offer. If you discount or give something away without an explanation you create skepticism and suspicion. People have been told all their lives there's no such thing as a free lunch. You have to explain. We're doing this to introduce ourselves to the neighborhood as an introductory offer in celebration of opening our new store, as an anniversary sale, a clearance sale, customer appreciation week. Just about any explanation will do but there needs to be an explanation.

#5: There should be a reason for immediate action - expiration dates, limited availability or a bonus for fast response. These all work well in creating a sense of urgency on the consumer's part.

#6: There should be a strong, clear, direct call to action. Tell the person exactly what you want him to do. Do you want him to pick up the phone and call? Go to a website? Come in to a business? When? What will happen when he does?

Here's a good call to action, for example. Cut this coupon out of your newspaper. Bring it in to any of our locations any day of this week from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. Take it to the cashier at the counter; she'll give you your free travel alarm clock a gift for just coming in while the supply lasts. Then feel free to browse through our unique travel store. Take advantage of the huge mark downs and sale prices and get a second travel clock free with any $50.00 purchase to give to a friend.

#7: Consider mentioning or even emphasizing your guarantee. Guarantees are not tired, not worn out - they still work. They're still important to people. If you offer any kind of guarantee I think it ought to be an integral part of all your advertising.

Raising Prices Makes People Like You More

Afraid to raise your prices?

You might not need to be . . .

Want the public to like your product better? Raise the price.
Published: Monday, January 14, 2008 | 11:43 AM ET
Canadian Press: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON - Want people to like your product more? Raise the price.

That seems to be the lesson from a new study in which people were asked to taste wines marked with different prices. Researchers scanned the brains of the testers and found that the part of the brain that records pleasure lit up more for the more pricey vintages.

And that was true even when - unknown to the testers - they were sipping a wine that they had liked less when it had a lower price tag.

Antonio Rangel and colleagues at California Institute of Technology thought perceptions of higher price meaning higher quality could influence people, so they decided to test the idea.

They asked 20 people to sample wine while undergoing functional MRI's of their brain activity. The subjects were told they were tasting five different Cabernet Sauvignons sold at different prices.

However, there were actually only three wines sampled, two being offered twice, marked with different prices.

A $90 wine was provided marked with its real price and again marked $10, while another was presented at its real price of $5 and also marked $45.

The testers' brains showed more pleasure at the higher price than the lower one, even for the same wine, Rangel reports in this week's online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In other words, changes in the price of the wine changed the actual pleasure experienced by the drinkers, the researchers reported.

"Our results suggest that the brain might compute experienced pleasantness in a much more sophisticated manner that involves integrating the actual sensory properties of the substance being consumed with the expectations about how good it should be," they reported.

© The Canadian Press, 2008

BSR: Now Greenwashed!

just got an email from my friend kate holloway today:

I went to a huge dinner last night for Robert F. Kennedy. While the hosts was legit - the Toronto Region Conservation Authority - and the speaker was totally legit - Bobby Jr. is the real deal -- however it was drearily obvious that some of the event sponsors flashing on the ballroom screens, were just big corporate names that were simply greenwashing.

Read on, MacDuffs, anyway, read this gripping tale of our own Laury Hammel (co-founder of BALLE), from 2005 and learn a little more about how and why BALLE came to be. We don't want ever this to happen to BALLE Canada, and it won't, because what we're doing is the real deal.

//kmh

Published on Thursday, November 3, 2005 by CommonDreams.org
Hijacked: Business for Social Responsibility
by Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman


We've just returned from the Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) conference being held here in Washington, D.C.

We picked up maybe five pounds of propaganda being handed out by the sponsors -- ExxonMobil, Chevron, AstraZeneca, Walt Disney, Pfizer, General Electric, Altria/Philip Morris (remember: altriameanstobacco.com), McDonald's, Edison International, Starbucks, Ford Motor Company, Coca-Cola, Abbott Labs, Microsoft, Monsanto, KPMG, Chiquita -- among others. The news -- what these giant multinationals don't want you to know -- is that they hijacked Business for Social Responsibility from its founders.

In 1991, the founders, a group of small businesses, wanted to counter the voices of the giant multinationals -- the Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable -- in the public policy arena.

Enter Robert Dunn, stage right.

Dunn is now chairman of Business for Social Responsibility.

At the time, Dunn was a vice president at Levi Strauss, one of the large corporate members of the group.

Dunn said to his colleagues -- the only way we are going to change large multinational corporations is to bring them into this organization.

And the only way they will come into this organization is if we vow never to engage in the public policy arena.

Dunn said that the focus of the organization would be on changing big corporations from within.

Translation:

No talk about government regulation.

No talk about national health insurance.

No talk about a living wage.

No talk about war and peace.

No talk about law and order -- for corporate criminals.

In 1994, Monsanto, purveyor of genetically engineered foods, wanted into the group.

One member, Gary Hirschberg, chairman of Stoneyfield Farms, said -- wait a second.

Do we want a company that makes pesticides and herbicides and genetically engineered crops to be a member of a socially responsible business organization?

Yes, came back the answer -- how else are they going to get better?

Well what about tobacco companies?

How else are they going to get better?

What about oil and chemical companies?

How else are they going to get better?

What about nuclear companies?

What about military companies?

The reality is that Business for Social Responsibility has become a public relations organization for big corporations.

The only criteria for membership -- you have to be big and loaded.

The hijacking is now complete.

Laury Hammel knows what happened.

He was present at the creation.

Business for Social Responsibility was his idea in the late 1980s.

Hammel owns a string of health clubs in Boston.

Hammel wanted BSR to help business become more socially responsible, but also to engage in the public policy debate.

"We were sick and tired of having the Chamber of Commerce being the voice for business," Hammel said.

So, he started the group, and brought in such luminaries as Arnold Hiatt, former CEO of Stride Rite.

But at a board meeting of Business for Social Responsibility in 1993 in Cape Cod, there was a showdown between those who wanted the group to remain a voice in the public policy debate and those who wanted to stay out.

Dunn told the board that he would become president of BSR if the group stopped taking public policy positions.

"Dunn didn't want anything to do with influencing government policy," Hammel said. "Dunn believed that we would never change the world if we didn't get big corporations behind us. And we would never get them on board if we kept our foot in the public policy arena."

Hammel lost the battle with Dunn over allowing big corporations into the organization.

Dunn then asked Hammel to resign from the board.

Hammel refused.

So he was forced out.

"Dunn said he wasn't going to renominate me to the board because I didn't have money or stature -- I wasn't a big corporation," Hammel said.

Hammel is very fond of Arnold Hiatt, the former CEO of Stride-Rite, and a founding member of BSR.

Hiatt is still a member of the board of Business for Social Responsibility.

"He's an icon, one of my heroes," Hammel said. "But he's not in charge. It's Robert Dunn who is the driving force."

Hammel believes that Dunn's strategy of trying to change large corporations from within is bound to fail.

"Dunn has an incorrect analysis," Hammel said. "Take Wal-Mart for example."

Wal-Mart is a member of BSR.

"The only thing you can do to Wal-Mart is to do what they did with Standard Oil and take it apart," Hammel said. "There is an inherent flaw in the way they operate. When you make a change in Wal-Mart, you make a difference. But ultimately, you are going to fail because the business plan is flawed."

After being forced out of BSR, Hammel continued to organize local BSR chapters around the country.

Back then, the local chapters still had a voice in the national.

"But in 2000, the national BSR sent us a letter. There was no discussion. They just said -- we are eliminating all local chapters," Hammel said. "They told us that BSR was going to spend all of its time on big corporations."

Hammel has gone on help jump-start a new organization -- the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (www.livingeconomies.org).

The message -- buy local, buy independent.

"When I first formed BSR, I thought all businesses had the same interests in common," Hammel said. "Then I realized that big corporations didn't want to be with us. And we realized that our interests were different."

"The first allegiance of big public companies is to their stockholders," Hammel said. "Most of these big companies have to cater to the whims of the stockholders. That puts them in conflict with the consumer, community and the environment. Very few big companies can buck that stockholder dictatorship."

"Second is -- where do you live? Are you locally owned? If yes, then you are connected to the community," Hammel said. "Companies like Starbucks (a BSR member) are creating a homogenized culture. They are homogenizing cultures all over the world. We want to see locally owned coffee shops."

"We have done several studies showing that for every $100 spent at a local independent company -- $45 goes to the community," Hammel said. "If you spend the $100 at the corporate chain like Starbucks, only $13 goes to the community."

The last BSR conference that Hammel attended was in 2001 in Seattle.

This was 10 years after he founded BSR as his dream.

"I sat down at a table and noticed three guys with name tags that said Philip Morris and Company," Hammel said. "I asked these guys -- you are not with the cigarette company, are you? And they said -- 'yes, we are with the holding company.'"

"I said to myself -- these guys are members of BSR? They make products that kill people. What is this?"

That was the last conference he attended.

Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime Reporter. Robert Weissman is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Multinational Monitor. Mokhiber and Weissman are co-authors of On the Rampage: Corporate Predators and the Destruction of Democracy (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press).

Pay what you want zine subscriptions?

Pay what you want magazine subscriptions?

Yes.

Check it out:

http://www.springwise.com/media_publishing/paywhatyouwant_magazine_subscr/

Articulating Offers Powerfully

Hey there,

I got an unexpected email last week from my
friend Tom.

I've talked about him before.

I've pasted the email below as it's contents
could honestly be exactly what you need to
take your marketing to the next level.

No joke.

But do me a favour and don't skip ahead. Just
keep reading because . . .

MY response led to HIM sending me another
email.

THAT email led to me calling him a
'sonnovab*tch'.

No joke.

But more on that in just a second . . .

This email has an awfully irresistible offer
in it. I think you should take advantage of
it.

It's at the bottom (don't peek yet!).

Here's your main lesson (and then more about
Tom) about Irresistible Offers for this week.

The first key to crafting irresistible offers
is coming up with the idea. The second part is
ARTICULATING it in a way that people immediately
'get it'.

Let me put this to you: you may ALREADY have
an irresistible offer - but be articulating it
in the wrong way.

As Dan Kennedy talked about last week - clarity
is key.

You can articulate the SAME idea in many
different ways - some ways will have more impact
than others.

Here's an example from marketing guru Jay
Abraham (read it carefully) . . .

* * *

"Here, I'll give you a couple of examples.
Years ago, I worked with a brokerage firm
that was selling precious metals. They ran
ads in the Wall Street Journal and happened
to have a relationship with a bank that was
bank-financed.

They ran ads for bank-financed purchases of
silver and gold. Their headline said,

"Two-Thirds Bank Financing on Silver and
Gold."

When they ran the ads, they pulled okay.

They brought back a profit, the sales people
made commissions adequate enough to stay,
the owners made salaries, the overhead was
paid and they had money left over to keep
running the ads. They were happy. But they
hadn't questioned, "How high is high?"

This company had never tested headlines.
They were doing great -- or so they thought.
I said, "Let's try three other permutations
of our offer."

We tested three small headline changes. One
did a little bit better, about 10%.

One did about the same -- the improvement
was negligible.

**And one improved the yield of the ad they
were running by five times -- or 500 %.**

This was back when gold was not selling very
high. The market price for gold was about
$300 an ounce and about $6 for silver.

Remember, their headline read,

"Two-Thirds Bank Financing on Silver and
Gold."

Keep in mind, my question is always,
"What does that mean to me as the customer?"

That headline meant nothing -- so I changed
it. All I said was,

"If Gold Is Selling for $300 an Ounce, Send
Us Just $100 an Ounce and We'll Buy You All
the Gold You Want."

And I had one for silver also.

"If Silver is Selling for $6 an Ounce, Send
Us Just $2 an Ounce and We'll Send You All
the Silver You Want."

It was the same statement, but more powerfully
denominated in the context of what's in it
for the ultimate consumer. That one simple
change -- of all about 12 words made in the
same amount of space they were already buying
and using, and the same body copy (which was
90% of the ad) increased their pull by 500%.

* * *

Back to my friend Tom.

The sonnovab*tch.

Here's the story . . .

My good pal (and Toronto's resident marketing
wizard) Tom St. Louis received the offer for a
90 minute pay what you can consultation (the
same one that hit your email inbox on October
4th).

Well he loved it.

He asked permission to use it.

I told him he was far too gracious - and of
course he could.

Then he emails me HIS articulation of it.

And I, frankly think he did a better job than
me at articulating the whole pay what you can
thing.

Sonnova . . .

Mine's here: http://tadhargrave.com/consulting

His offer is below - is his articulation
better than mine?

You decide.

Warmest,
Tad

p.s. You CAN'T book a PWYC session with me
right now. I'm going on the road for two months.
In fact, I had to push two I'd already booked
for today to happen in December because I'm so
busy.

He was only offering this to his own list but
I asked him if it would be okay to send it to
my list as well and he agreed.

If you're wanting up to $1000 of to-die-for
marketing handholding from a real marketing
genius - for whatever you want to pay -
well you should keep reading.

Yes. You should.

p.p.s. Tom, you're a sonnovab*tch.

* * *



FROM THE DESK OF: Tom St. Louis.

Special "BUSKING OFFER"
for Marketing From the Heart Subscribers ONLY

Get up to $1,000 worth of Live, In-Person,
One on One Marketing Consulting . . .
For Whatever YOU Decide to Pay

Dear Tad:

A lot of people commented on my recently related
adventures busking in the streets of New Orleans. (If
you missed that installment, see it here: http://www.zerald.com/downandoutinneworleans.doc )

Definition: "Busking" is the act of providing a service
without a fee agreement in place. After performing the
service -- like singing a song for a stranger on the
streets of the French Quarter, for instance -- the
customer pays whatever THEY think it is worth.

What I liked about remembering my busking
days -- and I have busked in many places including
Montreal, Toronto, Amsterdam, Paris, Vancouver
and New Orleans -- is that if I didn’t perform well,
I DIDN’T GET PAID!!!

I found that I performed very well with my feet to
the fire.

So today, I’m going to make you the most
provocative and potentially profitable proposition
you’ve received all year -- maybe ever. I have my
friend Tad Hargrave to thank for the idea. A day or
two after sending you the most recent Marketing
From the Heart, I saw Tad making a "Pay What
You Can" offer to his database, and I thought,
"What a great idea!"

So I got permission from Tad to make a similar
offer to you.

This is your chance -- perhaps your only one --
to get a better than guaranteed consultation up
front even before you decide what you want to
pay for it.

Here’s the bottom line:

You will get a 90 minute breakthrough marketing
coaching session with me on a "pay what you can"
(PWYC) basis. You decide AFTER the consultation
what it was worth to YOU. I will accept whatever
you decide it was worth, with no hassles and no
guilt trips.

That’s it! I will go ahead with this for the first ten subscribers who let me know they are interested.

"YES! I want to Book a Session!"
Send an e-mail to:
moistlotus@gmail.com and let me know
what it is you want me to help you with.

THE 7 STEP PROCESS:
Here’s exactly what will happen, step by step

1) After receiving word from you, we will
schedule a call at a mutually convenient time.

2) You will immediately receive my marketing
consultation questionnaire. This allows me to
examine all the major dynamics in your
marketing and messaging. And, answering
the questions will help you get totally focused
on your marketing challenges and aspirations.

This process was created for delivering Marketing
Audits for larger organizations, but I promise you
will find the process illuminating.

3) You will e-mail me any and all materials
pertinent to our discussion. They could be ads,
scripts, presentations, web pages, copy to
improve -- you name it. I will spend up to 30
minutes reviewing your materials prior to our
call.

4) You will receive 60-90 minutes of my time
in a coaching call by telephone. We will address
your greatest challenges and create concise action
sequences to help you get to where you want to go.

5) Within 24 hours of your consultation you will
receive the full audio from the call to review as
many times as you’d like to get every last drop
of value from the call. You can download this
to your computer, iPod, burn it to a CD etc. and
listen to it whenever you want. Remember: You
get all of this before I receive a penny from you.
It’s in my best interest of course to provide
phenomenal value -- to hold nothing back
-- because what I’m paid depends on it!!!

6) Within 48 hours you will receive a follow up
email that will include my reflections and guidance
on next steps. It may also include additional materials
and resources that I think could be useful.

7) On the day you receive your e-mail
recommendations from me, you will indicate to me
via e-mail what you have decided to pay me. I will
then send you a bill via pay pal for half of what
you are committed to paying. The balance will
be paid in 30 days. And, again, this is based on
the value you have received ñ from your own
perspective -- and what you feel you can afford.

"YES! I want to Book a Session!"
Send an e-mail to:
moistlotus@gmail.com and let me know
what it is you want me to help you with.


Let Me Be Very Clear on What This
Consultation Could Be Worth For You.

First of all, many marketing consultants charge
between $200-$5000 per hour for their
consultations. When I do consultations by the
hour, which is rare, I charge $300 an hour with
a four hour minimum.

When you consider how many business owners
have attributed huge revenue and profit
breakthroughs to the advice they have received
from me in these sessions, you will realize that
it is a steal. Remember, you only pay what YOU
think it’s worth to you! All the others had to pay
in advance based on what I wanted to receive.
This offer is based on what you want to pay but
only AFTER you get all the value.

7 Reasons Why You Should
Jump on This Offer Right Now
With Both Feet

1. You will receive your own, one on one,
intensely focused coaching session from me
to you when the heat is on -- and I love to perform
when the heat is on! This is very different from a
seminar where you are only one person in a large
group. In these calls, everything is focused
towards your needs and challenges.

2. You get $500+ worth of my time (30 minutes
of my time prepping for the call and 90 minutes
on the call itself) with no obligation to pay me a
penny more than you can based on what you
thought it was worth.

3. You will receive a full audio of our consultation.
You can listen to it in your car or in your office or
wherever you want. You will discover that when
you get me "in state", I am able to articulate your
key messages very powerfully. The value of this
"hot copy" could easily be worth a serious multiple
of what you decide to pay.

4. You will get clear answers to your toughest and
most intractable marketing problems.

5. You will get specific, explicit step by step
directions from me on EXACTLY what you
need to do to flatten your challenges and increase
YOUR cash flow and attract more clients.

6. You get to pick my brain about any marketing
or positioning or messaging issue and take
"ethical advantage" of me for an hour and a
half. In fact, forget the ethical part. You will
be able to steal me blind if you want to. I’m
betting that you will pay me at least a fraction
of the value you receive.

7. You get the chance to try me out at my risk.
I have never made an offer like this before and
may never do so again. Frankly, before I saw
Tad’s offer, I’d never heard of or thought of a
Marketing Busker offer -- and when I first saw it,
I thought it was a bit loony. But upon reflection,
it just made sense. The bottom line is you pay what
YOU think it’s worth. And I promise to accept your
assessment of the value of what I have delivered to
you.

"YES! I want to Book a Session!"
Send an e-mail to:
moistlotus@gmail.com and let me know
what it is you want me to help you with.

The Catch.

You have to honestly tell me what you think the
session is worth to you and PAY that. This is not
free. You cannot take and not give back. I only ask
that you pay what you think it was worth to you.

If you wish, you can pay in two installments -- one
on the day you received your report and the second
thirty days later.

* * *

Radioheads Pay What You Want Album

Radiohead Releases a Pay What You Want album.

Have they taken the whole Pay What You Can thing too far? You decide.

http://news.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/02/an-album-that-costs-what-you-want-it-to/?ex=1191988800&en=aa34a60c66c588e2&ei=5070&emc=eta1">CLICK HERE

Green Market to Hit $500 Billion in 2008

Some people think the green marketplace is set for a big surge next year. Don't believe it?

Click http://www.environmentalleader.com/2007/09/28/consumer-spending-on-green-will-double-reach-500-billion-in-2008">HERE to read more.

Your Irresistible Offer - "The Four Letter Word of Marketing" - Part 7 of 19

Hey,

I hope you've been enjoying this series of
email on how you can craft "Your Irresistible
Offer". If you've missed any - you can find
them here on this blog.

The subject of this week's email is all
about one, four letter word: RISK.

GASP!

Did he just type that?!

It's the dirtiest four letter word in
business. And it's likely costing you
more than you'd care to admit.

You're likely losing a lot of money right
now - I can promise you - because you aren't
addressing and dealing with the risks people
perceive in doing business with you.

Reducing, eliminating or reversing the
risk is probably the most powerful single
secret of making YOUR offers more irresistible.

In fact, to illustrate my point, I'd
like to make YOU an offer.


http://tadhargrave.com/consulting


I think you're going to like it.

I think you'll agree that it's one of the
most relevant, valuable and risk free
offers you've ever seen.

Crossing my fingers - I hope that you
might even find it irresistible.

But . .

I only have time to offer it to yourself
and two other people. There's only three
of these available. Once they're gone,
they're gone.

And it might not be right for you. It
might not be a fit.

This offer is only for you if you are:

1) In a place where you want to grow your
business.

2) Are open to honest, constructive
feedback on your marketing

3) Committed to living your values.

4) Ready to do two to three hours of
highly focused homework.


If that's not you, you might as well stop
reading now.

But if you're willing to put in a little
Effort to get a lot of reward - then keep
reading.

* * *

HERE'S YOUR OFFER:

WHAT: I would like to offer you a 90
minute marketing coaching session with me.
It's worth at least $500 (and that's if you
only count my time).

You will also get the full, audio recording
of that call. You will receive an executive
"coaching summary" of the call.

But there are only three of these available.


For more info:

http://tadhargrave.com/consulting


HOW MANY: Only three. I only have time to
do your call in the first two weeks of
October. After that, I'm on the road for
two months.


COST: Pay what you want. Ten days after your
session I will ask you to send me two cheques
for whatever you want to pay. There's no
minimum and no maximum. No pressure. No games.
No joke.

* * *

HOW CAN I AFFORD TO OFFER THIS?

Well, you can find the full answer at:

http://tadhargrave.com/consulting

Isn't there a lot of risk to me in doing
this?

After all, couldn't someone just get
everything and then not pay me at all? Or
what if they only paid me like $2 for my
time?

But here's my explanation - and maybe the
most potent marketing lesson on creating
offers that I can give you.

Most entrepreneurs are silently scared of
getting screwed. And that fear is not
serving them.

- Maybe you fear giving big guarantees in
case you have to offer refunds.

- Maybe you're scared to teach people how
you do what you do in case someone steals
your info or uses it but doesn't hire you.

- Maybe you've given your clients incredible
value - even free stuff - only to have it
taken for granted and drain your time,
energy and cashflow.

- Maybe you're afraid to get the short end
of the stick.

So, you learn to protect yourself.

You learn to value your time. You tell
yourself that your expertise and information
is worth a lot and that you deserve
compensation for anything you give out.

Maybe you also tell yourself that if you
just gave away information that people
wouldn't really value it.

And of course - you would have a point.

Maybe you've figured out all sorts of ways
to reduce your risks in doing business and
protect yourself.

And while this all might meet your need for
self respect and safety - and it's far better
than letting yourself be taken to the cleaners
- it's not the whole journey.

What if I told you that there are ways to be
100% safe and yet outrageously bold in lowering
the risk of your offers?

Here's a counter intuitive thought to
meditate on: to succeed in business you
must learn to love getting the short
end of the stick. To grow your business
you must learn to assume the lion's share
of the risk in any interaction.

And yes, there are ways to do this where
you're also protected. I'll cover them in
a later email to you.

**Put another way: you have no idea how
much money you're losing every year because
you are silently asking your prospects and
clients to take on the risk of taking the
next step in the relationship with you.


THIS IS A CRITICAL MARKETING PIECE:
Lowering the risk of the next step.

How can you lower the risk?

Here's some simple, tried and true ways:

1) Iron clad, No Hassle Guarantees.

2) Testimonials & Case Studies

3) Free Intro Events

4) Spelling out the process you use in
detail so there's no mystery of the unknown
about it and they can begin to appreciate
why your process works.

5) Your credentials, awards etc.

6) Becoming a well known figure (hosting a
radio show, writing magazine columns)

7) Writing a blog that shares your honest
perspective about the issues you help
clients with. What causes the problems?
What are the best solutions?

* * *

A primary way I do this is by offering
many of my services on a pay what you can
basis.

Meaning you receive the full consultation
or weekend training and then - when it's
all done - you pay me whatever you thought
it was worth based on what you can afford.

No catch.

This does a number of things:

1) It lowers the risk for people to take
the next step. This makes is much more
likely that they will raise their hand and
say 'yes'.

2) It makes my life far easier. I don't
have to sell so hard because there is
zero possible financial risk. A ridiculously
high percentage of people who come to my
intros sign up for the full weekend.

In short, it makes me a lot of money.

For less effort.

Could you use a PWYC consult?

Maybe. Maybe not.

But ask yourself, are you feeling:

- 'stuck' in your marketing?

- Not sure what the most important next steps
are for you to take in your unique situation?

- Like you could use an outside perspective?

http://tadhargrave.com/consulting


WHY ACT NOW?:

But this will be about ten times as hard to
book in three weeks.

Because, as of Oct 17th, I'm starting on my
tour and I'll be on the road - almost non-stop -
for two months. During that time I will do
very few consultations. If any.

I did a ton of them this summer but I know
that some of you are new on my list and may
not have heard of this. So, this is just a
little courtesy reminder.

If you'd like to book one you can just click
reply and email me here.

If you have any questions - check out:

http://tadhargrave.com/consulting


Warmest,

Tad Hargrave
Founder
Radical Business
"helping conscious folk make more money"
tad@tadhargrave.com
www.tadhargrave.com

P.S. Please consider the environment before
printing this email - Thank You!


P.P.S. REMEMBER: I am offering three pay
what you can consultations worth $500 to
the first three people who respond.

To get more info:

http://www.tadhargrave.com/consulting

.

The 57 Top Web Business Tools

I just got this email from Stu MacLaren. Very cool guy.

If you know you need to get your computer, website, and business systems up to snuff but have no idea where to start - start here.

warmest,
tad

*********************************************
I've got a video and a fun training for you:
http://www.myideaguy.com/57tools.htm
*********************************************


Dear Tad,

New Products...

Big Launches...

... and a Wedding!

What a week so far!

There are so many exciting things happening
right now (personally and professionally)
that I'm finding it hard to keep pace with
everything.

First John Reese launched BlogRush on the
weekend and then Jason Potash launched his
website with non-stop "deals" all year long.

Then to top it all off, I'm hitting the
homestretch before my wedding so it's
"wedding madness" around here... YIKES!

Does life always seem to speed up as soon as
September hits?

Anyway, a while back I started doing a series
of teleseminars called "Saturday Trainings".

They have always been a HUGE hit and I've
decided to do another one this Saturday.

However, this one has a unique twist because
I won't be "teaching" anything... I'll just
be giving you TONS of free stuff :)

Curious?

Check it out:
http://www.myideaguy.com/57tools.htm

It's taking place this Saturday so register early :)

See you soon!

Take care.

Stu McLaren
Your Idea Guy

The Almost Perfect, Pressure Free Sales Letter

I just got this email from Ari Galper of www.unlockthegame.com.

He's a genius.

His work on removing the pressure and hype from sales is really the only thing I ever recommend to people.

He just sent me an email that describes an almost perfect, results producing sales letter written with warmth, empathy and profound relevance to the reader - but no hype.

Read on . . .

Hi Tad,

Mark Coudray, a client of mine, sent me this email a few weeks ago about a breakthrough sales letter that he wrote (which I'm going to share with you) based on the insights he learned in the Unlock The Game mastery program.

Mark's letter is here:

https://utg.infusionsoft.com/in/i493e0/tad!tadhargrave.com/186a00/

The interesting twist about this letter is that it's designed to generate a phone call back to him (not forcing them to buy anything from the letter)....here's Mark's email he sent me:

------------
Ari,

I talked to you briefly at the System Seminar in Chicago to let you know how well Unlock The Game is working for us. I have attached a copy of the sales letter we use to bring in new clients. This letter is currently pulling 40% response with a perfect 100% conversion of the responding companies.

In our first year of testing the program with 20 randomly selected test companies, we increased our revenues almost 1.1 million dollars. This was with 20 companies. The annual revenue per client was just under $56,000. There are 1850 companies that meet our demographic profile in California alone.

I know a good part of our success is based on the low key, non sales pressure approach you teach in your Unlock The Game program.

We are currently preparing to move into 16,000 sq ft new building and production facility. This is triple what our current space is. We have doubled our production capacity and we are about to double that again.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the letter and I am always looking forward to your insight and observations.

Warmest regards,

Mark
----------------------------------

You probably get sales letters in the mail all the time, or see them on websites.

You know the kind, really long text pages, yellow highlights, oversize headlines... you can almost feel the sale pressure jumping off the page at you.

Which of course is exactly the opposite feeling and approach that my clients and I work so hard not to be associated with.

Putting pressure on your prospects, whether it's over the phone or in writing, breaks the opportunity for you to build genuine trust with that person. And trust is what's at the core of long term sales success.

Mark's letter is a testament to not "hard pitching" his solution, but instead focusing in on the problems his prospects are experiencing.

In a moment, I'm going to share with you:

1. His sales letter with my written comments in the margins, to explain what Mark did
so well (Mark, the gracious guy that he is, gave me permission to share his letter with you.)

2. A 45-minute "audio briefing" where I explain, in depth, the key elements that Mark incorporated from Unlock The Game that makes this letter a true breakthrough

3. A word-for-word written transcript of the 45-minute "audio briefing"

Here's your access link:

https://utg.infusionsoft.com/in/i493e0/tad!tadhargrave.com/186a00/

(After you click the link, you'll be taken to a page that confirms you're one of my subscribers and you'll see the link to access Mark's letter)

To your success,

Ari Galper
Unlock The Game

P.S. I'd love to hear your feedback, just reply to this email. And if you have any written sales materials that have worked for you that minimize sales pressure...please do send them over. I'm creating a collection of these to make available at a later date.

Free Coaching Call Download (hosted by Katie's Club)

Hey everyone,

Yesterday, I was interviewed by Katie Curtain of Katie's club in Toronto.

It was a really powerful, jam packed call that got into some real nitty gritty detail. More info below on how you can listen to or download the call

Dear Friends,

I am getting rave e-mails about last night's Katie's Club teleconference with Tad Hargrave on "How to Grow Your Business Without Selling Your Soul". If you missed it, I did a recording of the evening.

Just click on here and you can listen
http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/WfCQb3JQ

Or download it to to your computer or MP3 player.
http://coachkatie.audioacrobat.com/download/TadHargrave1.mp3

The topics Tad covered included:

* tips for people setting up a holistic or green business
* five mistakes that social entrepreneurs make when running their businesses
* the importance of establishing a niche
* the two critical elements that make up a niche
* the three ways you can tell if your niche is any good or not
* the power of educational marketing
* the power of empathy in your marketing (including a secret all women know, but men don't)
* the power of 'stay in touch' marketing (and the 80/20 rule of how to do that)
* the four levels of how to make your business irresistibly attractive


Participants also had the chance to discuss some of their own business challenges.

So enjoy listening and if you get a chance, e-mail me what you found most useful. Also take a look at Tad's website. He has lots of free material, including a marketing self assessment test. Go to : http://www.tadhargrave.com

As well, Tad is coming to Toronto and is doing a workshop the first weekend of November, where you pay what you can. If you are running a small business or practice, you got to get out to this. The information and resources he provides are priceless. As well he's a real fun kind of guy, and very creative in his approach to marketing and business for the socially
conscious.

I'm doing an introductory evening for Tad at Ellington's Cafe, 805 St. Clair Avenue West, on Tuesday, Oct 30, 7-9PM. There's limited seating, so sign up as soon as you can by going to Tad's website, at http://www.tadhargrave.com/freeintro, or by e-mailing me.

Also keep your eyes peeled for upcoming Katie's Club teleconferences. I have one coming up on October 9, with Cherie Carpenter on Body Talk which is an extraordinary system of holistic healing.

Warmly,

Katie Curtin

Katie's Club
Helping women serve themselves and the world
Katie's Club is a club for women dedicated to creating positive
planetary change through the arts, holism and social action.

Want more information about becoming a member, please e-mail me at katiecurtin@mac.com or phone 416-656-6455.

"Your Forgotten eBook" - 111 Page, 100% 'On the House', Three-in-One ebook

Hey,

Can't believe I forgot to tell you
about this. Unreal.

Here's the scoop . . .

A few months ago I created an ebook.

It was born at 90 or so pages long,
but has since grown to a whopping 111
pages long.

Of course, *I* think it's the most
beautiful ebook in the world.

Ended up very pleased with it all.

I created it to use as an incentive to
get people to sign up for my email list.

I wanted to them to be surprised and
delighted by this great thing they got -
just for giving me their email.

So, now, when people sign up - they're
immediately emailed a link to this beautiful
bouncing, 111 page baby ebook that I'm
really proud of.

* * *
HOW YOU CAN GET YOUR OWN COPY?

1) Go to www.tadhargrave.com
2) Fill in your name and email on the
left hand side of the screen where it says:

"FREE!
Marketing Self Assessment
Find out what might be holding your
marketing back"

3) A link to download it will be
instantly emailed to you.
* * *

It's already gotten me rave reviews.

(though I fear it will one day grow up
and quit college on me too)

It occurred to me - a month or so
after creating this ebook - that I hadn't
told you about it and it's absolutely
the clearest and most up to date summary of
what I teach these days.

I just forgot to send out the word.

. . . What??!

Expect me to live what I teach?

(Don't you judge me . . .)

Anyway, there's no charge for this ebook.

No catch.

What is it?

It's basically a three in one package:

PART ONE:

An edited and expanded version of my live
two hour intro. The only thing missing is
my card tricks.

If you haven't been to my intro, here’s a
sneak preview of what you’ll learn:

o the difference between your inner
marketing game and your outer game (and
which one 90% of businesses totally ignore)

o the three critical criteria to
developing a strong target market or niche

o how you can craft an irresistible
offer that will compel your ideal clients
to buy from you in ways they never have

o the massive importance of identifying
‘hubs’ for your business (and the three
critical criteria of a good one)

o the difference between active and
passive word of mouth (and how you can
create substantial, positive word of
mouth for your business)


PART TWO:
The Horrible Hundred+

This might just be my favorite thing I've
ever created.

It's basically a diagnostic for the
conscious entrepreneur to see where they're
strong and where they're weak.

But from a particular angle.

I created it because I saw one too many
good-hearted conscious entrepreneurs
completely mis-diagnosing their situation.

They came to me thinking they needed
marketing help - but their real problems
lay outside the realm of marketing. Often
they were in the wrong business entirely,
they were addicted to urgency, they had
no goals etc.

I've gotten rave reviews on this thing.


PART THREE:

The Radical 180

This is a 180 point checklist that focuses
almost entirely on your marketing game plan.
It's divided into what i consider to be the
five most 'mission critical' areas of your
business.

It should give you a good birds eye view
of where your marketing is strong and where
it's weak.

* * *

HOW YOU CAN GET YOUR OWN COPY?

1) Go to www.tadhargrave.com
2) Fill in your name and email on the
left hand side of the screen where it says:

"FREE!
Marketing Self Assessment
Find out what might be holding your
marketing back"

3) A link to download it will be
instantly emailed to you.
* * *

That's it.

I hope you're well.


Warmest,
Tad

P.S. PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS: The only
thing I ask is that instead of emailing
people the direct link to it, you send
them the following email (feel free to
modify) or some such thing.

* * *

"Hey, Just came across this free 111 page
ebook on marketing for green, holistic
and community minded entrepreneurs.

It's pretty amazing. Well worth your time.

It's got three different parts to it.

The summary is below but to get it

1) Go to www.tadhargrave.com
2) Fill in your name and email on the
left hand side of the screen where it says:

"FREE!
Marketing Self Assessment
Find out what might be holding your
marketing back"

3) A link to download it will be
instantly emailed to you.

Here's what's in it . . .


PART ONE:

An edited and expanded version of my live
two hour intro. The only thing missing is
my card tricks.

If you haven't been to my intro, here’s a
sneak preview of what you’ll learn:

o the difference between your inner
marketing game and your outer game (and
which one 90% of businesses totally ignore)

o the three critical criteria to
developing a strong target market or niche

o how you can craft an irresistible
offer that will compel your ideal clients
to buy from you in ways they never have

o the massive importance of identifying
‘hubs’ for your business (and the three
critical criteria of a good one)

o the difference between active and
passive word of mouth (and how you can
create substantial, positive word of
mouth for your business)


PART TWO:
The Horrible Hundred+

This might just be my favorite thing I've
ever created.

It's basically a diagnostic for the
conscious entrepreneur to see where they're
strong and where they're weak.

But from a particular angle.

I created it because I saw one too many
good-hearted conscious entrepreneurs
completely mis-diagnosing their situation.

They came to me thinking they needed
marketing help - but their real problems
lay outside the realm of marketing. Often
they were in the wrong business entirely,
they were addicted to urgency, they had
no goals etc.

I've gotten rave reviews on this thing.

PART THREE:

The Radical 180

This is a 180 point checklist that focuses
almost entirely on your marketing game plan.
It's divided into what i consider to be the
five most 'mission critical' areas of your
business.

It should give you a good birds eye view
of where your marketing is strong and where
it's weak.

The Problem with Free Sessions - Robert Middleton

Have you ever tried offering free sessions to prospects and felt like you offered incredible value only to have them leave - and not come back? Read on . . .

As most of you know, I launched a new Audio program last week where I interview Christian Mickelsen about how to set up complimentary sessions that sell your services (see details here).

What I want to talk about in today's eZine is why, for many people, free sessions haven't worked at all. We discuss this in the program, but I'd like to go into more depth here.

Giving free sessions to prospects can either be the most useful marketing tool you've ever used or it can be a disaster.

It's not unusual for people to give away free sessions right and left and have none of those sessions turn prospects into clients. Why is that?

CLICK HERE TO READ FULL ARTICLE

Personality, Passion & and Point-of-View And The Queen of Green - by Julie McManus

It’s Friday morning and I’m thinking of days long gone by. Days before I started in the direct marketing biz. I don’t usually talk about life before DM in my issues … but this week I have cause to bring them up.

It’s seems the jobs we take early in our career shape us. When I was in high school in the mid 80’s, lots of kids had part-time jobs. Whether they were taking orders at the local fast food joint, bagging groceries in the supermarket or mowing their neighbor’s lawns. Even the kids in well-off families had jobs … often they were just a bit more professional like summer internships at their parent’s law or accounting firms. And in many cases, these high-school jobs ultimately lead my school mates to the professions they ended up pursuing …whether by choice or just happenstance.

Me? I was a mall rat. I got my first job when I was fifteen. I worked after school at Limited Express. And all during high school and college, I worked for many other well-known retail stores you’ll find in most suburban malls. Over the course of the eight years I spent in the mall, I worked my way up through the ranks from a sales associate to assistant manager to manager and then ultimately district manager of the last retail store I ever worked for. That store was The Body Shop.

In the late 80s and early 90s, The Body Shop was a phenomenon like no other. With its natural products and activist ways, it came to U.S. from the U.K. like a house on fire and its founder Anita Roddick was a marketer's dream come true.

Long before the Internet Anita Roddick and The Body Shop were weaving her stories and desire to make a difference in the world into every product for sale in their bright green stores.

A Business Born From Necessity

If you don’t know the story of Anita Roddick and The Body Shop, let me bring you up to speed …

Anita Roddick was born to Jewish-Italian immigrants in 1942 in Littlehampton, West Sussex, England. She started her career as a teacher of English and History, but decided to quit and travel the world during the freewheeling days of the 1960s. After stints in Paris, Geneva and Polynesia, she returned to Littlehampton and met her soon-to-be husband Gordon Roddick. After marrying in Reno in 1970, they hit the hippie trail again before coming back to Littlehamption and opening a bed and breakfast and then later a restaurant.

In 1976, she found herself alone with two children to feed after her husband Gordon left to pursue a life-long dream to travel on horseback from Buenos Aires to New York (no kidding). A trip that would have left most marriages in shambles but one that “hippy minded” Anita supported wholeheartedly.

Before leaving, Gordon secured a 4000₤ loan so that his wife could start a business to support the family while he was gone. Anita started the first Body Shop with 25 natural skin and hair care products she mixed on her kitchen table. The trademark Body Shop bottles were chosen because they were the least expensive she could find and could be reused by customers (so she didn’t have to buy more). The signature green was chosen because it was the only color that would cover the mold on the walls of her first shop in Brighton, England.

By the time Gordon returned from his trip two years later, Anita had opened a second store. On a lark, she had sold half her business to an acquaintance to raise the money.

Upon his return, Gordon put together a franchising plan that would ultimately swell the company size to 2100 stores in 55 different countries and make Anita Roddick the 4th richest woman in the U.K. And as for that lucky acquaintance – he ended up right there with her.

She became a media darling, was voted Business Woman of the Year, bestowed the title of Dame (female equivalent of knight) by the Queen of England and dubbed the “Queen of Green.”

As I was logging online Tuesday morning, I happened to catch a glimpse of her picture. I hadn’t seen it in nearly 15 years. It was an obituary; she had died at the young age of 64.

The Three Ps of Powerful Marketing

I was fortunate to have met Anita several times and traveled to the company's Littlehampton headquarters during my stint with The Body Shop. She was a huge personality, way ahead of her time and a powerful force to be reckoned with. She was a champion against animal testing in the cosmetics industry and used her stores to spread the word of her cause. In fact, through her storefronts, she championed many causes: Reuse and recycle, fair trade practices with underdeveloped countries and awareness of the horrible situation in Romanian orphanages to name a few.

Every store in the company was mandated to find a community service project in which employees would be paid to participate. She introduced thousands of impressionable young people (employees in her stores) to the power of volunteerism and activism. As a company, we had a voice and the power to make a difference.

It was this big personality that took the world by storm and attracted customers, franchisees and employees that shared her views and passions in droves.

Anita’s amazing Personality was one of the three keys to the huge success of The Body Shop. The other two were her Passion and Point-of-View. Anita had all three and in a big way … and this was translated into the company’s powerful product marketing efforts.

If you felt as strongly as she did about the same issues and causes, you couldn’t help but like her. And people buy from people they like.

I want to repeat that again because it is so important – People buy from people they like.

In a business in which it was highly unlikely she would ever meet the vast majority of her customers face-to-face, she was able to take her three “Ps” and translate them into an incredible relationship that would ultimately make her a very wealthy woman.

The Three Ps in Your Own Business

For Anita Roddick and The Body Shop, I’m not sure the three “Ps” were intentional – at least in the beginning. But, we can take what we’ve learned from Anita and apply it to our own business … especially if that business is on the web.

When we start our businesses, we tend to want them to look large and corporate so we can compete. We wrap them in a plain vanilla wrapper in fear of offending or turning off our customers. When in actuality, it is our humanness that our customers enjoy most. Our down to earth … "I completely understand where you’re coming from … I’ve been right there with you" nature our prospects seem to like the best.

In looking back on my time with The Body Shop – far before I ever started in the direct response biz – I realize that I was building an incredible foundation for my direct marketing career to come.

So, here are 3 quick ways to infuse the three “Ps” into your own business …

TO READ MORE CLICK HERE

*

Using Quizes to Establish a Problem

Got this email from Travis Greenlee the other day.

Pretty brilliant stuff.

Here's why . . .

Sometimes people's problems are obvious and glaring symptoms. Other times they're actually not experiencing any issues - even though you know they are. Just looking at them and their business you know they're headed for trouble - but you can't just lecture them. In situations where you see the signs but they have no symptoms, you must help them discover for themselves what's really going on.

Examples of this:

- my Horrible Hundred quiz
- live blood cell analysis (if you see a parasite burst out of a red blood cell - you sit up and pay attention)
- muscle testing

The key is to create a test that reveals the truth.

Here's one that could help you build your business and could give you some great ideas on how to build your own.

Hey Tad,

It's been quite a while, how are you?

Well, I sure hope your summer was relaxing and full of good times :-)

As we move into fall and the best time of the year to build our businesses, I wanted to reconnect with you to share an awesome little f.ree tool and resource I've discovered.

--> www.PracticeBuildingQuiz.com <--

I've been using this assessment with my personal students, as well as our Virtual Practice Builder team members for several years now and they absolutely LOVE IT!

Why?

Well, because they realize that one of the most important keys to creating a fully automated, highly successful business is understanding exactly where we are NOW in terms of your business development as well as where you are headed.

Now I realize this sounds rather intuitive, however for most of us, we rarely, if ever take the time to really get a good look at where we stand with our business development and marketing systems.

So, my question is... are you in the same boat?

Take just 3 minutes now to run through this marketing quiz. I'll send you a detailed report and help put you on the fast track to building an awesome business this fall.

--> www.PracticeBuildingQuiz.com <--


I wish you all the joy, happiness, and success in the world and look forward to serving you soon.

To your success!


Travis Greenlee
Business Design and Development at the Speed of Technology
-------------------------------------------
Automate, Simplify, and Rapidly Increase Your Bottom Line
www.TravisGreenleeConsulting.com | Office: 970.879.0473

Bob Serling on Mike Long on Getting Web Traffic for Free

Hey there,

Beb Serling is a marketing genius. And today he sent out this provocative piece to his list. Check it out - I know I am . . .

Maybe you've already heard about this, but this is
going live tomorrow and you should definitely know
about it.

My friend, Mike Long and his Area 51 Marketing crew
have been turning the Internet upside down in a search
for the world's greatest expert at getting fr*e visitors
over to your site.

So they did a massive search starting with an ASK
campaign that gave them thousands of leads to check
into.

Here's the cool part of what they discovered. For
some reason, in most marketing areas, the reigning
experts seem to be men.

But after exhaustive research, what Mike and his team
realized is that the world's greatest expert when it comes
to free search is actually a WOMAN from Nebraska,
Nancy Andrews, who's getting over 100,000 visitors to her
site FR*E every month in the highly competitive golf niche.

Let's pause a second. If you didn't quite get that, she's
getting over 100,000 visitors per month to her site!
And this is all with fr*e or natural search - no paid
clicks at all.

Now Mike has put up some videos showing exactly how
Nancy accomplishes this:

http://www.area51marketing.com/?a=123

Nancy's also got tons of clients who are also crushing it when
it comes to competing and winning in big niches -
humiliating the "big boys" and getting all of the traffic.

========================================
Check out these 7 videos - all Fr*e
========================================

Mike convinced Nancy to create not just one video, but a
series of 7 videos that show you exactly how she gets such
exceptional results. You don't even have to sign up to watch
the videos, because Mike isn't selling anything right now.
Check them out at:

http://www.area51marketing.com/?a=123

I do know that Mike is going to start offering a limited set
of SEO blueprints that Nance created tomorrow. Again,
you won't be pressured into buying anything, but if you
want to get an insider's view of how to master natural
or fr*e search (as opposed to expensive PPC campaigns),
check out these videos before everything goes live
tomorrow:

http://www.area51marketing.com/?a=123

Regards,

Bob Serling

The Problem with Free Sessions - Robert Middleton

In his usual brilliant fashion, Robert Middleton delves into one of the most controversial issues a service provider can face: to give free sessions or not?

As most of you know, I launched a new Audio program last week where I interview Christian Mickelson about how to set up complimentary sessions that sell your services (see details here).

What I want to talk about in today's eZine is why, for many people, free sessions haven't worked at all. We discuss this in the program, but I'd like to go into more depth here.

Giving free sessions to prospects can either be the most useful marketing tool you've ever used or it can be a disaster.

It's not unusual for people to give away free sessions right and left and have none of those sessions turn prospects into clients. Why is that?

For the answer go to:

More Clients Blog

Anita Roddick - Founder of the Body Shop - Dies

A sad day for the green business movement.

One of it's originators and most radical proponents passed on today.

Click here for the full article.