THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

December 22, 2008

From:  Brian Sacks

Subject:  The ‘Elephant’ in the Room…

 

 

What is the ‘elephant’ in the room?

 

The elephant is…the economy.

 

And more specifically, the dreaded ‘R’ word – recession.

 

What’s going on?

 

Foreclosures are at an all-time high. 

 

Banks with large portfolios of sub-prime mortgages are failing in record numbers.

 

Some of the biggest and most well-known brokerages and insurance companies are being either sold, taken over, or bailed out by the US government.

 

People are losing their jobs and struggling to pay skyrocketing gas and grocery prices.

 

With all of this confusion, Wall Street is reeling and investor confidence is shaken.  And if that’s not bad enough, many so called ‘experts’ on the economy say the ‘sky is falling’ and it’s only going to get worse.

 

Is the ‘elephant’ affecting YOU and your business?  Maybe.  Maybe not.

 

As a matter of fact there is a better way to fight the ‘elephant’ in the room and since you’re one of my online friends, I’m happy to let you in on a ‘secret’. 

 

DAN KENNEDY, the world’s #1 marketing consultant and best-selling author, has squashed his share of ‘elephants’ in the room over the past 30 years.

 

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The GOOD NEWS is that I’ve convinced Dan to give you $613.91 of his BEST Money-Making and Marketing Information for FREE…but his is NOT an open-ended offer.  Dan can only make this offer to a LIMITED number of people and once that limit is reached, the deal is history. 

 

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But if you think the economy isn’t affecting your business, you might want to consider that your customers and prospects are being bombarded with ‘doom & gloom’ messages about how bad the economy is and the coming recession. 

 

They’re hearing these messages day after day after day.  And they’re probably having frequent conversations about the ‘elephant’ with their friends, relatives, neighbors, and co-workers too.  The ‘elephant’ is a constant topic of stories on television, on the radio, in newspapers & magazines. 

 

Surrounded by all this negativity, your prospects and customers can’t help but be affected.  It’s human nature to react with caution and cut back on spending…or at least be more careful about what they spend their money on.

 

No matter how hard you try, unless you’re hiding under a rock, you can’t escape the ‘elephant’ in the room.  So what do you do about it?

 

You could bury your head in the sand like an ostrich, ignore it, and hope you’re still standing when the dust settles…but hoping is NEVER a good strategy for success. 

 

Wouldn’t it be a better idea to be more proactive?  Isn’t there a better way to deal with the ‘elephant’ in the room before it squashes you? 

 

If you’re not familiar with Dan, let me give you the quick run-down.  As a marketing consultant, he has worked hands-on with clients in 136 different product, service, and business categories.

 

In the information publishing field, he has literally guided hundreds of start-ups to multi-million dollar annual sales.  And to be honest, studying Dan’s material has been largely responsible for my success.

 

He routinely commands fees of $19,000.00 per day for private consulting, $45,000.00 to as much as $75,000.00 plus royalties to write an ad campaign, series of sales letters or other marketing materials.  Over 80% of all clients who utilize his services once opting to do so repeatedly.  And he’s got people waiting in line begging to pay those fees because the value he delivers far exceeds the fees.

 

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So please don’t delay.  I strongly urge you to claim $613.91 of DAN KENNEDY’s best Money-Making & Marketing Information for FREE before it’s too late by visiting: FreeGiftFrom.com/briansacks before it’s too late.

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To Your Sales Success,

 

Brian Sacks

 

P.S.  The ‘elephant’ in the room is the economy.  Don’t let the ‘elephant’ squash you or your business.  And even if your business hasn’t been affected by the ‘elephant’ yet, wouldn’t it be wise to be proactive and be prepared BEFORE the situation changes?

 

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+   To Claim $613.91 of Dan Kennedy’s BEST Money-   +  +   Making & Marketing Information for FREE, visit       +                 +                                                                                          +

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DAN KENNEDY is the word’s #1 marketing strategist and a best-selling author.  Dan has seen (and defeated) his share of ‘elephants’ over the past 30 years.  Dan’s marketing strategies have worked for himself and his clients in some of the most demanding sales environments (like infomercials, insurance industry, and even recessions) with outstanding results…imagine what they’ll do for you!

 

Dan is giving away $613.91 of his BEST Money-Making & Marketing Information for FREE…but only to a LIMTED NUMBER of people so I urge you to ACT QUICKLY before it’s too late. 

 

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PPPS– Have you checked out last weeks post — WHAT A MESS? check it out now and leave your feedback on how YOU Deal with it !

Guest Article- Dan Kennedy

November 2, 2008

 Why People Fail

A series of No B.S.  Articles from Dan Kennedy

 

If You Want More, Make Yourself More Valuable

 

Dan Kennedy, The “Millionaire Maker”

The mayor of a small town once wrote to Benjamin Franklin asking for a donation so the town could buy a bell for its town square. Franklin sent money with a note suggesting they forego the bell in favor of buying books for the town library.  It is at the library we might find an answer to why so few succeed and why most fail – at anything, at everything.

 

Most people do not apply themselves to acquiring know-how nor apply the know-how they acquire. In short, they have the attention span of a gnat, the diligence of an idle, random breeze. They certainly don’t study.

 

 

I have become quite rich and somewhat celebrated, reaching the pinnacle of success in not one but three different fields. At each required skill-set, I once sucked. For me, there has always been a crawl to competence, then a fast rise to superiority. Part of the process is getting through of a lot of information in a hurry but also continuously. For nearly 25 years,  I read a book a day plus newspapers, trade journals, newsletters, visited the public library weekly; took on a needed skill and so thoroughly and intensely studied it as to become a world class expert. When I was teaching myself to be an advertising copywriter, for example, I studied no less than an hour everyday, listened to recorded material on the subject constantly, sought out and got to know the top people in the field, and when one told me to take great direct-response ads and write them out longhand 21 times each, to teach my subconscious the rhythm  of such writing, I did that with 100 ads. I collected over 200 books on the subject and immersed myself in them. I built organized files of samples that fill a room. I traced one master back to his teachers, they to theirs, thus even knowing the genealogy of the field.  When I am asked by fledgling or journeymen copywriters how they, too, might have clients waiting in line to pay them $100,000.00 fees when there are thousands of copywriters advertising their availability for  1/10^th that or less, and I tell them this answer, they reject it.  They seek rewards out of kilter with their value and are unwilling to do what is necessary to build up their value.

 

The same answer could be given by the top earners in insurance, real estate, retail store ownership, dentistry – name the business or profession. The answer is the same.

 

I am told by people all the time that they simply do not have time to read and listen to all the material they have purchased or subscribed to. But time is democratic and just. Everyone has the same amount. When I choose to read with my mid-morning coffee break and you choose to blather about trivia with friends; when I choose to study for an hour sitting on my backyard deck at day’s end but you choose to watch a TIVO’d American Idol episode, we reveal much. When someone says he does not have the time to apply himself to acquiring the know-how required to create sufficient value for his stated desires, he is a farmer surrounded by ripe fruit and vegetables, whole grains and a herd of cattle on his own property who dies of starvation, unable to organize his time and discipline himself to eat.

 

Incidentally, success in every business, including yours, depends on mastery of a handful of critical competencies (one of which is always marketing).  The individual who sets out earnestly and diligently to acquire a wealth of know-how in each winds up with wealth in his bank account.  All others watch with envy and cry in their soup, two activities they do seem to find time for.

 

The WHY PEOPLE FAIL articles are provided by Dan S. Kennedy, serial entrepreneur, from-scratch multi-millionaire, speaker, consultant, coach, author of 13 books including the No B.S. series (www.NoBSBooks.com), and editor of The No B.S. Marketing Letter. WE HAVE ARRANGED A SPECIAL FREE GIFT FROM DAN FOR YOU including a 2-Month Free Membership in Glazer-Kennedy Insider’s Circle, newsletters, audio CD’s and more: for information and to register, visit: www.freegiftfrom.com/briansacks

 

Articles © 2008/Glazer-Kennedy Insider’s Circle LLC. All rights reserved.

 

Hope you enjoyed this article… share it with a friend

 

Brian Sacks

PS– If you want to learn more about Dan’s systems go to www.whatiused.com

 

PPS– stay tuned for my next post which will be a wealth creation tip related to my last lesson..

 

 

Guest Expert Article– On-Line Salesmanship

October 26, 2008

Does Your Online Copy Talk?

 

THE UNSPOKEN DIALOGUE

When it comes to online copywriting, it’s not the words you use that count. It’s the reaction to those words in the mind of the reader, as he reads them on the screen…

And it’s your ability to anticipate and plan out those reactions that spells the difference between being able to get your web site visitors to opt-in or buy your product in sufficient numbers to make your business a success.

It’s like a dialogue between two people, divorced in time and space. You are feeding your reader images, ideas, and emotions across the continuum, in a carefully planned sequence… and he is feeding you back reactions.

You plan for certain reactions, and do your best to make them come about. You hope your reader will understand and agree with the assertions you put forward, and that he will share in the emotions you are suggesting he feel.

Included among these reactions are demands, questions, and anticipations, which must be answered, or your copy will fail…

When you’ve successfully aroused your prospect’s interest, his reaction may be to demand more information, more image, and more desire from your copy, as if to say… hmmm, tell me more? Where you have inflamed his desire, he will demand proof. And even when you demonstrate proof, he is likely to demand to know how those results are to be achieved, so he can judge for himself whether or not the product will work for HIM.

CREATIVE SCHIZOPHRENIA… So your challenge is to play a dual role. You must be copywriter and prospect at the same time. You must walk in his shoes, sense his reactions, feel what he feels at each point in the copy… so you can switch direction at the precise moment his demands arise, and answer them. This fracturing of your mind is one of the most difficult skills to master in copywriting. And naturally it demands a great deal of research into the product, and the market you’re working with. This sensitivity is one of the key distinctions between writing “good enough” copy… and writing grand slam home run copy that pulls in obscene returns.

Those anticipation points are crucial. If you miss them, you lose the interest of your reader.

Let’s examine one of these demands in more detail. At some point in your copy, your prospect generally will ask this question. “How does your product do all these good things you say it does?” First you must anticipate where this question will arise, and then answer it.

“REASON WHY”

Notice this a very specific kind of proof. It’s not a testimonial or an authoritative endorsement. Your prospect is asking for an explanation of the “reason why” something works, which may or may not be included in the aforementioned. It is an explanation of the mechanism behind the magic.

I have seen ads that included every conceivable proof element under the sun fail, because they left this simple device out. They failed to demonstrate the ‘reason why’ the product delivered the promised results.

Of course John E. Kennedy and Claude C. Hopkins are well known for popularizing the importance of this idea at the turn of the last century, and today many direct response ads make use of it to some degree. But how much ‘reason why’ is enough, how much is too much, and where in the copy does it belong?

WHEN TO USE LOGIC AND REASONING IN YOUR COPY

The answer to these questions comes from your market. Are you writing to those who already understand the reasons why your product can do what you claim? Do they accept those reasons as valid? If so, there is not much point in wasting the reader’s attention with a lot of ‘reason why’ copy. For example, if you are writing a car ad today, and the car you are writing about has ABS brakes, all you need do is name this mechanism. Millions of dollars of advertising, perhaps hundreds of millions that has gone before you, has distilled the logic and workings of this technology down to a three letter acronym that just about everyone with a license to drive understands. You simply name the feature, tie it to a benefit, and then move on.

But what about the vast array of products that present a new promise, but where the prospect does not yet understand the mechanism behind the claim? Here it is a simple matter of building a strong promise, backed up by a ‘reason why’ the product delivers on the claim. In the early days of ABS for example, the pioneers made the promise of greater safety, and then backed up that claim with a reason why. Safe, because you could now steer while braking in slippery conditions, and so on.

Of course, the cardinal sin is to make your ‘reason why’ copy dull and boring. It is not scientific discourse. It should sell the mechanism, just as hard as the opening sells the promise, and it must continue to captivate and engage the reader’s interest and build his desire.

In the later stages of product competition, where the market is sophisticated, and it seems that everyone has the same technology, the same promise, the same price, a new strategy is in order.

At this stage your ‘reason why’ should take center stage. Move it up from the anonymity of the body copy, and put it in your headline. It is now just as vital as your promise, no longer just a proof element, but a new, fresh incentive for your prospect to read your ad.

Another place in your copy where this reaction commonly arises is where you offer a special price or discount. Your prospect is suspicious. Many advertisers ignore this fact, and are shocked to discover that a price reduction does nothing to increase sales.

What you must realize is that a price cut, like a promise or a claim or a benefit is only as good as the words you use to describe it, and the strategy you use to present it. Price cuts should be justified. There must be a reason for them. A ‘reason why’ you are doing what you are doing. Without it, you are selling with only a fraction of the power.

Daniel Levis is a top marketing consultant & direct response copywriter based in Toronto Canada and publisher of the world famous copywriting anthology “Masters of Copywriting” featuring the marketing wisdom of 42 of the world’s greatest copywriters, including Clayton Makepeace, Joe Sugarman, Joe Vitale,Bob Bly, and dozens more! For a FREE excerpt visit the below link.
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=850930

Profitable Online Campaigns - Guaranteed!

October 19, 2008

This is a new series where I will share articles from the top marketing experts in the world. Todays articles is from master copywriter and marketer Daniel Levis… He will show you the 3 Things YOU MUST DO to have a successful on-line presence…  Let me know your thoughts by posting below…

Brian Sacks

here you go…

 

When you boil it right down, there are really only three things that you need to do exceedingly well to market your business effectively online.

And they are,

Obtaining an Opportunity to Sell – Driving traffic to your website.

Closing the Sale – Making your sales presentation on your site.

Following Up on Your Maybes - Pick the ripe ones yes, but be sure to irrigate & fertilize the soil, prune & bug spray the trees with care, and nurture all of the fruit along. In other words, capture email addresses and follow up.

Mastering all three of these activities is critically important to your success.

But when you’re starting a new venture, which one do you master first?

In my experience, the overwhelming tendency is to start at the beginning. That is, spending maximum time & effort attracting traffic.

Unfortunately, this all to common approach often results in failure.

Frequently, those that go this route never really get off the ground, because they can’t turn a profit. They invariably discover, after spending boatloads of cash, that some of the estimates they made in their business plan were off the mark.

Speaking of getting off the ground, allow me relate a story to illustrate my point …

I’m betting you all know the story of Orville & Wilbur Wright. They went down in history as the first human beings to really fly. But how many people remember Dr. Samuel Pierpont Langley?

In 1896 the Wright Brothers, and Langley were engaged in a fierce competition.

Who would be first to conquer the skies?

Langley, a distinguished scholar and secretary of the Smithsonian institute was the clear favorite. He had already achieved impressive unmanned flight over the Potomac River with his steam powered Aerodrome No. 6.

Based on this success, Langley was able to raise $100,000 in funding, and set out to develop an extraordinary radial-cylinder internal combustion engine that would produce an astonishing 52 horsepower! In his estimation, capable of powering an aerodrome large enough for manned flight.

The Wright Brothers, by contrast were convinced that the secret to success lay in their ability to control the aircraft, once in flight. They therefore spent their time experimenting with gliders over the forgiving sands of Kitty Hawk.

For several seasons they worked on manipulating the wings, nose, and tail of the aircraft, so as to allow the operator to actively control it.

Wilbur, who most often piloted, suffered a multitude of minor cuts and bruises. But on each successive trial, much was learnt.

On October 7, 1903, it looked like the Wright’s had lost, as Langley made ready his first manned launch. Langley’s plane would go from a dead stop to the 60 m.p.h. flying speed in only 70 feet.

But the stress of the catapult launch proved greater than the flimsy wood-and-fabric airplane could stand, and the front wing was badly damaged on take off.

The nose heavy Aerodrome “A” then plunged into the Potomac.

A reporter who witnessed the event claimed it flew “like a handful of mortar”.

Things went even worse during the second launch of December 9, 1903, where the rear wing and tail completely collapsed during launch.

Langley had succeeded in burning through almost all of his $100,000 in capital.

Just 8 days after Langley’s spectacular failure, a sturdy, well designed craft, powered by a tiny 8 horse power engine, costing about $1,000, struggled into the air at Kitty Hawk, defining for all time the moment when humankind, mastered the skies.

Langley died in 1906 after a series of strokes, a broken and disappointed man.

“What on Earth Does Flying Wooden Airplanes Have to Do With Marketing My Online Business?”

The moral of the story is this.

Test, test, and retest your prime value proposition to be sure it converts customers, BEFORE committing yourself to major capital outlays, and the start of your campaign.

Will your site convert a high enough percentage of prospects into customers to make your campaign profitable?

Like the Wright brothers, who focused on control, versus brute force, you will dramatically improve your chances of success, if you make the development of a persuasive, & compelling closing pitch, your number 1 priority.

TESTED, to bring home the bacon! Don’t even consider launching your production campaigns until this is done.

And then, BRING ON THE TRAFFIC!

It’s all about your ability to control, influence and motivate the minds of your prospects, once you’ve attracted them to your place of business. Just the way the Wright brothers were able to manipulate the wings, rudder, and nose of the aircraft.

Daniel Levis is a top marketing consultant & direct response copywriter based in Toronto Canada and publisher of the world famous copywriting anthology “Masters of Copywriting” featuring the marketing wisdom of 42 of the world’s greatest copywriters, including Clayton Makepeace, Joe Sugarman, Joe Vitale,Bob Bly, and dozens more! For a FREE excerpt visit the below link.
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=850930

Copyright © 2008 Daniel Levis

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