Time, Please!
- WEALTHY: 55 and just starting out (Michael Masterson)
- HEALTHY: A quick fix for quick weight gain (Dr. Al Sears)
- WISE: Jim Rohn on urgency
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- The pub owner’s marketing secret (David Cross)
- Making the best of a bad situation (Ilise Benun)
- Add "lingua franca" to your vocabulary
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Dear Michael Masterson: "Is it ever too late?"
"I read ETR every day and always find something of value to take away. It’s informative, uplifting, and invigorating. It makes me yearn to be more successful, and convinces me that I can be successful. For a time, that is …
"Then a negative voice takes over: ‘I’m 55 years old. It’s just plain too late to make the significant changes you talk about. I’m too low on the totem pole to make the leap in my lifetime.’
"Tell me, Mr. Masterson, is it ever too late? And, as it seems overwhelming, where do I start?
"I’m a VERY good jazz and blues singer. And a more than adequate writer. But right now, I’m stuck in a job that brings no pleasure. It’s steady income, has benefits that I need, and is a way to support my music and writing habits. But I don’t have the money to catapult myself out of it. I’d like to do a studio CD - but it’s costly. (I do have one that was recorded live that I use in my PR kit to clubs, festivals, and restaurants.) I have an idea for a non-fiction book, but I have no idea how I might get an advance to complete it.
"So I have ambitious goals and talent, but NO money. Is it too late to dig out and fund these myself? Or should I be looking for backers?
"Thank you for your daily inspiration, and for taking the time to consider my question."
Jean Calvert
Greenville, NC
Dear Jean,
Fifty -five is not too late. It is a good age - a very good age. Having arrived at this excellent stage of life, you are no doubt smart, sensible, and finished with the wasteful stuff of youth. Good for you!
You have goals, but I am not sure if they are focused narrowly enough. You say you want to cut a "studio CD" and have "an idea for a non-fiction book." But why, exactly, do you want to do these things? To satisfy a long-held ambition? To make money? Both?
The first thing you should do is make your objectives very specific. As far as the studio CD is concerned, identify the exact specifications of your goal. What kind of money are you willing to spend on it? Is there a way to achieve the same quality by spending less? How many copies do you want to sell? Who will do the selling? You or a distributor?
The same questions, more or less, need to be asked of your second goal: writing/publishing the non-fiction book.
After you have narrowed your goals, start working on them immediately. There are many ways of achieving both of them by yourself on a limited budget … so long as you are willing to invest all your spare time into getting them done.
Here’s an idea for the CD: volunteer to work evenings or weekends as an intern at some music production studio - one that would employ the kind of talent you want to use. Go to the interview looking your best, and show them your enthusiasm. Tell them you will sweep floors if only they will give you a chance to help out. If you get the internship, you are in. The next stage is simple: Show up when you say you will and be the best free intern they have ever had. As you go about doing your chores, whatever they may be, you will be making invaluable contacts. Every once in a while, drop a hint about your secret ambition. If you keep doing that, you will eventually strike pay dirt.
This, by the way, is exactly the advice I gave to Number Two Son, who recently graduated from college and wants to become a professional music composer and producer in the Big Apple. He did what I suggested and now, less than a year later, he is working full-time and on a first-name basis with some industry big shots. He is gradually getting opportunities to produce and write a little. This all happened in a very short time, simply because he was humble enough to start at the bottom and be a free superstar intern.
And here’s an idea for the book: Write a brief summary of it, and shop it around to agents and publishers that deal in that same subject matter. If your idea is good and original, someone will bite.
There is a ton of information at your local library about how to get a non-fiction book published. You can also publish it yourself as an e-book and sell it on the Internet. To learn how to do that, buy the ETR Info-Marketing Bootcamp DVD library.
Finally, you should think about a change in your work situation. For that, I recommend the chapters on starting a new career in Automatic Wealth for Grads … and Anyone Else Just Starting Out.
At 55, you can be "just starting out" all over again. That would make you feel pretty good, I bet … so why not do it?
- Michael Masterson
[Ed. Note: Give yourself an 80 percent chance (or better) of achieving all your goals with the goal-setting techniques and success strategies we’ve put together in ETR’s Total Success Achievement program. Billionaire mentor Robert Cox will even send you a weekly Power Surge message to help you stay on the track to success.]
"Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value."
Jim Rohn
Time, Please!
By David Cross
Mill Brow sits on the hills atop Marple. And though it is just a fleck on even the most detailed maps of this part of England, the hamlet is huge for me … because this is where my dad was born.
The old granite house he lived in as a young child was converted into a pub after World War II. Late-night revelry there now ends shortly after 11:00 p.m. when the landlord rings the bell and announces, "Time, please!"
The next words out of the landlord’s lips - "Last orders!" - brings a flurry of activity. Wine, pints of foaming ale, and whisky chasers are ordered for downing in the next 30 minutes, before official "chucking out time."
Pubs in Britain are open 12 hours a day, but there’s no greater buying rush than those last few minutes before closing time. People will come to the pubs just for last orders, acting as if they’ll never again be able to buy alcohol.
There’s a marketing lesson to be learned here. Because if you can set similar deadlines in the minds of your customers, you too will create wildly enthusiastic buyers for whatever you’re selling.
The most effective marketing campaigns don’t come from saying, "We’re open all the time. Just pop ’round whenever you are ready to buy. We’ll be here." They come from suggesting that if your customers don’t take action NOW, they will lose the opportunity. ("Order now! Don’t delay.")
Think of how you feel when you are up against a deadline. Rushed? Pressured? Stressed? Anxious? Excited? As a marketer, you create a deadline by saying that you have a limited supply of your product that will run out (as the recent rush to buy PlayStation 3 reminded me) … or that it is so exclusive it’s available to only a limited number of people … or that it will only be available for a very short time. In doing so, you create a sense of urgency, a feeling that your prospect must act immediately.
You can also play to your prospect’s self-created deadline ("Christmas is only three weeks away!") or perception of a deadline ("I need to lose weight soon").
The sense of urgency is a powerful emotion. And once you’ve created that sense of urgency, you’ll be communicating with a more motivated person.
But you cannot set artificial deadlines.
For example, just because you, Ms. Enthusiastic Marketer, would like to press your prospect to buy your product, you cannot reasonably say "Only 10 available" if that’s not true.
Here are some ideas for deadlines you can use to motivate people to take action:
- Order now. The first 10 people who order will receive, absolutely free, a one-hour telephone consultation with leading business guru O.K. Business.
- Membership in this exclusive club is strictly limited. Once we’ve sold 100 memberships, that’s it. The club is then closed to all new applications.
- 475 Fortune 500 CEOs can’t be wrong. Order online now, and within one minute you will have the secret to doubling your professional fees.
- Call now for an instant decision, and see how you can get a 0%, no-fee card that suits your lifestyle.
- The last time we offered this, we sold out our entire stock within 12 hours. We’ve been able to secure a few more … but you need to order now to avoid disappointment.
- This offer expires in 24 hours. Order now to ensure you don’t miss out.
- Your baby is due in just 12 weeks, but is the nursery ready?! This book and free DVD will show you how to create a special place for your baby in just half a day!
You can also do a countdown to a specific date or quantity on your order form:
- There are only 100 (with the 100 crossed out and 37 "handwritten" above it) spots left, and we expect to sell out in just 13 hours!
- Only five places remain. Remember, we won’t be offering this seminar again until 2009!
Another possibility is to offer information about an exclusive event, but require your prospects to give you their e-mail address to find out more. Then you send them e-mails extolling the virtues of your event and counting down to a specific date … reminding them that they have only seven … no, three … no, just one day left to sign up or they’ll lose their chance.
You’ll get even more ideas that you can adapt for your own marketing campaigns from the direct-mail and online promotions you receive, and by watching QVC and the Home Shopping Network on TV.
The best part about this marketing tactic is that it is almost universally applicable.
I’m often asked what to do if you sell a finite collection of products that people can buy anywhere. If that’s the case, you can create urgency or exclusivity just by adding on bonus items that create a unique or special value that’s available only from your company. For example, if you sell snow shovels, you could include a pair of insulated leather gloves with Kevlar palms that keep you warm and help prevent blisters … then put a time limit on this special offer.
No doubt about it, setting a time limit on your offer can dramatically boost your sales. A number of marketers have done "split tests," where they split their mailing list in two and offer the same sales promotion to both halves … but add a time limit to one of them. The time-limited half almost always outperforms the "non-urgent"one, usually quite significantly.
There are many ways to use this marketing technique in your business. It will be well worth your while to spend some time brainstorming ways to increase the desirability of your product by creating deadlines in your customer’s mind.
[Ed. Note: David Cross is Senior Internet Consultant for Agora Publishing in Baltimore.]
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Drop Extra Pounds With 12 Minutes of Exercise
By Al Sears, MD
When patients come to my clinic with guilty faces, admitting that they overate over the weekend and packed on a few pounds, it doesn’t worry me. I’ve got the antidote: short-duration, high-intensity exercise. Every other morning, I do my PACE routine for 10 to 15 minutes. My average is 12 minutes. That’s all it takes. It’s the best fat-burning tool I’ve ever discovered.
By keeping my exercise periods short, I don’t burn fat during the routine. That’s the trick.
When you run or jog for 45 minutes to an hour, your body burns fat during the exercise. Problem is, that tells your body you need more fat. As a result, your body keeps making - and storing - fat. But short-duration, high-intensity exercise burns fat after you finish your very short 12-minute program - and, after a while, your body realizes that it doesn’t need any extra fat.
[Ed. Note: All the details and techniques of Dr. Sears’ PACE program are now available in book form.]
Quick Tip: Networking at a Bad Networking Event
By Ilise Benun
A client recently told me about a networking event he attended where it didn’t even feel appropriate to offer his card. I’ve been to that sort of event. We all have, I think.
Either it seems like everyone already knows each other (and they aren’t interested in knowing you). Or they’re looking for prospects themselves and aren’t open to spending even five minutes with you if you don’t fit the bill. Or the purpose of the event has nothing to do with networking.
What to do?
First, adjust your expectations … way down. You’re already there, so you might as well give it a chance - maybe for 15 minutes. Then find the friendliest-looking person in the room and take a conversation with him or her as far as you can. At the very least, you’ll have an enjoyable chat. And who knows? You might end up learning something new or making a contact that will benefit you in the future.
[Ed. Note: Networking expert Ilise Benun is the author of Stop Pushing Me Around, Self Promotion Online, Designing Web Sites for Every Audience, and Public Relations for Dummies.
Get more networking strategies with Ilise’s free e-newsletter, Quick Tips from Marketing Mentor.]
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Word to the Wise: Lingua Franca
"Lingua franca" (LING-gwuh FRANG-kuh) - Latin for "Frankish language" - is a means of communication between speakers of different languages.
Example (as used by Terry Teachout in The Atlantic Monthly): "[Elvis] Presley became the central figure in the great transformation that replaced Gershwin-style pop songs with rock and roll as the lingua franca of American popular music."
[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker … build your self-confidence and intellect … increase your attractiveness to others … just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR’s new Words to the Wise CD Library.]
Michael Masterson
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2007