How One Man’s Story Revolutionized an Industry
Issue #1986
- WEALTHY: The sales secret that led to $6 billion (Sandy Franks)
- HEALTHY: 3 reasons to ditch your whole-grain habit (Dr. Al Sears)
- WISE: Leo Burnett on writing good ads
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- Are you "tic-ing off" your audience? (Virginia Avery)
- Why is a new word like a new baby? (Michael Masterson)
- It’s Fun to Know… about world records
- Add "sagacious" to your vocabulary
He’d Have Called Them Crazy - Or Worse!
With the Internet, it’s now possible to spend no more than a few dollars, write a couple of very basic ads, and have instant access to millions of potential customers all in a matter of minutes.
If anyone had told Jim Sheridan he could bank thousands in just 24 hours. . . without any product of his own. . . without spending a penny on getting it or promoting it, he’d have justifiably said they were nuts.
But Jim made a decision that he would overcome his skeptical nature and give it a go. Boy, is he glad he did! That one deal alone banked him $187,296 in one day.
The great news is - you can copy Jim’s plan exactly. The program is called Instant Internet Income and I guarantee it does exactly what it says it does.
Take a look at how Jim brought in over $175,000 in a single day!
- Patrick Coffey
"We want people to say, ‘That’s a hell of a product’ instead of, ‘That’s a hell of an ad.’"
Leo Burnett
How One Man’s Story Revolutionized an Industry
By Sandy Franks
On September 24, 2006, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art did something quite unusual. It added a bright yellow vacuum cleaner to its permanent collection.
It wasn’t long before eight other museums followed suit.
Now, I doubt any of them need to worry about a Tom Cruise, Mission Impossible-style heist of the vacuum cleaners. But, you might wonder, why all the fuss?
You see, the man who invented this vacuum cleaner has turned the entire industry on its head, leaving his competitors choking in his dust.
You may know who I’m talking about. His name is James Dyson, and his vacuum is known as the Dyson.
James Dyson is quite good at not only inventing products but also selling them. In fact, his company has sold over $6 billion worth of products worldwide.
He’s done that by not only creating a better product, but also by telling a very compelling story. And anyone in the business of selling (and if you’re in a business, you’re in the business of selling) can learn a lot from his sales technique.
The next time you see a Dyson commercial, take a few minutes to watch it. You’ll be drawn into the story of how Dyson noticed that the air filter in his company’s spray-finishing room was constantly clogging with powder particles (just like a vacuum cleaner bag clogs with dust). So he built an industrial cyclone tower, which removed the powder particles by exerting a centrifugal force greater than 100,000 times that of gravity.
Then it hit him. Could the same principle work in a vacuum cleaner? Five years and 5,127 prototypes later, the world’s first bagless vacuum cleaner was created.
By the time you’re done watching the ad, you’ll be tempted to give a Dyson a try … even if you’re not shopping for a new vacuum cleaner. You wouldn’t be alone. More than 20 million Dyson vacuum cleaners have been sold. They are sold in 42 countries and are market leaders in the U.S., Western Europe, and Australia.
What James Dyson knows is that selling a convincing story is one of the most important elements of making a sale.
Now, don’t get me wrong. When I say "convincing," I don’t mean making up a story to elicit a response. That seldom works. What I’m talking about is telling the truth.
Of course, not all true stories are compelling. That’s why you have to focus on the part of the story that draws the most emotional reaction from your audience.
To demonstrate what I mean, let’s go back to James Dyson’s story.
Instead of following in the style of conventional vacuum cleaner ads that focused solely on the product, he decided people might like to hear the story of how he invented the cyclone technology.
Throughout the story, James empathizes with his audience by sharing their frustrations and concerns. You feel as if this man understands what you go through. And he does. That’s what motivated him to invent the Dyson.
No hype. No exaggerated claims. Yet enough of a promise to make you take notice.
He adds a dose of credibility by branding the vacuum under his name. In essence, he’s telling his audience, "I believe in this product so much, I’m willing to put my personal reputation on the line."
Before Dyson, ads like this had never been done. Before Dyson, a vacuum like this had never existed. But the two, together, have completely revolutionized the vacuum cleaner industry.
I can’t promise you can completely turn your industry upside-down. But I can tell you that telling a compelling story will dramatically increase your sales.
What’s your story? Maybe it’s how your product or service helped a customer in some dramatic way. Maybe it’s the recognition your product draws whenever someone uses it. Or maybe it’s the passion you have for what you do.
Spend some time today thinking about how you can connect with your prospects in a way that’s personal and memorable … that’s compelling and persuasive.
[Ed. Note: Each month in Monthly Copywriting Genius, Sandy Franks spotlights the strategies top copywriters use to make millions of dollars in sales. Learn 60+ ways to improve customer response to your direct-mail efforts with Michael Masterson’s Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting.]
Could You Use An Unlimited Supply Of Money To Do All The Residential And Commercial Deals You Can Find?
“Alan, I had some private lenders before, but your system has blown the roof off my business! I’m buying more houses than ever, and finding it much easier to do commercial property.
For example, I recently bought a foreclosure for $60,000. It needed $5,000 in repairs. So using your techniques, I financed it with $70,000 from a private lender at 10%. Instead of making a down payment, like I used to, I put $5,000 profit in my pocket the day I bought the house. And I’ll be selling it shortly for $120,000.”
– Clark Fletcher, Quincy , FL
‘Blow the roof off’ your real estate profits using private money. No credit or employment history needed. Alan Cowgill will explain it all in an exclusive teleseminar – limited seats available now.
Anti-Aging Tip: Know the Truth About Bread
By Al Sears, MD
Every day, I see TV commercials touting the "health benefits" of whole-grain products - especially bread. Our food pyramid is built on a base of grains. And I constantly read advice to eat "low-glycemic whole-grain" foods. Well, if someone has found a low-glycemic whole-grain food, I’d like to see it.
When my research foundation put together our extensive glycemic index, we organized foods that contain carbohydrates by category, from those that raise blood sugar levels the most to those that raise blood sugar levels the least. Notice that the four categories at the top of the index are all grain foods:
- Highest: Cereals
- Second-highest: Breads
- Third-highest: Other grain products
- Fourth-highest: Pastas
- Fifth-highest: Desserts
- Sixth-highest: Fruits
In other words, cereals, breads, pastas, and other grain products generally produce more sugar in your blood than desserts or fruits.
"Wholesome" whole-wheat bread has a glycemic score of 80 - twice that of ice cream, apples, or peaches!
The bottom line: Whole-grain bread spikes your blood sugar the same as white bread does. And high-glycemic foods make you fat and accelerate aging. (Increasing body fat is one of the markers of aging.)
Adding fuel to the fire, all grains contain proteins called lectins. These cause inflammation and lead to problems like arthritis and chronic fatigue - two more problems of aging.
To reduce the effects of aging, do as I have and ditch the grains. Get the fiber you need from fruits and vegetables.
[Ed. Note: Click here for Dr. Sears’ new updated glycemic index, with an expanded section of grain products.]
Dear Michael Masterson: "How does one avoid being a new-vocabulary-geek?"
"As much as it saddens me to hear people speak with poor grammar or, worse yet, using phrases incorrectly, it is absolutely pathetic to hear a person painfully forcing new vocabulary into a conversation. After the birth of Abby, I received a plethora of baby bibs. I also have a plethora of thank you notes to write! Are you hungry? I have a plethora of butter cookies.
"You just know that a person who uses the word ‘plethora’ more than once (most of the time, once is too many) in the same conversation isn’t really talking to you. They are more concerned with how they sound. Forced vocabulary has the effect of erasing the entire content of a speaker’s words. The listener is stuck on the words and begins to realize that the topic is merely a stage for the use of the words.
"How does one avoid being a new-vocabulary-geek? I am a lover of writing and I love the very essence of words. It is just so perfectly mysterious to me! The nuance of every word is the listener’s clue, so that even if the listener isn’t sure of a word’s exact meaning, the flavor of the word often has them following their nose to the kitchen. When a person is using their new vocabulary words in a forced manner, it sounds to me like the cook is banging aluminum pots together.
"I want to expand my vocabulary and I want to bring new zest into my dialog, but this is why I am hesitant to put my new Word to the Wise vocabulary into action. Any suggestions for the tentative?"
- Claudia Kempton
Stony Point, NY
Dear Claudia,
Thank you for that good letter and your question. I’m not sure I can answer it. But I’ll try.
There are no rules for showing off a new word, just as there are no rules for showing off a new baby. Good and smart parents love their babies but, realizing that no one else will love them quite so much, tend to bring the tyke into the company of the family first. Then they introduce him to close friends and, finally, the rest of the world.
Practice the new vocabulary words you’re learning in ETR’s Word to the Wise column with those who understand your infatuation and will forgive you for it.
[Ed. Note: Have a question for Michael Masterson? Write to him at AskMichael@ETRfeedback.com.
And learn how you can be part of an exclusive group of 25 to 50 ambitious businesspeople that Michael will be leading through an elite 5-day program that can help you dramatically increase the profitability of your business here.]
3 Ways to Cure a Common Speech Problem
By Virginia Avery
You can make your presentations more powerful and give your everyday speech more clarity by making one simple change: Eliminate "verbal tics."
What I’m talking about are those repetitious sounds speakers unconsciously make to fill air time. Sometimes they take the form of "ums" or "ahs" or "you knows." Another common one is "like." And I recently noticed a speaker using "right?" every few words.
I call these non-words "verbal tics" because, like a facial tic, they’re not easily ignored by your audience. They interfere with your message, making it difficult for them to understand what you’re trying to say.
Most people are unaware that they have this common problem - so how do you know if you have it? And if you do, what can you do about it?
Ask a trusted friend if you tend to fill up your sentences with meaningless filler words. Or record your half of a telephone conversation. Verbal tics are a habit - like biting your nails - that you may not notice until you force yourself to look for them.
Learn to pause. Get comfortable with silence, which can add emphasis to your words and give you a moment to plan your next sentence.
Put a period (with your voice) at the end of every sentence. Most people with verbal tics end their sentences with an upward inflection, so the sentence never feels complete.
Having verbal tics is one of the easiest speech problems to overcome. All you have to do is follow these few simple steps.
[Ed. Note: Impress your boss and colleagues… become more confident in your everyday speech… even get more customers when you learn 12 Proven Ways to Connect with Your Audience - Every Time! during Virginia’s March 15th teleseminar. Get the details at her Website.]
It’s Fun to Know: About World Records
The world airspeed record for amphibious aircraft - two hours and four minutes from Orlando to Key West - goes to two occasional ETR contributors: none other than Robert Cox (author of The Billionaire Way and Toby Unwin.
(Source: Southwest Orlando Bulletin)
Start Making Money Today
Interested in getting a nice little side-business going on the Internet? Or maybe even from your living-room table?
But you don’t have too much money, you don’t have too much time, and you’re not exactly Bill Gates when it comes to technology. Sound familiar?
A lot of people are in the same boat. The good news is that ETR has heard you. And now we’ve done something about it…
We’ve asked our colleague Marc Charles to be on the lookout for profit opportunities that can be run from a kitchen table, your desktop or out on the road.
Criteria? They’ve got to be inexpensive, easy to start, and still have great income potential, but without a lot of red tape.
They say when you’re first getting your feet wet with a side-business, the most important dollar to make is the first one. Well, Marc is an expert at taking beginning entrepreneurs and showing you how to make that first buck. He knows, because he’s done it dozens of times for himself, his family and his friends.
If you’ve been dreaming about starting your own business… now you can get started for about the price of 2 lattes.
And get this - you could be making money literally just hours from now. Imagine the feeling of finally getting a side business launched - TODAY!
- Patrick Coffey
Word to the Wise: Sagacious
"Sagacious" (suh-GAY-shus) - from the Latin - is another way of saying knowing/shrewd/wise.
Example (as used by Richard Ketcham in Saratoga: Turning Point of America’s Revolutionary War ): "John Adams, another of the doctor’s Congressional colleagues, said of him: ‘[Benjamin] Franklin had a great genius, original, sagacious, and inventive, capable of discoveries in science no less than of improvements in the fine arts and the mechanic arts.’"
[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