- WEALTHY: Their business went bust. Now what? (Michael Masterson)
- HEALTHY: Build muscle and get stronger at any age (Craig Ballantyne)
- WISE: Eric Hoffer on persuasion
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- 3 simple steps to a powerful persuasion technique (Paul Lawrence)
- A word that can be a compliment or an insult (Don Hauptman)
- It’s Good to Know… about products labeled “green”
- Add “kerfuffle” to your vocabulary
Twelve Experts Are Stepping Up to the Plate for You
It’s never been done before… and may not be repeated.
We challenged a dozen of the world’s leading Internet marketing experts to show us one idea that could make YOU a minimum of $100,000 in cash within 12 months… and then PROMISE they will share it with you at ETR’s Info-Marketing Bootcamp.
And did they ever respond – with bells on!
One of our invitees wrote how he CAN’T WAIT to teach you how his innovative techniques “helped a small businessman generate more than $2 million in Internet sales over the past 12 months.”
Another said “I’m really excited about sharing the powerhouse secret that has propelled one of my clients to millions in annual online sales in just a few short years. It will be easy for anyone who applies this formula to forge a profitable path to their own successful online business.”
A third expert is so excited by the prospect of knocking our ultimatum right out of the ballpark, he’s literally coming out of retirementjust to share his $100K idea with you!
But if you want to get their secrets at ETR’s Marketing Event of the Year, you must act now! The first deal is the best deal and the price goes up at midnight TONIGHT!
Read your full invitation here.
== Highly Recommended ==
It Should Be a Crime to Be So LAZY and Still Make This Much MONEY!
I’ve never in my life heard of a lazier way you could make a ton of dough online this quickly. But, turns out it is entirely possible. You can be up and running in under a week. Then the fun begins… Before long, you could be looking at 24/7 cash flow… with no income limit on what you might make.
This opportunity is fully guaranteed and risk-free. Please check out all the details on how to start making money this month by simply clicking here.
Dear ETR: “Where do you suggest we start rebuilding?”
“Your ETR newsletter is great – but it seems to be for earners and those that are employed. My husband and I are starting again now, as our business has just failed. We have 6-10 months of rent left and 3 small children.
“Where do you suggest we start rebuilding? I am learning website design and have 3 websites and an e-book. I am getting website traffic, but no sales. How do I get people to buy my e-book?
“Thanks for your help.”
Kate
Geroge, South Africa
Dear Kate,
First things first: One or both of you must be employed. This is important. You have to take care of your family.
If you can, find employment working for a business that is similar to the business you want to start. I explain how to do this in Automatic Wealth for Grads, and I’ve discussed it in several past issues of ETR.
Next, you need to figure out why your last business failed. My bet is that you ran out of money before you figured out how to make profitable sales. That is the main reason businesses in the first stage of development (from start-up to generating reasonable cash flow) fail.
Before you spend another hour on planning your future, buy Ready, Fire, Aim and study everything about stage-one businesses. You’d also benefit from reading Automatic Wealth. Most of what you need to know about being successful is contained in those two books.
Third, if you want to be successful in the e-book business, you have to know how to develop titles that will sell – and you have to know how to sell those salable titles. You will find out how to do both by buying Bob Bly’s e-book, “How to Write E-Books for Fun and Profit.”
Keep us posted on your progress.
- Michael Masterson
[Ed. Note: Send your questions to AskETR@ETRFeedback.com. Include your full name, your hometown and state, and the ETR team may answer you in an upcoming issue.]
“The real persuaders are our appetites, our fears and above all our vanity. The skillful propagandist stirs and coaches these internal persuaders.”
Eric Hoffer
The SPV Secret to Getting Others to Do Your Bidding
I love the movie business. (You already know that from reading some of my articles in past issues of ETR.) I’ve even produced a feature film. So I happen to know a few people in the “biz.” And a recent encounter reminded of a powerful persuasion technique that can apply to almost any situation.
You see, a few months ago, a couple of independent film producers approached me to help them raise funds for a film they were working on. The movie was almost completely shot. All they needed was about $50,000 for some scenes that they had decided to add.
The producers were willing to give me a piece of the action, as well as a producer credit and a small part in the film, if I could help them find the money. But despite the fact that the film was almost finished and had a few known actors in it, it was still a highly speculative investment. Even so, it was potentially very profitable. And I thought it might be an attractive deal… for the right person.
I knew an investor who was interested in the film business. And it seemed to me that he would be the perfect fit for this particular independent film project.
He was a very shrewd businessman. So, because of the high risk involved, it would’ve been difficult for me to convince him to make the investment based strictly on its profit potential.
I needed to find another way to create intense interest on his part.
The approach I decided to take was to appeal not to his values as a businessman but to his personal values as a family man. I did it by using the “SPV” (stimulating people’s values) persuasion technique.
I knew that this potential investor would do almost anything to help his children. I also knew that he had a son in film school who was studying production. So I checked with the producers and asked if the investor’s son could play a role in the film’s production. They readily agreed. Then I went to the investor and presented the opportunity to invest in the film as one that would give his son’s career a boost.
Was he interested? Of course, he was.
A deal was quickly closed and everyone got what they wanted. The producers got the money they needed to finish the film. The investor got his son some solid experience in his chosen profession. And I got what had been promised to me. Had I approached the investor and presented the opportunity strictly in terms of its profit potential, I’m sure he’d have passed.
Using the “SPV” persuasion technique can be a powerful way to get others to see your point of view and take the actions you want them to take. Here are the basic steps for putting it to work:
Step 1: Analyze the person you wish to persuade.
First, you must get an understanding of the deeply held values of the person you want to persuade. To do that, pay attention to more than what she professes to believe in. You have to observe how she behaves and lives. What kind of clothes does she wear? What kind of car does she drive? Is she always early for work, or does she scramble in 15 minutes late every day? Does she do any volunteer work? The more you know about her, the better.
Step 2: Identify which of the person’s values/beliefs you are going to stimulate.
Let’s say you want to persuade someone to buy an expensive watch. One of the things you notice while studying him is that he wears tailored suits that fit him like a glove and white shirts that are always crisply pressed. So you come to the conclusion that he strongly believes a person has to look sharp in order to be successful. Based on this, you decide to create a persuasion plan that focuses on the way that watch is going to enhance his professional appearance.
Step 3: Create and execute the persuasion plan.
If your target rejects your initial proposal, it is going to be tough to get her to change her mind. (To do so, you’d have to get her to admit that her first decision was incorrect. Not an easy task.) Thus, to maximize your chances, you want to start out with a well-thought-out persuasion plan.
At the very least, that plan should answer the following questions: How will you bring up the matter? Will it be with a phone call, an e-mail, or in person? Will the sole purpose of that effort be to get your target to accept your proposal… or will you mix it with other business or conversation? (In my experience, being direct is the best approach.)
Your target will probably realize what you’re trying to do. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In the example I cited above, I made it clear to the investor that I would be benefiting if he put up the money for the movie. It made no difference to him, because he felt that he would be getting so much out of it that mattered to him. In fact, by being honest and up front about what you stand to gain, you’ll strengthen your credibility with the other person. When he understands your motivation, he won’t worry that you might have some sneaky agenda up your sleeve.
As Michael Masterson has pointed out, decision-making is initially the result of a gut reaction, not a rational process. That’s why it’s much easier to convince people to do what you want them to do by using the SPV technique than by simply presenting a logical argument. While this persuasion tool gives them a good reason to say “yes,” it taps into their emotions first. If you can do that, you’ll have the maximum shot at achieving your goal.
[Ed. Note: Knowing how to persuade people can get you everywhere. It can help you move up the ranks in your career, get people to buy your products, and so much more. You can become a Master of Persuasion in your own right by learning more of Paul Lawrence's highly effective persuasion secrets here.
And for persuasive tactics that you can use to make more money for yourself and your company, check out Breakthrough Advertising. The strategies you'll discover helped one man make over $2 BILLION in sales. Get the details here.]
It Should Be a Crime to Be So LAZY and Still Make This Much MONEY!
I’ve never in my life heard of a lazier way you could make a ton of dough online this quickly. But, turns out it is entirely possible. You can be up and running in under a week. Then the fun begins… Before long, you could be looking at 24/7 cash flow… with no income limit on what you might make.
This opportunity is fully guaranteed and risk-free. Please check out all the details on how to start making money this month by simply clicking here.
2 Supplements for Mature Men
Strength and muscle mass are two of the most important components for healthy living in older folks. If you don’t have strength, every activity is going to be harder than it should be. So you’ll be happy to know that there are two nutritional supplements that can help you build strength, no matter how old you are.
Canadian researchers divided their study participants – all of them older men – into three groups. One group received a placebo, another group received creatine (a supplement marketed as a muscle-builder), and the third group received creatine and protein. All of the men completed a 10-week strength-training program.
At the end of the study, both groups receiving the creatine increased body mass and muscle thickness. But the creatine-protein group had the greatest increase in lean tissue mass (5.6 percent) and the greatest increase in bench-press strength (25 percent).
So if you are looking to maximize your muscle gains – at any age – consider adding a protein-creatine supplement to your nutrition program.
[Ed. Note: You don't have to be in your 20s to be fit and strong. Just by making a few simple changes to your lifestyle, you can feel better and live longer. Learn how right here.
Fitness expert Craig Ballantyne can help you lose weight and gain muscle mass. Get the details on his Turbulence Training program right here.]
The Language Perfectionist: Is This Usage Brilliant or Dim?
By Don Hauptman
Last year, a kerfuffle erupted over Sen. Joseph Biden’s presumably well-intentioned characterization of Sen. Barack Obama, against whom he was then competing for the Democratic presidential nomination. (Well, he did win the consolation prize a week ago.)
Sen. Biden called Sen. Obama “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.”
The controversy focused on the words “clean” and “articulate.” Biden claimed that his use of the word clean was taken out of context. Said Biden, “My mother has an expression: clean as a whistle, sharp as a tack.” Okay, maybe we can accept that. But the fact remains that many blacks perceive the word articulate as patronizing. Noted one commentator: “Black people get a little testy when white people call them ‘articulate.’”
Yet, in all the verbiage about the incident, I couldn’t find anyone who noted another problematic word in Sen. Biden’s statement: bright.
More than two decades ago, language guru William Safire observed: “When applied to a child, the word is unfailingly upbeat… but when applied to an adult, bright carries a subtle put-down.” The connotation, echoing the luminescent metaphor, is “less than brilliant.”
Because of the word’s condescending implications, one writer advised that it never be used to describe anyone over the age of 12. Even if you’re not running for elective office, this is a good rule to observe.
[Ed Note: For more than three decades, Don Hauptman was an award-winning independent direct-response copywriter and creative consultant. He is author of The Versatile Freelancer, an e-book recently published by AWAI that shows writers and other creative professionals how to diversify their careers into speaking, consulting, training, and critiquing.]
It’s Good to Know: It May Not Be “Green”
Think you’re saving the planet by being a careful consumer? Think again. Ninety-nine percent of products labeled “green” – as in environmentally friendly – do not live up to that title. That’s according to a recent study done by TerraChoice Environmental Marketing. Products labeled “all natural,” “CFC-free,” “organic,” or “made from recycled materials” may not be as earth-friendly as their manufacturers would like you to believe.
So don’t automatically choose that more-expensive-but-worth-it product. Do your research, read the entire label, and determine for yourself how “green” it really is.
== Highly Recommended ==
What’s Keeping You From the Success You Deserve?
It’s easy to say, “I didn’t achieve such-and-such because I was swamped at work.”
But let’s face it – we’re ALL busy.
Yet some people manage to make massive progress toward their goals – whether they want to become bodybuilders or marketing masters or billionaires.
The same world of opportunity to succeed is open to you.
So what’s the difference between you and the ultra-successful?
Word to the Wise: Kerfuffle
A “kerfuffle” (ker-FUH-ful) is a disorderly outburst or commotion.
Example (as used by Don Hauptman today): “Last year, a kerfuffle erupted over Sen. Joseph Biden’s presumably well-intentioned characterization of Sen. Barack Obama, against whom he was then competing for the Democratic presidential nomination.”
[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.]
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I feel the best word one can use about someone you consider voting for is “VERACITY.” (CAn you take his word to the Bank?)