- WEALTHY: The trouble with bubbles (Andrew Gordon)
- HEALTHY: What’s so bad about being overweight? (Jon Benson)
- WISE: Plato on moderation
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- Is there such a thing as too much selling? (Michael Masterson)
- Another reason Google’s the king (Alexis Siemon)
- It’s Fun to Know… about a museum of museums
- Add “sibilant” to your vocabulary
== Highly Recommended ==
A Who’s Who of World-Class Marketing Experts
You are hereby invited to join Early to Rise in Delray Beach, Florida this November for our Information Marketing Bootcamp: “The Internet Ultimatum: Zero to $1.2 Million In 12 Months Flat”.
The premise is simple: Come with (or even without!) a specific idea for launching your own start-up business… or exploding you existing business… and you’ll leave with all the information you need for building that business into a raging river of cash through the power of Information Marketing.
And specifically, you’ll leave with at least a dozen ideas for taking your new or existing business to an extra $1.2 million or more over the next twelve months… and then to $10 million and beyond.
We’ve got a who’s who of world-class Internet Marketing experts lined up for you, including Yanik Silver… Howie Jacobson… Rich Schefren… Bob Bly… Buck Rizvi… Alex Mandossian… and many, many more.
Check out the full lineup here.
Where’s the Party?
In theory, you can make a lot of money investing in bubbles. But you have to deal with one killer problem: when to leave the party. As John Stumpf, CEO of Wells Fargo, puts it, “It is more difficult to attend a party and leave before the trouble starts than not to attend the party at all.”
Wells Fargo is the envy of the banking sector because Stumpf refused to follow Wells’ rivals in selling subprime loans and their derivatives. It must have been tempting… but he decided it was better to be safe than sorry.
Bubbles can’t help being what they are. They expand… and expand… and expand… until they burst. When do you know for sure that an expanding bubble is about to burst? Most of the time, you don’t. At best, you’re guessing.
Investors have had a cornucopia of bubble-icious assets to invest in: securitized debt, nickel, zinc, gold, etc. But look what happened…
Lehman Brothers sold a chunk of its securitized debt for 22 cents on the dollar last month. But they guaranteed 75 percent of the sale. The real selling price? Five cents on the dollar.
Nickel was going for over $20 per pound last year. Now? It’s under $10 per pound.
Zinc has slipped 60 percent from its highs in 2007.
And it seems like only yesterday that gold was trading over $1,000.
If you stayed in those assets too long, your big money-making investments would be making you big losses instead.
I’m not telling you to never invest in these assets. This is, in fact, a good time to buy gold – even though it’s still relatively high. (Demand picks up at about this time every year.) But for nickel and zinc, the party is over. Nickel and zinc mines are being closed or cut back all over the world.
Ideally, you want to come to these parties early and leave early. If that’s too much to ask, don’t go at all. And if you don’t know what’s early and what’s late, stay away. These parties can be rowdy and make you lots of dough. But for latecomers and hangers-on, they’re guaranteed to leave you with one heck of a hangover.
[Ed. Note: The party isn't over for the oil and gas sector. ETR's Investment Director Andrew Gordon can point you toward two best-in-class drilling rig companies that will be on the receiving end of a tidal wave of cash right here.]
“Excess generally causes reaction, and produces a change in the opposite direction, whether it be in the seasons, or in individuals, or in governments.”
Plato
Stop Selling When You Are Ahead
“I saw the most amazing movie last night. You’ve got to see it,” Jane says.
“Tell me more,” says Mary.
“Well, Brad Pitt stars in it. And also Angelina Jolie.”
“My favorite actors,” says Mary.
“They have a hot romance going on in the movie…”
“Sounds great…”
“And there’s this scene where Brad has his shirt off and…”
“Say no more,” says Mary. “I’m going!”
“And he takes his shirt off and all of a sudden this horrible thing pops out of his chest and…”
“What?”
“This creature from another dimension pops out…”
“What kind of movie is this?”
“Sort of science fiction/horror…”
“Ugh. Forget it. I hate horror movies.”
What’s wrong with this conversation?
In an attempt to persuade her friend Mary to see the movie, Jane made a big mistake – a mistake that is very common in the world of business: She continued to sell the product after the customer was already sold.
In their textbook Hospitality Sales: Selling Smarter,
Judy A. Siguaw and David C. Bojanic said, “If you have made a good presentation and the prospects are satisfied that the benefits offered will improve their situation, and are believable, any further presentation is overselling. Overselling can create, in the mind of the prospects, a feeling of disbelief as to the validity of the owner benefits. It can also result in the loss of favorable attention because excessive repetition of benefits and use of other motivational tools can lead to boredom or confusion, which, in turn, causes an unfavorable emotional reaction. ”
In other words, “overselling” will kill your sale.
You can prevent this from happening by learning how to recognize the moment your customer is ready to buy. If you continue to sell beyond this point, his enthusiasm for the product is going to wane. Not only that, but you risk saying something – like Jane’s description of the creature bursting from Brad Pitt’s chest – that will quash his interest in an instant.
In this regard, people who do their selling face to face have an advantage over those who do their selling via direct mail or the Internet. By paying close attention to the effect their words are having on their customers, they can custom tailor each sales presentation. If the customer looks doubtful, they can pile on proof of their claims. If the customer looks confused, they can clarify the point they’re trying to make by restating it – over and over again, if need be.
And when a customer begins giving signals that he is ready to buy, astute salespeople know the time is right to swoop in and close the sale.
These are the clues they look for in the customer:
- A relaxed position – arms open, facing the salesperson
- Excitement in the eyes
- Nodding the head
- Oral affirmations – saying “yes,” “right,” “uh huh”
When you are writing direct-mail or online sales copy, you don’t have signals like these to guide you. So you have to find another way to keep your sales message on track. To my knowledge, there isn’t any generally accepted way to do this. But I’ve experimented with a few techniques, and have hit upon one that works pretty well.
I’m talking about putting your copy through a peer review.
The process I recommend is the same one that ETR, AWAI, and many of my best clients use. Basically, here’s how it works:
You put together a group of five or six people – ideally, experienced marketers and copywriters. You ask them to rate the various parts of your copy – the headline, lead, body, and close – and give specific suggestions for improving them. You also ask your reviewers to indicate any sections that are boring, unbelievable, or confusing. And you ask them to highlight the point in the copy where they feel ready to buy.
That point should be about two-thirds to three-quarters of the way through the copy. If it comes much earlier, you know you have to delete some of the “overselling” you do after that point and move directly to the close. (If it doesn’t happen at all, you know you have to completely revamp the sales copy and make it stronger.)
Try this the next time you’re working on a direct-mail letter or online promotion and see if it helps. Don’t make the mistake Jane made and “talk” yourself out of a sale. You’ll be blowing a perfectly good opportunity… and you’ll never know why.
[Ed. Note: Knowing how to sell - without overselling - is one of the most valuable skills you can learn. You can use it to help move up in your current job... or start your own Internet business. Michael Masterson and a dozen other marketing and business-building experts can help you learn more proven secrets to making money at this fall's 2008 Info-Marketing Bootcamp. These wealth-building masters will further show you how to explode those secrets into a mega-business that can make between $1.2 million and $100 million a year. Get started on your own information marketing empire almost immediately...]
You Can Keep Your Current Job While You Quickly Transition Into Your New Business
How in the world do these money-making programs expect you to work tons of hours building up a new business while holding down your current job? Many just aren’t practical. But I’ve found a new program that is loaded with methods to get you into a new business while you are working at another job.
You can put in as little as 2 to 3 hours a week in your new business, and still bring in nice profits fairly quickly – often in just a week or two. And once your business is bringing in enough income, you can quit your current job and focus full-time on your new business. You get to choose which business to get into (there are 20 to choose from), there’s no limit on what you can make, and it is easier than ever to get started.
There is, however, a limit on how many people I am sharing this with. You’ll learn why when checking out all the exciting details here.
Reader Feedback: “Every article, no matter how big or small, contains such informational treasures…”
“Each morning when I open my e-mail inbox, I look forward to reading Early to Rise. Every article, no matter how big or small, contains such informational treasures that I often forward the e-zine to others within my company. And I’ve got other people hooked! In the lunchroom, we now have discussions about articles in ETR, rather than the latest tragedy in the news or what happened on television the night before. It makes a huge difference in our attitude at work.
“Thank you, Early to Rise. Keep up the wonderful work!”
Krista L. Ellis
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
[Ed. Note: What's the most valuable lesson you've learned from ETR or an ETR expert? Let us know at AskETR@ETRFeedback.com.]
Where Do You Get Search Satisfaction?
If you aren’t already targeting Google with your search engine marketing efforts, now’s the time to start. That’s because Google has proven itself when it comes to giving people what they want. Recent surveys conducted by the University of Michigan and ForeSee report that not only is Google number one in American consumer satisfaction, it’s surging in growth.
Google scored an 86 on the consumer satisfaction index and was the only one among the “big 3″ (Google, Yahoo, and MSN) to experience an increase in customer satisfaction over last year.
This is great information for search marketers. Satisfied searchers trust the results from the search engine they are using. Meaning, they are likely to return to that search engine again and again, and are more apt to purchase from the sites they find in its results.
I know I want to run my ad campaigns where satisfied searchers are. And you want your own pay-per-click ads and organic results to show up in search engines that people trust.
For now, that means sticking with Google.
A good way to get started is with a Google AdWords campaign.
[Ed. Note: So... did the University of Michigan and ForeSee surveys get it right? Which search engine gives you the most satisfying search results? Let us know in our comments section here.]
Can You Be Overweight and Healthy?
By Jon Benson
The Archives of Internal Medicine recently published a study that brings hope to the millions of clinically overweight people in the world. The message? “You can be overweight and still be healthy.”
Sounds like a dream, doesn’t it? Well, it is.
Just like the tale of Uncle Joe, who smoked four packs of cigarettes a day and died at age 105, studies like these leave logic on the back porch. For starters, the researchers judged “healthy” by looking at blood pressure and blood lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides), as well as blood sugar. And, according to them, a healthy person is anyone with a blood pressure below 140/90 and blood sugar under 100.
However, we know that blood pressure over 120/80 increases the future risk of stroke and heart disease. Also, some doctors consider a fasting blood sugar over 80 to be a risk for Type II diabetes.
Some experts viewed this study as yet another reason to use waist size – not BMI (body mass index) or body weight – to determine a person’s health risks. Waist-to-height ratio, in particular, is a handy measurement, according to Dr. Selma Brown. She and others believe that your waist should be no more than half your height in inches. In other words, if you are 72 inches tall, your waist should be no more than 36 inches.
But none of this should mean anything to you. “Health” is more than a series of numbers on a laboratory sheet. This study did not reflect legitimate lifestyle concerns related to health, such as energy levels, vibrancy, and self-image. Bottom line, being overweight is a health risk.
In the long run, true health is reflected on the outside of the body as well as the inside. You do not need the body of Michael Phelps to be healthy. But being overweight won’t give you anything but trouble.
[Ed. Note: You don't HAVE to be overweight. And getting fit doesn't have to be difficult or time-consuming. You can build muscle AND burn body fat with nutrition and fitness counselor Jon Benson's newest book, 7 Minute Muscle.
And for a FREE source of nutrition and fitness advice, check out ETR's natural health newsletter.]
It’s Fun to Know: A Museum of Museums
If there’s a museum in another city – or even another country – that you’ve been wanting to visit, you can – today! Whether you’re interested in art… the greatest LP covers of all time… Cold War fallout calculators… or squished pennies… there is a museum for everything and everyone. And hundreds of them can be found at MoOM: The Museum of Online Museums.
MoOM has everything from “The Virtual Museum of Vintage VCRs” and the “German Hosiery Museum” to the distinguished Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian. Each featured museum displays some of its current and/or past exhibits, along with descriptions of what you’re looking at.
(Source: coudal.com/moom/)
== Highly Recommended ==
The Missing Ingredient in the Recipe for Riches
By now, I’m sure you realize that there has been something missing in how you’ve been trying to get ahead. I mean, there must be something missing or you’d have made it by now, right? That’s just common sense.
So now I want to share with you what could very well be the missing ingredient – the one with the potential to set you up financially for life.
“His” name is Robert Cox and he’s already mentored 4 billionaires. Yes, billion with a “B.” And now, he wants to mentor you too.
What he’s offering is a one-time window of opportunity for changing your financial future… helping you make the kind of money you’ve always dreamed of.
Please note, the information Bob will share with you is not available anywhere else, at any price. If you want to learn how you can get in on this life-changing opportunity, please read on.
Word to the Wise: Sibilant
A “sibilant” (SIB-uh-lunt) sound is a hissing – like the “s” and “sh” sounds in the English language.
Example (as used by Barbara Kingsolver in Prodigal Summer): “She loved the air after a hard rain, and the way a forest of dripping leaves fills itself with a sibilant percussion that empties your head of words.”
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So very well stated. Heed to succeed better.