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Turn
Your Mind into a Cash-Generating Idea Machine
Imagine
sitting in a meeting...a seemingly unsolvable problem
is before the group.
Everyone
is silent and stuck for ideas. But you come up with the
thought that saves the day!
Everyone
wonders why they didn't think of it. But only you know
the answer to that question. It's because they didn't
know HOW to look at the problem.
Ideas,
not money, are the true currency of business and personal
success.
Now
you can discover a simple, step-by-step technique that
will give you a guaranteed source of powerful ideas
and solutions to call on any time you need one.
-
Charlie Byrne
"This
is the real bottom line. A person, with a paycheck, in
his pocket, every other week, forever and ever, Amen."
-
Jodi Rell
Confessions
of an Amateur Communist
By
Jay Livingston
A
little secret I learned two years ago has allowed me to more
than double my income.
You
can use this same secret yourself. Perhaps it'll work just
as well for you.
And
the beautiful thing is ...
You
won't have to change companies or go back to school ...
You
won't have to storm into your boss's office, demanding
a raise ...
You
won't even have to work any harder!
But
I can almost guarantee that this secret will dramatically
improve your financial situation if you're an employee ...
and that, if you're an employer, telling this secret to your
employees will increase your profits significantly from day
one.
Here's
the secret ...
In
a quick ETR message to employees looking to break out of
their ruts, Michael Masterson was callous enough to suggest
that anyone making less than $70,000 a year needed to figure
out a way to get closer to his company's "profit stream."
In
other words, that if you were floundering along with an average
salary, you simply needed to find a way to more directly
contribute to your company's bottom line.
It's
a paradigm shift that involves doing something most humans
find very difficult: putting your own self interests aside,
for just a moment.
The
trick is: Whenever you take an action at your company, whenever
you start a new project or hire a new person or suggest a
plan of action, you ask yourself: "Does what I'm doing
here contribute to this company's profit stream?"
If
the answer is no, you find something else to do.
For
me, that question was anathema.
I
was an editor with a financial publishing firm, and had been
an editor (with an English accent, like "edi-tah")
and writer my whole career. A career that spanned some 15
years and included stints with some fairly prestigious newspapers
and magazines from New York to Washington, D.C. to Chicago
... along with numerous awards and incremental pay raises.
All
the while, I was blissfully, almost purposefully, unconcerned
with what the "hacks" in advertising were up to.
(Usually, I assumed it was something nefarious, possibly
involving double-entry accounting or even the transportation
of immigrant labor in overheated boxcars.) I figured the
sales guys lived crass, empty lives, chasing nickels and
dimes and kowtowing to "the man" before passing
out in their cots somewhere uptown.
Then,
within a span of about six months, I had a kid ... and then
read Masterson's article.
It
was a one-two punch.
Suddenly,
my eyes opened to the possibility that, some day, this kid
might need health insurance, a place to sleep, clothes, food,
tickets to the movies, keys to a working automobile, and
some kind of financial compensation upon the unfortunate
occasion of his parents' demise.
So,
I figured, let's give this man's advice a try.
I
started by asking myself: "Okay ... so how does my company
make money? And how can I help it make more money in the
most direct way possible?"
The answer was simple.
Instead
of using my writing and editing abilities, such as they were,
to create reports and newsletters ... I would switch over
to the copywriting side. Where, suddenly, I would be SELLING
the reports by writing ... drum roll, please ... sales copy.
Sounded
simple. It was. But it was not easy.
I
paid my dues, listened and learned, and pounded out literally
dozens of drafts of my first sales letters, each successive
draft more ridiculously horrible than the last. But after
a while, all my mentors and helpful readers along the way
helped me become a decent copywriter.
My
stuff started pulling good "numbers." (I love those
kinds of words now!)
After
years of holding myself above the riffraff, I was down in
the trenches, selling stuff. I was bringing in millions of
dollars for my company - instead of merely drawing a paycheck
as a highfalutin "edi-tah" and snickering at the
sales "geeks."
Obviously,
I'm damn happy I made the switch. (So is my wife, by the
way. She no longer has to clip coupons - although she still
does and always will, I'd bet.)
The
idea of "getting closer to the profit stream" shocked
me awake after 15 years of slumber, and got me not only closer
to the profit stream but, more importantly for me, closer
to some really interesting people who were making real decisions.
Closer to the ideas that were shaping the company's future
... closer to the risks and the rewards ... and, perhaps
most important of all, closer to the fun.
Today's
Action Plan: Think about what you do each day
in terms of what it's bringing - or not bringing - to your
company's bottom line. If you're not making $70,000 a year,
you're probably not close enough to the profit stream.
Here
are some examples of what you can do about that:
If
you work for an auto dealership and you're a mechanic,
get your butt on the sales floor and start moving Chevys.
That's what your boss is really trying to do, because that's
what brings in the money and helps the company survive.
If
you work at a hospital answering phones, find a way to
work in the supply department, where you can improve controls
and lower the hospital's expenditures.
If
you work in middle-management and oversee staff, find a
way to contribute to strategy, and figure out ways for
your team to improve your company's bottom-line profits
in the most direct way possible.
Or
if, like me, you think copywriting might be the way to
go, look into AWAI's
copywriting program
It's
ironic: By putting the company's interests first, and trying
in good faith to do what you can to build the business, YOU
will be rewarded as a result.
[Ed.
Note: Jay Livingston is a professional copywriter. He lives
in Delray Beach, Florida with his wife Melissa and their
3-year-old son Nate, who will soon be taught to get closer
to his company's profit stream by cutting the neighbors'
lawns.]
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Learn
More
Italian
Sales Secrets, Part 2
By
Yanik Silver
In
my last
article for ETR, I told you about some of the techniques
Italian salespeople used to sell bags full of clothing to
my wife and me on our trip to Italy.
Here's
another sales secret I learned in Italy: You don't have to
say a word to make the sale.
A
few steps down Florence's "5th Avenue," my wife
and I walked into Gucci. There were lots of items in there
with the famous Gs that we don't have over here in the States.
I
immediately sprinted over to a burgundy Gucci motorcycle
helmet and stuck it on my head to continue the tradition
of being an obnoxious American.
After
making a fool out of myself, I wandered up into men's shoes
and found a pair of loafers I loved. I asked the saleswoman
to help me find my size, and she brought them out for me
to try on.
Then
she did something I've never seen before in a retail shop.
She kept absolutely silent. My wife and I talked about the
shoes and whether or not I should get them. We discussed
their comfort and fit.
And
the whole time, the saleswoman didn't say a word. In negotiations,
we know that silence is a powerful tactic. And, guess what?
The same goes for sales.
A
typical sales rep would be telling me how great the shoes
look, describing their careful construction, and listing
the many occasions they'd be appropriate for.
But
I wasn't cajoled or pushed or pressured into buying. The
saleswoman stood by, attentive but silent. The choice to
buy or not to buy was my own.
I'm
sure you can guess what happened. I talked myself into buying
the shoes.
[Ed.
Note: Yanik Silver will be revealing one of the most profitable "hidden" Internet
income opportunities around in ETR's Secrets
of Easy Internet Money teleconference series. And be
sure to check out his website.
Reader
Feedback: "ETR is the best on the Web!"
"I
have recently subscribed to your ETR website and have found
it 'the best' on the Web! You're doing an excellent job, and
I feel privileged to be a recipient of your hard work. Thank
you! I have also recently ordered Michael's book - Automatic
Wealth . It has been very helpful in training my thoughts
and actions into the proper channels.
"Have a nice day - and thank you again for your wisdom
and knowledge!"
Lynn Conway
Monmouth, IL
Would
You Brush Your Teeth With Garage Floor Cleaner?
By
Al Sears, MD
Last
week, I explained that a preservative in many health
and beauty products could be exposing you to unnecessary
- and dangerous - amounts of estrogen. After the startling
results my Wellness
Research Foundation turned up on cosmetics, I looked
at the daily products I was using myself ... and then I
threw out my toothpaste. Here's why ...
One
of its ingredients - sodium lauryl (laureth) sulfate - was
originally used as an industrial garage floor cleaner. (This
chemical makes the foam and bubbles as you brush your teeth.)
In your mouth, it forms nitrates that are known carcinogens,
which can lead to cancer.
The
toothpaste included another chemical - PEG-6 (polyethylene
glycol). It's used as a thickening agent. It's also used
in oven cleaners for its ability to dissolve grease. And
research pegs PEG-6 as cancer causing. No one seems to know
what concentrations are safe and how much it would take to
cause cancer ... but dosing ourselves daily doesn't seem
wise to me. Especially since it's not necessary.
Here's
a simple alternative: Sprinkle some baking soda on your toothbrush.
Then add a splash of hydrogen peroxide. They are both very
cheap and you can buy them at any grocery store. It may not
be trendy or glamorous, but these two simple ingredients
do a far better job of cleaning your teeth than most toothpastes.
Hydrogen peroxide also kills bacteria better than any mouthwash
and is ideal for gum health.
[Ed.
Note: Dr. Sears, a practicing physician and the author of
The Doctor's Heart Cure and 12 Secrets to Virility, is a
leading authority on longevity, physical fitness, and heart
health.]
Recommended
Reading: The Man Who Carried a Drum
By
Michael Masterson
If
you like Civil War profiles, family dramas, and/or love stories,
get a copy of The
Man Who Carried a Drum: 108 War Letters and Love Letters
of a Civil War Medic. It's a captivating profile of Harvey
Amasa Chapman (1825 to 1909), who served as a medic and drummer
in the 121st Ohio Volunteer Infantry from 1862 to 1865.
The
book is the culmination of a lifelong ambition of David Wesley
Chapman, a longtime AWAI member that I met about seven or
eight years ago at one of AWAI's first copywriting Bootcamps.
David
stood out among his peers at Bootcamp because of his physical
size (a big, strapping guy), his friendly nature, and his
ambition to become a successful writer.
Besides
earning his living as a professional writer, he told us then,
he wanted to write and publish a book about his family's
history.
David
left the Bootcamp fired up to make a career transition. But
when he got back to his regular life, the daily necessities
gradually claimed their hold on his schedule.
He
didn't give up, though. Year after year, he'd return to Bootcamp,
improve his skills, and make new contacts.
Then,
several years ago, Katie Yeakle, Executive Director of AWAI,
told me that David was writing full-time and doing well.
And Katie just gave me a copy of his newly published book,
in which he had written:
"To:
Katie, MM, DM, PH, BB, and everyone at AWAI.
"Thank
you for imparting the knowledge, skills, and confidence I
needed to pursue writing as a career. You made all the difference,
and I'll always be grateful."
There
are few better feelings in business than to realize you've
helped someone realize a longstanding goal. I'm happy for
David and confident that this good book of his will be the
first of many more.
What's
your dream? What are you doing about it?
[Ed.
Note: David Chapman will be returning to the ETR
Bootcamp this November to learn how to market his book.
Join him by reserving your own spot.]
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Word
to the Wise: Anathema
"Anathema" (uh-NATH-uh-muh)
is any person or thing that is intensely disliked. The word
is derived from the Greek for "a curse."
Example (as used by Jay Livingston today): "For me, that
question ['Does what I'm doing here contribute to this company's
profit stream?'] was anathema."
