I believe there is a direct relationship between hard work and success. Those who work harder achieve more. And that applies equally to individuals, families, ethnic groups, and nations.
Yes, talent helps. But talent is not something we can choose. It is given to us, as are so many other “advantages”: the kind of family we are born into, the color of our skin, and even our native intelligence.
LW, a friend and colleague, is a master of good hiring. His first hire — an entry-level marketing assistant — bloomed into a world-class marketing pro who is already running his company for him. The two of them hired another superb employee who helped them double their sales in one year. Now, the staff consists of four people, and they are doing as much business as it would normally take eight people to do.
It takes time and effort to hire good people, but it’s well worth it. Here are the four most important things I’ve learned:
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People like to feel superior. As a marketer, understanding this universal desire can help you do an awful lot of selling.
By appealing to your prospects’ pride, you can persuade them to pay more — sometimes much more — than what you could get by appealing to any other emotion.
Let’s talk watches.
For $10, you can buy a handsome digital sports watch that will outperform and outlast virtually any luxury watch made. When these watches were first introduced (over 20 years ago), they were so good and cheap that everyone predicted the demise of the analog timepiece.
Well, it didn’t happen. The new technology revolutionized the watch industry and changed the market forever. But analog watches survived. In fact, according to one estimate, sales of $1,000-plus watches have more than doubled since the 1970s and continue to grow every year.
It’s Not Simply a Matter of Dollars and Cents
Why do people pay thousands for watches when a $29 one works just as well and looks great? (By the way, have you taken an objective look at some of the fancier Rolexes lately? Tack-eeee. Piagets? Like a muscleman in a tutu.) I like the look of the expensive watch I bought in Paris, but I’ve had to have it repaired twice in two years. And boy did they charge me for that!
It’s not reliability. It’s not durability. It’s not precision. And it’s not beauty. So what does all that extra money buy?
In a word, prestige. Slap on an Ebel or a Cartier and you have instant credibility with the fashion police. Thrust out a Rolex-clad wrist and you announce to all those around you, “I have arrived.”
You need not say a word. What could be better than that?
The idea that price equates to quality is a myth. But price does relate to value. In the case of luxury goods, that value is prestige.
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In all forms of expression, summarizing is lethal. But that’s what many copywriters do. At the end of a sales letter, they methodically recount all the important points they just made. What happens is that the energy of the copy is dissipated, the blood drained off.
A much better approach is to take a single strong element of the sales argument and present it in detail. This has a much greater emotional impact on the reader. And it often conveys some of the rest of the whole — even without talking about it.
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Today, I tell you why, when it comes to luxury items, price doesn’t mean quality to buyers. It means something more intangible. And I show you how to apply that secret to your marketing.
I also discuss what you should and shouldn’t be buying “on credit,” the rise of organic junk food, and a marketing trap that is all too easy to fall into.
Here’s what’s on tap for the rest of the week…
Rich Schefren, who is appearing at ETR’s Info-Marketing Bootcamp, lays down the four stages of learning. Before truly mastering any skill, you must go through these steps.
AWAI’s John Wood shows you how to meet powerful people in your industry. A simple “Hi, how are you?” could change your career and life.
Comedian, copywriter, and professional speaker Peter Fogel explains why self-confidence is not necessary to be a great public speaker. You just have to pretend you have it.
And finally, success mentor Brian Tracy explains the Law of Indirect Efforts. The quickest way to raise your self-esteem, says Brian, is to focus on making others feel good about themselves first.
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KJ, like many of my subscribers these days, wants to get into Internet marketing. But she feels frustrated and unable to move forward.
“Where should I begin?” KJ asked in her e-mail. “What was your tipping point to online success?”
My answer: “The tipping point in Internet marketing success is to stop reading about it and stop talking about it and actually start DOING it.” (more…)
In most businesses, the 80/20 rule applies to just about everything — including the question “Which customers contribute most to our bottom line?”
There is a good chance that about 20 percent of your customers are responsible for more than 80 percent of your profits. (more…)
Our sales were hurting. Every one of our distributors was selling three to five times more of our competitor’s cheaper, inferior air ionizers than ours.
It seemed that consumers decided at the shelf that all ionizers are pretty much the same. So why should they spend 67 percent more on ours? (more…)
When writing or reviewing long marketing copy, you’ve got to get to the point where you find yourself thinking, “Yes! This is good! This is really, really good!”
I call it the Eureka Moment. (more…)
Products — the most successful products — meet urgent needs and solve important problems.
But what solves today’s problem won’t necessarily solve tomorrow’s. We must constantly refine and reinvent to make our products “new.” (more…)
MaryEllen and I were sitting in my office the other day, discussing our upcoming joint speech at ETR’s Info-Marketing Bootcamp.
We talked about how smart it is for a business to host conferences. As we say in our book Changing the Channel, it can teach you a great deal about your customers that you can’t get from surveys or marketing statistics. It is a must, in fact, for any business that “wants to know its customers on a face-to-face basis.” (more…)
I’ve been starting businesses for 30 years. And after taking a look at those that failed right away, those that lingered and then failed, those that puttered along, and those that soared, I have come to the conclusion that to be successful, you need a “ready-fire-aim” approach. (more…)
As a teenager, I had the impulses of a junkyard dog. If someone looked at me the “wrong” way, I started barking. This resulted in many scraps — most of them with bigger and more skillful fighters. I managed to “win” a great many of them, however, because I was able to tap into something inside me that fueled my aggression. (more…)
As I explain in today’s essay, you can learn a lot about wealth building and success from your average junkie. Don’t believe me? Some of these guys make as much as $900 a day. What’s your typical payday? (more…)
If you want to increase profits, trim low-profit-margin items from your product line.
They are probably eating up limited and valuable resources that could be better used elsewhere. (more…)
In marketing copy, “need to know” info is the facts your prospect has to hear to help him make the decision to buy your product.
But it’s often the “want to know” info that has more pulling power. By that I’m talking about things your prospect has an emotional interest in. (more…)
There are dozens of tricks you can learn about business writing and, in particular, about writing a good memo. Here’s the one that I believe is the most important: Before you begin to write, ask yourself, “What is the single most important idea I want my reader to walk away with?” (more…)
A contentious issue among language enthusiasts is the use of the split infinitive. Before reviewing the arguments of the two sides, let’s look at a few examples: (more…)
“I don’t have your attitude,” Jeff said to me. “I just don’t have the mindset of someone who can make a lot of money.”
“Do you want to make a lot of money?” I asked him.
“That’s the sad thing,” he said, smiling wryly. “I do.” (more…)
At the beginning of the year, The New York Times profiled several investors. Their stories were similar.
As a result of the market plunge in 2008, Cindy and Eric Canup had to put off their dream of “buying land in Northern California or Oregon.” Joe Mancini had to put off his retirement. Robert Paynter, a retired Wachovia executive, said the past year made him feel as if he were witnessing his own death. (more…)
I’m so old, I’ll betcha my tie has gone in and out of style at least five times.
Not that I pay much attention to such things, mind you.
My professional life revolves around marketing trends. And there again, my advanced age means I’ve seen many promotional styles over the years. (more…)
It takes courage to turn away a paying customer. But sometimes that is what you should do.
Let’s say you have a business that repairs car brakes. You have three mechanics who work for you. One of them is a master mechanic. He can do just about anything. Someone comes into your shop and asks you to repair his muffler. You could use the business, so you take the job. (more…)
When the swine flu scare first hit the newspapers, people were nervous. Then the government jumped in. They told us that swine flu was not very contagious. And they said it wasn’t even serious. “Don’t worry about it,” we were told.
I was skeptical. And I was right. (more…)
What I am about to tell you is the most important thing you will ever hear about starting a business. (I have probably started more businesses than anyone I’ve ever met, so please forgive me for sounding like a know-it-all.)
Ready? (more…)
For 30 years, I’ve been having the same conversation with my partners. The subject is: What do our customers want from us — doom or zoom?
In today’s essay, I pass along a bit of brilliance from Dan Kennedy. It helped me understand why, for example, harping on our lousy economy can be hurtful to your advertising.
After that, I explain why budgeting is no way to save money, where I get some of my best ideas, and why three squares a day might be making you fat. (more…)
Only the faint tick of the grandfather clock broke the silence as I waited for him to acknowledge my presence. He’d summoned me to his office to discuss the great idea I’d outlined in a memo only last week. So new in the company, yet already meeting with the Managing Director! (more…)
Contrary to what the Obama administration would like you to believe, the Great Recession is alive and growing.
Businesses are going bankrupt right and left. And those that aren’t tanking are seeing their profits diminish. This trend will probably continue. So if you are struggling to make profits and are hoping the economy is going to come roaring back, forget it. (more…)
Your staffers may try to dazzle you by producing voluminous white papers, complex analyses, etc. So what? These days, anyone can find huge amounts of data on the Internet on any topic. And it’s a big waste of your time to dig through it to find something you can use. (more…)
BK, MN, BB, and I were talking about mergers and how companies are managed afterward. The doomed AOL/Time-Warner combo (and split earlier this year) came up.
This got very quickly into the question of how much forward thinking a CEO should do. (more…)