Marketing - Fun and Toys

I was approached by a man who had unsuccessfully been trying to sell his franchises for four years. We looked at what the market really, really wanted and then doubled the price of the franchise and added a free trip for two to Disneyworld. I sold all the franchises in four months. When we added a free television set for anyone who bought a house from us, my wife, Rika, and I sold more houses.

Why do they have conventions in Las Vegas instead of some unknown, small town? Because people want to play. They want an excuse to buy toys and have fun. Instead of thinking about what YOU want all the time, think about what your prospects want. Instead of hidden costs, try obvious perks. Trips, toys and trinkets are proven to work, especially when there’s a choice. People don’t want points or money or discounts as much as they want toys.

A man wants to buy a PDA. His wife says he should rather pay down some debt or buy a new refrigerator. He is then offered the opportunity to attend one of two seminars – one is for $800 and the other one costs $1500 but includes a “free” PDA. Guess which seminar he will attend. Some people need to justify toys and fun and when you give them the opportunity to do so, they’ll grab it.
Try adding a digital camera to your product or service and increase the cost of the product or service by the price of the camera, and see what happens. Give your customers an excuse to have fun.

“Belinda, I know sales are down and I need to clean the garage out, but you know I have to attend that sales convention in Vegas and the river rafting “team building” will really help our sales.”
“Bob, I know the kids are sick and you’re busy, but you’re just going to have to play Mom for a week while I take my sales team down to Hawaii for our convention. I need to train them up to increase sales and the spa treatments will help us bond.”

Free gifts also work really well. My friend buys a Mercedes from the same dealership every time because they always send his wife a huge bunch of yellow roses. Get creative and think about giving people a great excuse to buy from you.

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Get FREE Advertising!

As a business owner, you’re probably inundated with advertising offers and salespeople who want your money to advertise on billboards , radio and television, in newspapers and magazines. These salespeople promise massive exposure and hint at lucrative results and return on your investment. But you’re concerned about the risk. A lot of advertising simply won’t work for you.
The good news is that there is an alternative.

The advertisers have space available and it costs them very little. That’s why they’re trying to sell it. Here’s what I did. (I always talk with the Decision Maker, not the salesperson, who only wants a commission). I was approached by a well-known national business magazine to advertise my marketing seminars.

Robin: “Tell me honestly: for me to advertise in your magazine, I will need to sign up at least 50 people per seminar, per city. Then I will make a profit and be able to pay for your adverts. I know you can’t guarantee anything, but, if you were me, would you go ahead with this advertising?”
Magazine: “Oh, yes, no question about it, Robin – I would write out a check right now.”
Robin: “What I’d like to do is to pay you DOUBLE for this advertisement. You’re being honest with me, right?”
Magazine: “Of course, but why pay me double what I’m asking?”
Robin: “You place the adverts, people respond to you (so you have full control) and you send me the replies. When they pay and sign up for the seminars, I will pay you $X per sign-up. That way, if I reach the target which you have assured me is a very reasonable expectation, you get paid double. When can we start?”

You will have worked out the numbers and calculated how much you could comfortably afford to pay them per sale. They assured you that they would take the advertising investment risk if they were you, so it is logical that they should take the risk themselves. After all, they do mean what they say, don’t they?

This is called Contingency Advertising. Pay for results, not promises. Remove the risk – let the advertiser take the risk. Naturally, not every advertiser will do this, but it’s a numbers game. Ask enough advertisers and you’ll get a few takers. I have done this numerous times. When the ads didn’t work, I walked away with free exposure. When they did work, we all did well.

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Strategic Alliances Boost Sales

Two business owners met in a pub in Seattle in late January of this year. We’ll call them Barry and Bob to protect their identity. I had met with Bob to discuss increasing sales in his office furniture business and given him an idea to use. He had identified Barry as a potential Joint Venture partner for this marketing system and arranged a meeting.

Bob’s offer went something like this: “Barry, we both sell good office furniture and we both offer great service. You’re not to far away from where I am based, as you know, and I have an idea to run by you. What is your average closing ratio? In other words, out of every ten people you pitch, how many buy from you?” Bob replied that he sold about two in ten.
“So, Barry, what do you do with the other eight prospects? It cost you good marketing money to find them, and they all have an urgent need for office furniture, and they can afford it, or you wouldn’t be talking with them. If they leave your store, they’re going to buy somewhere else, right?”

“You’re right, Bob. What do you suggest, Bob?”
“I suggest that you say to everyone who doesn’t buy from you, ‘I’m so sorry I couldn’t help you today. I know you’re serious about getting some office furniture right away, and I hate to waste your valuable time, so I’m going to call a good friend of mine who offers equally good products and service to what I do, and ask him to meet with you and see if he can help you.’ Then you call me and set up an appointment with your prospect. I’ll do the same for you. That way, Barry, we each get to see 18 prospects instead of 10! I see your pre-sold prospects and you see mine!”

Since they instituted this simple, yet effective system, both Barry and Bob have seen significant increases in their sales figures, at absolutely no cost or risk. Try it in your business; work WITH your “competition”, and make more money!

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My Own Prison?

I heard a story on the radio recently about two interesting men. One was the king and was extremely obese. He ate continually and was so fat that he couldn’t even get through a door. He was deposed by the second man, who had a room built around the former king, with normal windows and a door that wasn’t locked. He told the large man that he could leave anytime he wished, but at the same time he supplied him with four huge meals every day. Of course, the fatty couldn’t resist the food, so he never escaped his own prison.

In our world today of “Sugar and Spice and Everything Thrice”, self-discipline and frugality are seldom found. We complicate our lives, create prisons of debt and illness and miss out on the finer things of life. My wife Rika, and I were walking along the beach at Indian Arm on a lovely summer day when we saw some kids lying on a huge blanket, playing with their hand-held Game Boy computer games. They could have been talking, swimming, boating, fishing, playing ball or just enjoying nature’s incredible beauty. The Game Boys captivated them.

My prison guard could be television, food, drugs… but it is my own choice to be in jail. Simplify, cut back and get back to basics, lean and mean, sober and clean. Anything that you think you NEED, controls you and imprisons you. Set yourself free and use your resources to create a happy, healthy and contributing lifestyle. Take stock of your choices and project the consequences. Enough small choices lead to great consequences. Enough spider webs can be as strong as steel cables. We always have a choice, and it’s never too late to change. Try this: Set a goal to get up 20 minutes earlier every day and exercise, read a self development book, pray, meditate, or just take a brisk walk. In a few weeks you will see a difference. Create success habits.

Norman Lear said, “Life is made up of small pleasures. Happiness is made up of those tiny successes. The big ones come too infrequently. And if you don’t collect all these tiny successes, the big ones don’t really mean anything.”

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“The height of your accomplishments will equal the depth of your convictions.” – William Scolavino.

VISION

One thing that we associate with Eagles is vision. Bible says, “Without a vision, the people perish”. The one thing that makes the difference between a mediocre life and magnificent achievement, is vision. Patanjali, a second century B.C. philosopher, said, “When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bounds: Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties, and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.”

Visionaries of the world, unite! John Lennon said, “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.” I say, lead me to the dreamers. There is no place in a visionary’s life for limitations, excuses and half measures. She is inspired and alive, unshackled by the status quo. He rises like a phoenix from every setback, more excited and motivated than ever before, stronger, more determined, more focused. Read the story of Conrad Hilton, who said himself of his goal to acquire the Waldorf, “The year 1931 [the Great Depression] was a presumptuous, an outrageous time to dream”!

It’s never too late to get a vision for your life, to start believing again, to start living. Mix with people who are sold out to their visions, who have the courage to take the road less traveled, and you will find yourself amongst giants. If we believe, we will achieve. But you can’t have a dream come true, if you don’t have a dream. Start dreaming. Take off the judge’s robes and set your imagination free – be true to your inner self, because, take it from me, dreams DO come true.

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