Raymond Tusk: House of Cards Marketing Lesson #2…

Why it’s better to be the king-MAKER than the king…

Or, in Shakespearean terms:

“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.…”

(Brownie points for whoever knows the Shakespearean work w/o Googling it…)

Now.

A LOT of different ways we can attack this one today…

But I want to focus on just ONE thing.

Because it relates to your marketing (and your career) – in a profound way.

But first…

Raymond Tusk.

Who is this dude?

Basically…

One cup Warren Buffet.

One cup Ted Turner.

With 3 tablespoons of Dick Cheney sprinkled in there.

For our discussion today…

We’re gonna talk about:

The secret of partnering “up”…

(Not what you might think…)

But first…

Just to set the stage:

Tusk is the wealthy businessman who – through a number of different activities (both legal and arguably illegal) – was responsible (in part) for putting President Walker into the White House.

The question is:

How does this relate to marketing?

Well, it goes like this:

You see, Tusk picked his horse in Walker….

And not only BET on him…

He fixed the race.

And in a way?

This is exactly what I do with my private clients:

Step #1:

Identify the market I want to be in (e.g. Golf)…

Step #2:

Pick my horse (i.e. My golf client, who in 2012 – when we started working together was a fast up-and-comer in the market…)

Step #3:

Fix the race (i.e. turn away everybody else, work with that ONE client, and build a cold-traffic system that transforms THEM into the market leader.)

And then lather, rinse, repeat…

In market after market.

Now, that’s all fine and dandy…

But where’s the big marketing lesson in all this?

And how does it relate to YOU?

Well, it goes like this:

You see, Raymond Tusk is a “King” in his own right.

Billionaire businessman.

And HE’s got his own list of people…

From assistants, to lobbyists, to attorneys…

Responsible for putting him in his OWN financial throne.

Just like someone like me does…

(On an infinitesimally smaller scale – with my assistant, graphic designer, copywriter, etc.)

Yet one of Tusk’s BIGGEST projects…

Was putting WALKER on the ultimate political throne.

Which tells you…

No matter WHAT level you’re at right now…

No matter HOW successful you are…

One of the single biggest SECRETS to getting ahead (and staying ahead) in business?

Is to constantly partner “up”.

Let me explain:

You see, because this whole “partnering up” thing can take a few different shapes and sizes, let’s take a look at what this looks like in a MARKETING context…

So, in my business…

I recently hired a “Copywriting Apprentice”…

Awesome position.

The guy in this position, has amazing opportunity to learn, grow…. and here’s the kicker:

Ride my coattails to the top.

Or to put it another way…

Partner UP.

Yep.

That’s right.

I knew, when I hired for this position…

One of the big bennies was the opportunity for someone to hitch their ride on a fast up-and-comer, whose business is seeing explosive growth.

And I’m totally cool with it.

Why?

Because as long as he delivers the goods…

Provides MORE value than I’m paying…

Then I’m happy to have him join me for the ride.

That’s the FIRST example of Partnering UP.

Next level:

What I do for my golf client.

Now, they’re an EIGHT figure business.

More than 10x the size of my own biz.

They pay well…

But they’re getting a LEAST a 50x return on what they pay me.

And I’m cool with that…

Because as long as I get my pennies.

I’m happy making THEM into market kings…

Partnering UP example #2.

But it doesn’t stop there.

Next level:

What my CLIENT does for THEIR clients.

Companies like Porsche and Rolex.

BILLION dollar companies.

You see, my client connects Porsche and Rolex with their most AFFLUENT customers…

Selling lotsa cars and watches in the process.

And they get paid handsomely as a result.

Partnering UP example #3.

So.

The moral of the story here?

No matter WHAT level you play at…

There’s ALWAYS the opportunity to partner up.

And THIS is how you pull a Raymond Tusk:

Decide what it is that you want…

Figure out what can you offer that’s worth WAY more than what you’re getting in return…

(And be OKAY taking the short end of the stick…)

Pick your horse.

Fix the race.

And lather, rinse, repeat.

And by the way…

The side benefit to all this?

Especially if you’re like me and you’re more of an introvert and like to keep a “low-ish” profile….

When you’re focused on becoming the king-MAKER instead of the king?

You don’t have to be in the limelight all the time…

And everybody wants to work with you.

If you’re like me, and you’re the best in the world at what you do…

You’ll have a line out the door a mile long… And a wait list that extends 6 months into the future…

Remember:

“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.…”

Partner UP…

And you’ll never have that burden.

Peace out!

Ryan :-)

P.S. Next month, I’m *thinking* about releasing a new program teaching my EXACT process for building the funnels I build for clients.

Interested?

I’m not sure how long I’ll make this course available (b/c I honestly have mixed feelings about revealing the magic behind my methods…)

But if you’re at all interested, here’s the link to get on the priority notification list:

http://forms.aweber.com/form/37/633023137.htm

More HOC stuff to come tomorrow…

House of Cards Marketing Lesson #1: Claire Underwood…

There’s a famous Zig Ziglar quote you’ve probably heard:

“You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”

Now.

There are a lot of ways we can attack that one.

But in this context, we’re going to talk about how it relates to House of Cards (heretofore “HOC”) and more specifically, Claire Underwood…

The “Lady Macbeth” -like character played by the actress Robin Wright…

But before we get to the “big HOC marketing lesson” for today…

Let’s set the stage:

So, last week I mentioned how obsessed I’ve been with HOC…

And how I binged through 2 seasons in 10 nights…

And in that email, on a whim…

I threw out a random idea:

Want me to talk about some of the marketing lessons I’ve picked up watching the show in a few emails?

Well…

I got about 50-odd “Hell yeah!” responses…

Plus a handful of “hell f*cking yeah and here’s 2 pages why” emails…

So what can I say?

The votes have been whipped.

And the tally is in.

So I figure…

Each day this week (starting today), let’s pick a character from the show and take ONE big marketing lesson learned from each one…

And today’s lesson is this:

(WARNING: There are some HOC spoilers in here. You’ve been warned.)

Alright. Let’s get started:

To conquer what Claire and Frank achieved….

Claire had to make ENORMOUS sacrifices.

Constantly put her OWN dreams, wishes, and desires on the back burner in the name of the Master Plan…

And as ruthless as she is…

As VICIOUS as she is…

For her ability to pass the marshmallow test with flying colors?

(Marshmallow Test: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_marshmallow_experiment)

I admire her for that.

A wicked lot (as we would say in New Hampshire).

Because sometimes?

It ain’t easy.

Now, in our world…

That translates to putting your customers’ needs ahead of yours…

And THIS is where the Zig quote comes in:

“You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”

Now, in MY world?

I’ve literally made 5 people (and counting) into millionaires in the last 18 months alone…

Funnels I built and (currently) manage for clients – that have generated over $1M in net profit.

(A few WELL over $1M…)

Now, am I cool with that?

Absolutely.

Why?

Because I get 5% gross profit on each of those deals.

Pennies to any one client…

But pennies that add up.

And I’m smart enough to know that while I’m DAMN good at what I do…

Lethal at MY piece…

i.e. making the cash register ring, and the bank account sing with my lean, mean, evergreen funnel machines…

All the other stuff?

I suck at (and hate dealing with).

I’m talking about dealing with traffic, product creation, supply chain management, managing a large team, etc.

I’m like the brain-surgeon who comes in, does his one piece, saves the guy’s life, and then moves on to the next one.

There are maybe 3 people in the world who could do it…

And I’m one of them.

So…

The big lesson is this:

In marketing?

Do what Claire would do.

Put the Master Plan ahead of your own immediate goals.

Put your customer needs ahead of yours.

Pick the right partner.

Be strategic about it.

And the money will follow.

But as the Marshmallow Test shows…

Most people?

Don’t have what it takes.

That’s why smart people know what their limitations are…

And bring the brain surgeon in to do the ONE THING he does better than anyone else in the world 😉

Peace out!

Ryan :-)

P.S. People were asking me last week:

What tool did you use to show those video analytics stats?

Well, it’s a high-end video platform called BrightCove, and chances are?

You can’t afford it.

But here’s the link if you’re curious:

http://www.brightcove.com/en/

P.P.S. Cheaper alternative I recommend for video analytics?

I like Wistia. Same sorta engagement stats at a fraction of the price.

Here’s the link:

http://www.wistia.com

*Note: Not affiliate links on either one. I’m just shooting straight, and telling you what I use – not trying to make a quick buck.

Right now, I’m only interested in big deals with 7, 8, and 9 figure companies…

(Money to be made in bringing those deals to the table, if you’re interested…)

And a new product I’m about to launch – that teaches the funnel formula I use in market after market…

(I’ve NEVER revealed this publicly before… And I don’t know how long I’m gonna make the product available for… So if that’s something you’re interested in, get on this priority notification list here:

http://forms.aweber.com/form/37/633023137.htm

P.P.P.S. Yep. I dropped a bomb outta nowhere in a second PS. Do like I do and reward your most devoted readers – and treat them well. They’ll dig you for it 😉

Why “defense” wins championships…

aka – The “key” to being financially successful…

Question for you:

Do you watch football?

I do.

If you’ve ever watched football…

And you’ve paid attention to what it takes to become a championship football team…

Then you’ve probably heard the quote:

“Defense Wins Championships”

Well, when it comes to becoming financially successful…

The same rule sort of applies.

Because…

You can think about the process of MAKING money as having a good offense, right?…

And PRESERVING that money as having good defense.

In fact, that concept – combining a good offense WITH a good defense – was one of the best pieces of advice that I received from a mentor of mine….

Anyway…

I want to tell you a story from this past weekend of how that played out at home (because I think you’ll like this…)

So you see…

My focus, in our house…

Is MAKING the money.

I’m extremely good… VERY good…

At making money…

Both for myself and for my clients.

But…

To be perfectly honest?

I don’t really have the patience to SAVE money.

I’m not one of these people who clips coupons or looks for deals online.

The way I look at it is…

My time is so valuable that it’s not really worth my time to try to get the best, bottom-dollar deal.

However…

Fortunately, I’m married to someone who an absolute PRO at that…

OBSESSED with finding the best possible deal…

So in our household, if I’m the offense…

Then my wife?

Is probably the best defensive coordinator a guy could possibly ask for…

And this weekend, this sort of thing played out in the most unsual way…

(I’ll tell you the story of exactly what I’m talking about…)

So my wife is really big into going to estate sales.

Always looking for bargain finds.

Like… For example last year…

She found a $3,000 Herman Miller ottoman for $50 at a second-hand consignment store.

She snatched that thing up and right now it’s sitting in our living room.

And this past weekend, she stumbled upon an estate sale that had a treadmill desk…

And THIS is the sort of thing my wife LIVES for…

Now…

My wife already has a treadmill desk.

But I’ve been looking to pick up one myself.

The problem is, I have a massive 3 monitor setup…

And there are only a few models out there that can HANDLE three massive monitors…

Well… She just happened to stumble on one of these models at an estate sale…

Something that’s called ‘FitWork By Design’

A super high-end desk that sells for $5,000 online.

And when she went to this estate sale, she found a virtually brand-new model for…

Get this…

$500 bucks.

Now… The way I look at it?

That’s a f*cking amazing deal.

And I would’ve snatched that up in a nano-second…

But not my wife. Because you see, my wife?

SHE wanted to get the price down FURTHER…

And after a few rounds of negotiation…

At the end of the day they settled on $350 bucks for the damn thing.

BOOM.

And by the way…

In case you’re curious…

Here’s a photo of the damn thing in our house, yet to be assembled:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100394012143311

So anyway…

The reason why I’m telling you all this is this:

If you’ve swam in the IM swamp long enough…

Then you know most people spend all their time talking about what it takes to MAKE money…

But at the end of the day… It’s not what you make…

It’s what you KEEP.

(Remember that.)

I know people who bring home EXTREMELY high incomes…

But they have a monthly nut that puts SO MUCH pressure on them every single month…

(With ZERO defense…)

They CONSTANTLY have to step up their game…

And they never get ahead.

So I just want you to think about that for today.

Offense might make the headlines – especially in IM world…

But defense wins championships.

Something to chew on….

Peace out!

Ryan :-)

P.S. If you want to read a longer story of how this “defense first” mentality helped me make it big in my FIRST online business…

You might enjoy this guest post here I made a while back on Dr. Glenn Livingston’s blog:

http://www.payperclicksearchmarketing.com/success-story-why-i-never-play-the-lottery/

You’ll see the POWER of this approach first-hand, and the kind of impact it can have on your bottom-line with some REAL $$ examples…

My deep dark Lego secret…

Why you shouldn’t be embarrassed for who you are….

So this past weekend…

I had a “Daddy Day” with my son.

(My wife was out doing some shopping)

And Sunday?

We transformed it into a “Lego day”.

More specifically, a Duplo day…

(Hey, my son is only two :-) …)

So… We took his entire collection of Duplos…

(A couple buckets worth…)

Poured them all over the floor…

And just had fun building stuff.

One of the things that came out of Duplo day was this:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100394452445941

At least, that’s what we built before it was demolished in about three nano-seconds :-)

But the other thing all this Lego action did was this:

It transported me back to my childhood.

Reminded me of when I was a kid…

Playing in my own room…

Building Legos…

Creating worlds…

Building storylines…

All by myself.

Well, here’s my big dark Lego secret:

I was one of these kids who played with Legos far older than I probably “should” have…

I was probably 12, 13, 14 years old…

And I would hole myself up in my room…

And spend HOURS playing with Legos, all by myself.

And here’s the thing….

At that time?

That sort of thing WASN’T acceptable…

I mean…

It was COOL to go out and play basketball,

Play soccer…

Or to play Super Nintendo…

But holing yourself up in a room and playing Legos all by yourself?

That was like social suicide.

So it was something that I kept from people for years.

(I’ll get to the business lesson behind this in just a second…)

But what’s interesting is…

Fast forward to today…

20 years later…

And all that time creating things from scratch…

Building storylines…

Being in a room all by myself and creating new worlds?

That’s essentially what I do…

All day every day…

In my professional life.

That’s how I make a living TODAY…

And instead of using LEGOS and “mini-figures” as my medium?

I’m using sales funnels…

Autoresponder sequences…

And creating characters and avatars to sell stuff to people…

And so, the reason why I bring all this up…

Is because we ALL have things we do that’s considered “socially unacceptable…”

Maybe even a little bit EMBARRASSING…

Things that we just NATURALLY tend to do…

Stuff we LIKE to do…

Stuff that comes EASY to us…

That maybe the rest of the world just doesn’t quite understand or accept…

Well here’s the thing:

These things?

If you pay attention to them… Are often the MOST important activities…

That contribute to your success.

I’ll give you an example:

So, when I was a kid – my Mom had this rule…

That any time I got a new Lego set…

I had to build it once, all the way through, using the instructions.

But then, after that?

I could do whatever I wanted.

And, I remember how it went…

I would take a set, build it as fast as I could with the instructions…

Show my mom…

Get the A-Ok…

And then I would rip the thing apart and build my own thing.

Just as soon as I had put it together…

All those years of building and creating these new worlds?

(Even though it’s not 100% analogous to building funnels and creating stories to sell online…)

All of that?

Was early childhood training…

To do what I do today.

And if I had stifled that…

If I had ignored that…

I probably wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today.

So… The big lesson in all that is this:

Whatever it is that YOU do…

Even if it might be embarrassing to the rest of the world…

Maybe it’s playing Dungeons and Dragons…

Maybe it’s playing Legos…

Maybe it’s something else…

Whatever it might be…

Don’t be embarrassed about it.

Embrace it.

Because the stuff that you do that you find naturally fun…

Engaging…

The stuff that comes EASY to you?

THAT’S the stuff that makes you unique…

That’s the stuff that’s going to make your marketing unique and stand out…

So… Just a little bit of food for thought today, as you think about that…

Anyways…

That’s enough “woo woo” stuff for today – but it was on my mind… And I think it’s important.

Talk to you soon – and take care…

Peace out!

Ryan :-)

P.S. I haven’t yet seen the Lego movie… Worth seeing? What do you think?

Click on this FB post below and leave a comment if you think it’s worth seeing.:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100394452445941

There’s a dollar movie theatre (I think) that’s still showing it around here…

More tomorrow…

The Critter Chronicles of… (conclusion)

Narnia.

At least that’s what it felt like…

Actually to be honest?

It felt more like Van Helsing…

Because as I stepped into the dark attic…

On a quest to find the mysterious “Creature in the Attic”…

Armed with nothing but my trusty flashlight and fireplace “harpoon” element…

I’m not gonna lie:

I was scared sh*tless.

But nevertheless?

As a brave husband…

I did what you gotta do in this situation:

Close your eyes…

Tighten your sphincter…

And pull down that attic door…

[—- scene change: inside attic —-]

At first, I saw (and heard) nothing.

But then, about 3 minutes later…

Almost out of nowhere…

There it was.

Now, I couldn’t SEE it (yet)…

But I could HEAR the little bastard.

He was chewing on something…

Or digging a hole out the side of my house…

And this guy?

Was LOUD.

I mean, he did not care at ALL that I was up there with him…

And then, something happened:

The noise stopped.

And then, it started getting closer…

And closer…

And CLOSER…

(Sh*t.)

At this point?

I’m seriously ready to crap my pants.

(No joke.)

Because the only thing going through my head at this point…

Is I’m about to come face to face with this:

http://www.bobinoz.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/24359966_819581de1c_o.jpg

And the only thing that stands between me and rabies?

Is a dull, metal stick in my hand.

So…

Knowing this could be it…

I put my game face on…

And got ready to spear this motherf*cker in the gut…

But then, it happened…

This guy showed up instead:

http://aallanimalcontrol.com/wildlife/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/critter.jpg

Yep.

It was a f*cking squirrel.

A BIG squirrel.

But a squirrel.

So what’s the big marketing lesson in all this?

Well a few things… but let’s pick two:

Lesson #1 – Billy The Exterminator’s Mistake (#1)

This guy did a masterful job of painting (un)pleasing pictures in his prospects’ heads…

Check.

He did a masterful job of walking us through the process of “extraction, removal, and future prevention”

Check.

But his proposal?

Was an all or nothing deal.

No optional “Phase I” to get things started…

Like:

Identify creature ($200 bucks)

Then, once the thing was actually identified…

Outline a Phase 2 removal plan / cost structure.

Instead…

This guy priced his bid like we were 100% definitely dealing with 75 lbs. mass of rabid flesh in our attic.

And that if we did NOTHING?

The possum apocalypse was about to descend on us from up above…

In other words:

He oversold it.

Lesson #2 – Misplaced Risk Reversal (Mistake #1)

Now, when the guy quoted us his service…

To his credit, he DID offer us a guarantee:

Critter will be removed and won’t come back, guaranteed.

Fine.

But what if it turns out NOT to be a possum?

Do we get a partial refund?

Because the live squirrel trap I picked up at Home Depot only cost me $30 bucks…

Helluva lot cheaper than removing an entire “colony” of possums…

(Which is what he suggested.)

And as a result?

We didn’t pull the trigger.

And I’m $1600 richer because of that decision.

The question is this:

Are YOU making similar mistakes in YOUR marketing?

And by the way, those are just TWO things that stand out…

There are at least 3 more lessons here…

Any guesses what they are?

Just *HIT REPLY* to this post to let me know what you think…

Best answer gets a 15 minute consult with me next week…

Peace out!

Ryan :-)

P.S. Wanna know what the guy should’ve done?

Two things:

1. Should’ve had a “Phase I: Identify Creature” for $100 bucks.

Stick a couple cameras up there, figure out what we’re dealing with – show us PROOF, and then hit us with a quote for Phase II.

That’s more of the “micro-commitment” style I like to teach folks…

That’s thing #1.

2. Regarding Risk-Reversal…

I was just having this conversation yesterday with Perry Marshall, when he asked me:

“What’s your risk-reversal for your done-for-you Survey Funnel implementations…”

My answer?

“Simple. First, basically 100% of clients come to me asking if I’ll take them on. Practically all come through client referrals. Meaning the dynamic is such, that I don’t ever need to do much selling. Risk-reversal just doesn’t come up, because they’re selling ME on getting on my calendar…”

(That’s what happens when you get a reputation…)

“Then, for the folks who aren’t sure? Again, simple. I tell them to start working with me in the coaching setup. Starts at $1000 bucks/mo. Low risk. They do the implementation themselves.

Then, what usually happens… Is it takes them longer than they thought.

But they still hit a home run with it nevertheless… Which leads them to say:

“Ryan. Why didn’t we just have you do the whole thing in the first place, and save ourselves 6 months?”

(Exactly.)

They then proceed to have me build their next 3… 4… 5… funnels and do whatever they can to keep me a secret from their competition.

That’s how you do risk-reversal.

And for everybody else who STILL isn’t ready to pull the trigger?

They can keep on doing what they’re doing, and see how that works out.

Too much opportunity and unclaimed cash sitting on the table to deal with folks like that.

That’s it for today…

Peace out!

The best laid plans of mice and…

Men.

Exactly.

So last week, like many people…

I got caught in the cross-hairs of the Aweber Clusterf*ck.

(You can hashtag that if you want.)

Which meant that my emails?

Didn’t get sent out.

Anyway…

In the deep, dark recesses of your memory…

You might remember me talking about a “critter in my attic” in an email last week…

Remember that one?

Well, there’s a marketing lesson to it all I wanted to share with you last week…

BUT… When it comes to playing out a story over multiple emails like we’re doing here…

There’s a cadence with this sort of thing.

Gotta hit the right story arc.

The right crescendo.

The right pace.

So rather than slam you with “Part 2” today out of nowhere…

Part 2 of this story?

Comes tomorrow…

What I found in my attic this weekend…

So last week, my wife was freaking out.

Because while I was away in Vegas for my O4 Mastermind…

Apparently, she heard “foot-steps” in our attic…

And my wife?

Has gotta have like, the most vivid imagination ever…

Because she’s thinking the absolute worst…

So we call a guy.

Basically “Billy the Exterminator” Texas edition.

He comes to check things out.

His take?

We’ve gotta ‘possum up there.

(But we don’t need to worry – because apparently possums have the lowest core body temperature of any mammal – so they don’t carry diseases… And they’re nomadic. So our “guest” should move on in a couple ‘o weeks.)

But at this point?

It doesn’t matter…

Because my wife is COMPLETELY freaking out.

The moment the words “human-like skin” and “opposable thumbs” enter the conversation…

Her suitcase is half-packed.

Then the guy hits us with his quote to “take care of things”…

The price?

Well, here’s a photo of his quote:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100387458945971&set=a.10100120641345581.2282424.1008516

Yeah, exactly.

No. F*cking. Way.

Now, my wife doesn’t even want to pay that kind of money…

So I decide to “handle things” myself…

And armed with my trusty flashlight…

And the seldom used “harpoon” from our fireplace accessory kit…

I boldly go to face this creature of destruction.

And what happened next?

Was the LAST thing I expected…

I’ll tell you how it all played out tomorrow…

Until then…

Peace out!

Ryan :-)

P.S. In case you’re wondering what the hell’s this story got to do with marketing and building your funnels?

A lot, actually.

Let’s get through the story and I’ll explain everything…

P.P.S. By the way… Remember that “countdown timer” in my email last week?

People have been asking me how I did that…

Well that thing relates to our story as well…

And I’ll explain the connection tomorrow…

I think you’ll want to see this…

 

Texas Redneck Marketing Lesson…

As you probably know…

I lease an office outside my house.

It’s about a 7 minute drive home…

And every single night on the way home, I pass by this intersection.

On some nights, at this intersection, there’s a guy in his pickup truck…

Outside…

With stacks of firewood that he’s selling…

He just sits out there, for hours on end, selling this firewood…

(I dunno if this guy makes any money or not…)

But there’s the problem:

This guy?

Is only out there on the NICE days…

Like, yesterday it was about 73 degrees outside.

And sure enough…

The guy was out there…

Wearing his redneck standard issue dusty jeans and torn sleeveless, plaid flannel shirt…

And he’s out there sitting on the back of his truck, selling firewood.

Now, here’s the problem:

Who the HELL is thinking about buying firewood when it’s 73 degrees outside?

Now, whenever I drive home and my car is frigid and I’ve got gloves on and I’m waiting for the heater to turn on…

This guy ain’t outside.

THOSE are the days that people are looking to buy firewood for their fireplace…

But this guy?

This guy is making a classic mistake…

(Something I see people make online ALL the time…)

This guy is selling something from his OWN perspective.

He’s out there when it’s convenient and comfortable for HIM…

Not when his MARKET wants to buy his thing.

And the way you see this online, is that people often make the same mistake, saying:

“I’ve got this amazing idea, and NOW I’m gonna go out there and SELL it…”

It’s so egocentric.

Instead,

You want to have the MARKET in mind first…

Ask them what THEY want?

Survey and Sell ‘em 101.

(And btw – this isn’t just a NEWBIE mistake either. I see this happen with the 7 and 8 figure businesses I work with… All. The. Time.)

So this guy who’s selling firewood?

He should SKIP the days when it’s 73 degrees outside.

And on those days?

He should be spending time with his family enjoying the weather.

Now, the days when it’s 42 degrees?

(And btw – where I live in Texas, sometimes it’s 40 degrees one day and 70 degrees the next…)

THOSE are the days that he should be out there.

So here’s the big marketing lesson in all of this:

You want to base your entire process, your entire marketing funnel, around your customer.

1) What is it that they want?

2) How do you appeal to THEIR self-interest?

(It’s one of the reasons why I use surveys in at LEAST three places in every funnel I build… And why you should too.)

You see…

So many people online make it a point to stand on their tippy toes, raise their hand and say, “Look at me, LOOK AT ME, look at why my option is the best…”

But here’s the thing…

Your audience?

Your market?

The person who’s in that market, who’s reading your ad…

(Your person who’s in that car driving home, freezing his tail off when it’s 42 degrees outside…)

Doesn’t give a SH*T about what you sell.

All they care about is themselves.

So if you can appeal to their self interest…

And I’ll explain ways to do this in a couple upcoming emails…

Then, THAT is the secret to making cold traffic work…

It all starts with running a survey that appeals to their self interest…

And if that’s something you want some help with?

Well get your ass over to this site here and put your name on the priority notification list:

http://www.ryanlevesque.net

The hammer comes down tomorrow at 4:59PM.

After that?

Could be another 6 months before more spots open up…

Ok, enough for today…

You’ve got me all worked up into a sweat :-)

We’ll talk again tomorrow…

Peace out!

Ryan “Rants about Rednecks” Levesque

P.S. No PS for today. The guy responsible for the PS? He’s on vacation. It’s 79 degrees today, so he’s probably out selling firewood :-)…

What (not) to email to your buyers…

Just got off a client call.

Long-time client.

#1 guy in his niche.

The conversation we were having was around:

“What should we mail to our buyers??”

Now, this is an easy question to answer when you’ve got just ONE front-end funnel.

But in this market?

We’ve got like, FIVE.

So things get a little tricky.

Like…

If customer buys offer A and C…

But NOT offer B…

What do you do?

And what if he just has offer B?

And what if he has A, B, and C already?

(See what I mean?)

Requires mapping out all your offers.

Putting them up on the whiteboard…

In fact, I’ve got another client doing a full-day consulting day with me here in Austin, TX in a few months for that reason alone:

To simply architect the whole thing out on the whiteboard together.

Btw – This is one of the things I do with practically all coaching clients.

If you haven’t signed up to be notified when I make those final 1 or 2 spots available on Friday @ 4:59PM, you can do so here:

http://www.ryanlevesque.net

Pay CLOSE attention to your email box, because if you’re interested in grabbing one of those spots?

I expect them to get snatched up REAL quick.

Moving on.

When it comes to deciding “what to mail” to your buyers, here are a few *QUICK GUIDELINES* I like to follow:

#1 – Incubation.

After someone buys. I don’t like to slam them with 50 offers.

I like to get them to CONSUME the product they just bought.

Why?

Because here’s the thing:

When you can get customers to make THREE conversions with you…

(Something Sean D’Souza talks a lot about in his stuff, and something that came up a few times at our O4 Mastermind last weekend.)

That customer?

Will buy EVERYTHING you’ve got.

And the three conversions are:

1. Opt-In
2. Buy Product
3. Consume product

Once you’ve gotten them to do that?

Then you’ve got a lifer on your hands.

So the reason for incubation – is to get CONSUMPTION.

#2 – Take Them Deeper Down the Rabbit Hole.

Once you get through the incubation period…

What do you sell them next?

I’ll tell you what I like to do:

Sell them MORE stuff around the topic they just bought.

Sound counterintuitive?

It isn’t.

Here’s why:

When you’re hot to learn something new…

Let’s just take the topic of copywriting.

Do you buy ONE book and call it a day?

Maybe.

But if you’re like MOST people…

That one topic?

Becomes a temporary obsession.

You go to Amazon.

Buy 5 different books.

Sign up for 17 different lists.

Enroll in some guy’s continuity program.

All around that ONE topic.

And your customers?

Ain’t any different.

They develop ravenous appetites.

But here’s the thing:

That appetite?

Will disappear like a fart in the wind…

And before you know it…

They’ve moved on to some OTHER topic.

Like “traffic” or “social media” or “positioning” or whatever.

So the “window” is short, and you gotta hit ‘em while they’re in heat.

Make ‘em sense?

Good.

Sh*t, I could talk about this stuff all day.

But I gotta run.

3 more back-to-back client calls today…

And these guys are gonna get pissed if I give away too much here on email :-)

Wanna see what happens on the other side?

Sign up here:

http://www.ryanlevesque.net

That’s how you get access to the uncensored, full-results version Ryan.

That’s it for today…

Peace out!

Ryan :-)

P.S. Had over 100 people asking about those books we gave away at O4…

The one I gave to the group?

Was this one here:

http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Move-Sleep-Choices-Changes/dp/1939714001/

When I made just *3 changes* to my life based on that book…

My personal income soared.

I’ll tell you what they are on our first coaching call together if you’re interested.

(Hey, gotta keep SOME stuff close to the vest :-)

Talk tomorrow!

 

If you were an “internet superhero”…

Who would you be?

Fun question, right?

In fact, it’s one I had to give some SERIOUS thought to recently…

After being invited to speak at the Traffic Superhero Summit this year.

And my choice?

Will probably surprise you.

(More on that in a second…)

First, reason why I bring all this up?

Is because as part of the Superhero Summit…

Before my FEATURED talk (which is in a few weeks…)

They asked me to do a quick Google Hangout TODAY…

(Like in a few hours…)

To “tease” people about my MAIN talk…

By revealing my #1 Juiciest Traffic Secret…

(Which I’m gonna do.)

So my question for you is this:

Wanna hear what that is?

Here’s where to access:

http://www.superherosummits.com/140218-tss-preview1/live.php

==================
3 BIG Reasons to Show Up
==================

#1 – This is a no-pitch event. Nothing to buy. Just pure juiciness.

#2 – I’ll be answering questions. It’s practically impossible to get ahold of me these days without paying my $500 hourly fee. Got a burning question? I’ll be taking ‘em. Here’s your chance to fire away.

#3 – You’ll get to see who my Traffic Superhero alter-ego is. (You need to show up *just* to see the artist’s rendering… It’s hilarious :-)

(re: Artist’s Rendering: All I have to say is… MY head… on THAT body made my wife spit out her drink when I showed it to her…)

So wanna hang out with me today?

Here’s the link:

http://www.superherosummits.com/140218-tss-preview1/live.php

Look forward to seeing you there…

Peace out!

Ryan :-)

PS – I’m a Google Hangout Virgin. (Yep.) So there’s a GOOD CHANCE I’ll probably do something really stupid in front of the camera :-)

If nothing else, that alone should give you reason to stop on by…

Now…

Gotta run to pick my parents up at the airport…

And then?

Gotta leave time in thar, t’ make me look awl purrrdy…

(Said in thick, West Virginian accent…)

See you in a couple hours!