Greetings Floor Dealers!
I had just purchased one of Joe Polish’s marketing courses, so when I got a hand-addressed letter from him I opened it right away. Attached to the top was a crisp, new $1-bill. Now he REALLY had my attention, and I read the entire letter.
Joe bought my undivided attention for $1.
Inner Circle members are familiar with this strategy, and have used it for years in the Shock-and-Awe campaign, Joint Ventures strategy, and other places. But there are other ways to “buy” your prospect’s attention other than using money.
Just recently I received a cardboard tube in the mail; the kind used to mail posters or blueprints. Something heavy rattled around inside. I just had to find out what was so heavy banging around in that tube, so I set aside all my other mail and opened the container. Inside was a .50 Caliber bullet (.50 calibers are huge; about 5 inches long), along with a sales letter from Dan Kennedy in the form of a wanted poster. It said, “Jim Armstrong: Wanted Dead or Alive,” and it was shot full of bullet holes. The whole thing was an invitation to one of Dan’s events. I read the whole thing immediately, ignoring whatever project I happened to be working on at the moment. I still have the letter, the tube and the bullet.
For the cost of that bullet, printing, packaging and shipping, Dan bought my undivided attention. Can you think of any ways you could swipe and deploy this strategy in your business?
Awhile back a received a 9×12 envelope with sales literature inside from Rory Fatt. The envelope was clear plastic, so I was able to see all the contents, including a small bag of Planters peanuts and a sales letter with the headline, “I Must Be Nuts!” I opened it immediately. Rory bought my attention with a bag of peanuts.
How could you use this in your business?
A few years ago I went to both Dollar Stores in my area and cleaned them out of mousetraps. You know, the old-fashioned kind with the wooden base attached to a spring and latch mechanism. I put these in Tyvec envelopes (so they wouldn’t tear) along with a letter that said, “Feeling Trapped By A Slow Market?” Once they were sealed up I made a happy discovery. I used the mousetraps to create a “lumpy” mailer with bulk, which they did very nicely. But all the moving parts of the trap created a nice little racket when you picked up the envelope. There is no way a prospect could ignore these letters. So, for the cost of a mousetrap I bought my prospect’s undivided attention.
Here’s another interesting point to consider: the mailers that were sent to me succeeded in buying my attention even though I knew exactly what the marketers were up to! I teach these strategies for Heaven’s sake, but I was still not immune to their influence. That’s power.
Are you thinking of ways you could use these strategies to “buy” the attention of your prospects/clients?
Here are some ideas:
• Invite your best clients to an after-hours event
• As part of a Shock-and-Awe campaign
• To establish a new joint venture relationship
• Market to building contractors
• Establish relationships with property management companies
• As part of a special offer
• Testimonial contest
• Referral contest
• Charitable event
• Announce a new flooring product line
• Announce a new add-on product/service (carpet cleaning, window treatments, granite counter tops, vacuum cleaners, etc.)
• Moving to a new location
• Opening another store
• Business name change
• Joining a co-op
• Ownership change
How many more can you come up with?
To Tons Of Customers!
Jim Augustus Armstrong is The “Coach”
Jim Augustus Armstrong is the President of Flooring Success Systems, a program that equips dealers to double their profits, cut their work hours in half and beat the boxes! Many dealers have totally transformed their businesses and their lives for the better after joining Flooring Success Systems.
See what real, live dealers are saying!