Preneur Marketing Blog – Pete Williams | Author Entrepreneur

With New Years Eve 2008 approaching, I was creating the ultimate party mix tape (itunes playlist) for the event, and thought I would record it and share my ‘blueprint’ for DJ success

I actually try to keep the video ‘on point’ and make some really bad marketing analogies too.

Happy New Year.

Pete

The darnedest thing got me thinking on Christmas yesterday…

I noticed, Fleur’s mum cutting a small amount off the ends of the Christmas roast before putting it in a pan and roasting it…

Obviously this only heightened my curiosity so I asked the grandmother, “All of the ladies in your family certainly make excellent roasts, and everyone in the the family cuts the ends off the roast because that is the way they were taught. Please tell me, how does this make the roast better?”

She replied, “Make the roast better … I only did it because my pan was too short.”

OK… So you may have heard a variation this story before – It’s an oldie but a goody, and makes a very interesting point… and a good business lesson.

A lot is said in the personal development and NLP circles about the power of modeling - Identify people who produce outstanding results in a particular field of activity (i.e. cooking roasts), then model their behavioral patterns (i.e. cut the ends off) in order to produce those outstanding results for yourself.

The issue with modeling is that if you don’t understand the why behind the actions, you may be modeling something for the wrong reasons.

An example I used in my book to make a similar point is the ‘25 words or less’ contests that companies regularly ‘model’ .. and the instance of a book publisher running a competition that asks readers to do the following:

‘In 25 words or less, describe your favourite place to read in winter and why.’

This is an example of a business modeling a promotional tool without really understanding the why.

As I mentioned in my book, people act in line with their commitments… and it’s this ‘commitment + consistency’ principle that the “25 words or less” contests were built on.

The rationale behind this type of promotion, is that if you make people write down why they like you or your business, they will then subconsciously want to keep their word, so next time they have to choose they will select your product.

This principle means that people will feel a sense of obligation to you if they have told you they like your product or that they would find it useful. Once people make a commitment, especially in public, they will usually make an effort to stick to it.

So as you can see, the ‘In 25 words or less, describe your favorite place to read in winter and why.’ contest does nothing to elicit a ‘commitment and consistency’ outcome in their customers minds.

They’ve done the right thing by modeling a powerful technique, but by not understanding the WHY behind it, they have completely missed the mark. – just like Fleur and her roasts.

Now, as we go into 2009, I encourage you to take a moment, and look at everything your doing (read: modeling), and ask yourself the following question:

“What was the original WHY behind this ?”

Recently, the ‘internet marketing’ community was buzz with a huge hoax masterminded by Frank Kern – I won’t go into it in this post, but you can read about it over at – Don Fleece, Traffic Mysteries, Confessions and Reality or on the Frank Kern Shenanigans Facebook Group

Anyway… it got me thinking about a huge hoax that began as a practical joke by late-night radio raconteur Jean Shepherd in the mid-1950s. Shepherd was highly annoyed at the way that the bestseller lists were being compiled at the time.

Unlike today, these lists at the time were not determined only on sales figures, but also on requests for new books at bookstores.

Shepherd urged his listeners to enter bookstores across the USA, and ask for a book that did not exist. He fabricated an author, Frederick R. Ewing, concocted a title, ‘I, Libertine’, and outlined a basic plot for his listeners to use on skeptical or confused bookstore clerks.

Shepherd eventually proved his point, as the ‘fictional book’ became a best seller. (see the play on words I used there – not only was it a ‘fiction book’, but the book itself was fictional by nature – I really should be a comedian)

“It all started when I got into a discussion one day about people who pretend to know everything,” Shepherd wrote later in the Voice. “We thought it would be a good gag to undermine their faith by creating a demand for something that didn’t even exist. We dreamed up the name and the author on the spot.”

I recently came across an interview where the crazy tale is recounted in Jean Shepherd’s own words on Long John Nebel’s radio show from 1968 – it’s well worth a listen; as it has nothing to do with marketing, yet everything to do with marketing.

Download the interview here (MP3)

“I don’t know Eben Pagan”

“Nor have I been in the same room as him”

BUT

I have taken his Altitude Training… and it blew my mind !!!

http://www.altitudeprogram.com/CD470/

I seriously believe this was THE best marketing program released in the past 46 months and think EVERY business owner should take this training.

SO…

Please invest some time and watch the video he has made available:

The video covers everything from how to manage your time… to how to target niches and identify good product opportunities… to what to look for in employees and how to make sure they’re STARS.

I can’t recommend it enough

http://www.altitudeprogram.com/CD470/

NOW…

Let’s ‘cut the crap’, Eben is obviously giving this video away as part of the launch of the ‘home study version’ of the seminar.

So, when you watch the video and decide that you want to get a copy of the course and buy through the links above I will get a commission.

AND…

in exchange for that commission I am going to personally send you

A COPY OF MY COMPLETE PUBLICITY COURSE (all the CDs and workbooks sold at RenegadePublicist.com)

BECAUSE…

1. I want to make the ‘Altitude Course’ offer unbelievably compelling because I think every business owner should get it

2. The ONLY thing, and I mean ONLY thing that Eben’s course doesn’t cover is publicity.

OK…

I’ve written enough – go and check out the video he’s made available now:

http://www.altitudeprogram.com/CD470/

Speak soon,

Pete