Because if you think less words are more, you’ve got the wrong end of the stick. More words sell (no matter how the words come–via PDF or video–or text).
So what do we need less of , if it isn’t ‘less words’?
We need less concepts.
That’s what we need less of.
Google worked better than Yahoo because the concept was simple.
iPod worked better than most mp3 players because any dope knew how to use a wheel.
Lego blocks have success, because they’re simple to work out.
But you’re not dumb
You understand that less is more. You understand that things need to be simple.
Then you make a presentation with 567 slides.
You write a sub-headline or headline that snakes on forever.
You write articles that don’t focus on one thing.
‘Less is more’ isn’t about ‘less words.’
It’s about concepts. You need less concepts.
Or actually, one concept at a time.
The other day I was on a call, and I literally gave the listeners all the steps in the Brain Audit. And the more I gave, the more they were keen to buy the product. This kinda took me by surprise. I’ve long been under the impression, that if you give away all the steps in your system, then there’s nothing else to give.
I found out otherwise.
I found out the age-old concept of the bikini to apply. That by giving away 90% of the concept, and keeping 10%, the attraction factor was just as strong, if not twice as strong (there are reasons for me saying ‘twice as strong). And yes, what the bikini didn’t reveal, was the part the audience most wanted (naturally), and was the part they were willing to pay for.
Yes and no. Any one who thinks that video can do it all, is probably barking up the wrong tree. But video does have powerful persuasion powers. And it has experiential powers. It can make you feel something that’s hard to describe with words. So what about this video causes an attraction factor? Why is this more than words?
Barking up the wrong tree can be amazingly interesting. And educational. Sure you may think that making a mistake is a waste of time, but you couldn’t be further from the truth. Because making mistakes is what enables us to attract clients.
Imagine a world where everything went absolutely right for you. Where you never ever made a mistake. Well, that would indeed be an interesting world. And most people would peg you as a resident of Jupiter. Because for one, your client would never be able to relate to you.
Understand this: Most of our clients are quite impressed, even intimidated by our abilities.
Yes, we think what we do is ‘nothing’, but to the client, those ‘nothing’ skills are quite valuable. So if you’re able to relate your mistakes, that makes you less formidable, and the client feels an intense connection to your failures (and consequent success). Plus you stop being considered a ‘Jupiterian’ and become an ‘Earthling’ instead
When I conduct the Website Masterclass, I show my clients all my mistakes
And how we fixed them. That enables the client to see what’s achievable, and creates a safety net for the client as well. Now, they not only feel comfortable with you, but also feel comfortable about their own progress.
Plus mistakes are profitable.
Very profitable.
I’ll explain more in my next post.
——————————————– http://www.psychotactics.com
Why Customers Back Away At The Very Last Minute? Find out at the link above.
Do you actually sell on blogs? It depends. Are you in the mood for asking stupid questions?
If you, for one second believe, that you’re going to get action from your customers by simply ‘expecting them to work out’ what you sell–well, you are indeed in the mood for stupidity. Because let’s look at a blog as impassively as you’d look at a newspaper. You read the newspaper. And it talks about a new product. Does that article cause you to buy the product?
Nope. You read the newspaper. And you’re off for the day, right? You read loads of stuff, just like that, and it makes not a whit of a difference. But then you see an ad. And the ad creates urgency or desirability to buy the product. Um, can you hear the knock on your brain?
Yes, customers are waiting to be led. Customers are ’sheeple’. And when I say customers, I say you, me and almost everyone else on this planet.
Logically, sheep should come home by sundown
But they don’t. The woof, woof, woof, has to happen. The sheepdog has to play his role, barking madly. Then the ’sheep’ file back to the farm from the paddock.
Customers are just the same. If you stupidly believe that they’re going to buy, then you’re out of your mind. They need to be led. And contrary to what you believe, leading customers–playing sheepdog is a good thing. Because if you don’t really direct customers, they do the sheep thing. They wander around. Hang around. Do nothing. Or something.
You’re doing your customers a disfavour
You’re doing yourself a disfavour.
Plus, there’s the stupidity thing
With zero advertising, zero affiliates, zero Google Adwords, zero whatever–we’ve filled the Website Masterclass for the second time in a row. Now this ain’t some piddly $20 class. Each participant pays between $2200-$2500 to be at the event. This isn’t counting food, travel, hotel stay etc.
Attraction of course, played its part
But hey, it’s not just attraction, or conversion, or blahdeeblah. It’s follow up. We followed up no more than nine times, in less than six weeks. With solid information.
With over five hours of useful, zero-sales pitch content (there goes that zero word again). And follow up was consistent. To get customers to sign up to the first stage. Then to move them to the next stage. In all, in under six weeks, a customer may have been ‘touched’ a good fifteen times.
See this two stage attraction and conversion? Stage 1: When Lynda.com offered me a free trial (Yeah, I know it sounds so simple)
Stage 3: Now I’m on their list–and they’re selling.
So where’s Stage 2?
Stage 2 was the consumption stage, right? So they got me to ‘consume’ for seven days, before they said, “Oops, you have to buy.” (I have to admit, they sent up a follow up email once–I think–in those seven days, reminding to go back to ‘consume’)
But was seven days enough?
Is seven days enough?
And how could Lynda.com have done it better?
Ok, so you’re high on ‘consumption.’ But do you understand what it means?
Suppose you’re a web-designer and the client asks you to make a change on the website, and you say: “Nope, won’t do that. You’ve got to learn how to do it all yourself, Ms.Client. You’ve got to consume.”
Ok, just for the record, that’s not consumption.
Consumption is when the customer asks for ‘the meal’ and you help them to ‘eat that meal.’ So if the client asks to help her to make the change on her website, then it’s all very fine to suggest the steps to make that change.
But it the client is simply saying: Can you make that change? then what you have to do is ‘make that change.’
Being high on consumption is fine.
But you can’t make the client eat ’something they haven’t asked for.’
Have you ever mixed up the concept of consumption? Have you tried to get the client to do something when she didn’t want to do it? And how did you get out of the mess?
Do you know what makes a No.1 hit song a No.1 hit song? The rock group A-ha! certainly knew. When they launched their song way back (and I do mean way back), they created an underground campaign of sorts. As their song got played on the radio, they’d organise dozens of their friends to call in and request the song–again and again.
You know what happened next, right? By mere virtue of air-play on the radio, the song became popular. The more the radio stations played the song, the higher it climbed up the charts. Attraction, it seemed, created attraction.
The reason why some books sell more than others isn’t because they’re better than others. The reason why a No.1 song stays No.1 isn’t necessarily because it’s the catchiest song going. The core of why it survives is attraction.
So what’s a small business to do? How can you climb to the top of the ‘charts’ when you’re just an unknown? How can you create attraction to in turn create attraction?
