(You’ll have to hit the “show transcript” button to
read it.)
The short version of Dunning Kruger is that “dumb” or uninformed people tend to hold drastically inflated opinions of how “right” they are about something . . .
(“2+2 = 5 and I will FIGHT YOU TO DEATH if you disagree with me!”
While “smart” or more educated people tend to hold drastically DEFLATED
opinions of what they know.
It was pretty to look at, sure. But in that vacuous, crazy way Hollywood seems to prefer these days. Pretty like an ice sculpture. Pretty like a punch in the face.
But bloodless in the purest sense. It lacked anything resembling life.
I saw it at the Imax. My girlfriend and I got there late and had to stand up and dance around in the back of the theater at first. Then we saw seats way down in front of the screen. We snuck like sneaky rabbits, hunched down in our seats and stared up at the God-sized face of Johnny Depp.
Once you learn the secret of reframing you'll find persuading other people to think like you do to be easy like magic.
Here’s a quick example of how to use a “Reframe” to literally “Change someone’s mind” and convince them to come to your way of thinking . . .
(Put really simply, “Reframing” is just a way of changing the context or “frame” of a situation so you can look at it from a different angle and with a different set of conclusions and beliefs.)
Last night I was hanging out with a friend of mine (a very awesome, redheaded friend of mine who’s touch makes my skin tingle and who’s smile turns me to goo) and talking about the work of Dr. Joseph Riggio . . .
If you haven’t heard of Joseph, you should. He’s a done a ton of fascinating work helping high-achievers find real power and satisfaction in their lives and “going” deep with his stuff has had a tremendous effect on my mindset and productivity.
I don’t know about you, but 2009 was BRUTAL and strange
and transformative and wonderful here in Haddad town . . .
I had my heart broken . . .
Got lasers blasted in my eyes by the target of a murder plot (seriously) . . .
Dropped 16 pounds in 5 days due to some freaky bug . . .
Lost my mind on a beach in Mexico . . .
Let go of a lifetime of secret self-loathing . . .
Made a gaggle of new friends . . .
Got arrested and humiliated in the desert (now THAT’S a story I’ll tell you someday) . . .
Got that “ADHD” thing figured out . . . (So THIS is what it’s like to concentrate)
Had some massive professional success (and a few crushing failures) . . .
And generally went through a personal “crucible”that left me battered and giddy
and flopping around like a fish out of water wondering what the heck is going to happen next.
But now 2009 is over, the slate has been wiped clean
and it’s time to get serious, clear the decks and hit 2010 HARD . . .
This is a video interview I did with my friend (and fellow Massachusetts boy) Jeffrey Pezzella. Jeff wanted to know some of my “secret strategies” for picking out great clients . . . so we hopped on skype and I spilled the beans.
I think it was called “Let’s call the whole thing off” and I bet you can hum it in your head.
Or heck, you can even sing it out loud. I promise nobody will look at you weird. It goes like this . . .
“You say Poh-TAY-to and I say Poh-TAH-to . . .
You say To-MAY-to and I say To-MAH-to
Poh-TAY-to, Poh-TAH-to . . .
To-MAY-to, To-MAH-to . . .
Let’s call the whole thing off.”
It’s a fun song, and to me at least, it seems to be a pretty apt metaphor for all the screaming and rambling going on in the news these days . . .
After all, I don’t care if you call it a Poh-TAY-To or a Poh-TAH-To, it still tastes great covered in butter and sour cream.
And it doesn’t matter if the chattering heads on the news rant about an “economic slowdown,” a “financial meltdown” or (GASP! EEK!) a *recession . . . it’s still a big, scary mess that’s going to hurt a whole lot of good people.
Now, I’m not saying this to get you down or to raise your anxiety . . . If the continued reign of “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” at the box office tells us anything it’s that people are looking for light escapism these days.
But personally, it drives me *nuts* when I see people dashing around, arguing semantics and rearranging the deck chairs on the titanic instead of taking the simple, proven steps they need to survive (and even grow their businesses) during the recession.
Because, hey, it’s a FACT . . .
* Unemployment is EXPLODING . . . did you know that since January 750,000 Americans have lost their jobs? (Heck, I personally know 3 people who have lost theirs just in the last 2 weeks.)
* Businesses big and small are going to die sudden, painful deaths . . . think Lehman and WaMu were bad? Wait until the credit crunch and lack of consumer confidence trickles down to the everyday small and medium businesses that make this economy run.
* Retirement as we know it is DONE . . . Hear that crazy sound coming from the stock market? That’s the sound of millions of retirees (or soon to be retirees) watching their savings go up in smoke because of the unethical (and moronic) actions of the money men they trusted.
So say it with me, Potato, Potato, Potato.
And now take a deep, deep breathe and force a smile on your face, because . . .
=====================
It’s Time For The Good News
=====================
Even during the deepest depths of the Great Depression (and this one ain’t “great” and might never become so) . . .
* Over 75 percent of Americans were gainfully employed and had money to spend . . .
* Smart entrepreneurs *started* businesses, created jobs and absolutely thrived . . . .
* And even in the darkest of times people figured out how to mash up that nasty potato and get rich?
And you can do the same thing. But only if you take a deep breathe, think straight and act smart.
So here’s your Potato Survival Kit . . .
1. Figure out your 80/20
Most businesses get 80 percent of their business from 20 percent of their customers. Strangely enough, most customers have *no idea* what 20 percent is actually keeping them alive and waste all their time and effort going after the great unwashed masses.
Where are you really getting your business from? How can you serve them better? How can you give them better value? How can you get more of your most profitable customer?
2. Say Goodbye to Flash And Dazzle
Personally I’ve never been a big fan of flash and dazzle image advertising . . . but in an economy like what we’ve got today, relying on image to bring in sales is absolute suicide.
If you want to survive (and maybe even grow your business) during our current little problem you’ve got to focus on proven, tested marketing techniques that actually create sales and put money in your pocket.
If you aren’t currently using direct response marketing techniques to feed your business, it’s time to start. If you’re already hip (or semi hip) to the ways of direct response, it’s time to ramp up the testing and hold yourself and your marketing team to a much higher standard.
3. Give People What They Want
Gary Halbert is famous for saying “When All Else Fails, Give People What They Want.”
Not what you think they want.
Not what you want them to want.
But what they *actually* want.
I wrote a whole article on this in the past, but when times are tough it’s essential that you figure out what core desires your customers have and find a way to fulfill them.
Which might mean lowering your prices . . .
Which might mean changing the way you package and sell your products . . .
Which might mean giving away a whole bunch of value for free . . .
And which almost definitely means getting out of your comfort zone.
Later skater,
C
P.S. If you’re an employee drawing a salary week in and week out? You’ve *got* to start looking around for your own income stream. Right now even a stiff breeze is enough to cause most companies to lay you off. In a down economy, the only safe thing to do is work for yourself.
Chris “Mr. Moneyfingers” Haddad here with the June, 2008 edition of *your* Hard Working Words Newsletter.
I’m just back in HWW central after a long (and lovely) week out on the East Coast where I gorged on expensive Manhattan cuisine, got baked and burned while crossing the Brooklyn bridge and had the supreme (and supremely fun . . . I recommend it) honor of being the officiant at my good friend Mason Rabinowitz’s wedding to the absolutely *awesome* Cari Strand.
All of which has *nothing* to do with today’s brief (but powerful) topic. A little thing I like to call “Fuzzy Scarcity.”
=============
Fuzzy Scarcity
=============
If you’ve been studying marketing for any length of time you already know that *scarcity* is one of the most whoppingly powerful tools you can use to get your prospects to actually reach into their pockets and buy your stuff.
In fact, it’s so powerful that Robert Cialdini lists it as the 5th and final “Weapon of Influence” in his awesome book “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” ( If you haven’t already, you really should read it) . . .
And pretty much every copywriting book or course out there *demands* that you include a level of scarcity in your sales letter or ad in order to tickle the back of your prospect’s brain, kill the “I’ll think about it” impulse, spur immediate action and justify a higher price.
Now, most of the time including a sales-popping level of scarcity in your promotion is pretty easy . . .
If you’re selling a widget, you’ve generally only got so many on hand . . .
If you’re selling a seminar, there really are only so many seats you can fit in a room . . .
And if you’re selling a service, there really *is* a limit on how many clients you can handle at any given time.
But what do you do if (as in the case when you’re selling a digital product like an ebook, an audio recording or a downloadable video) what you’ve got is essentially *unlimited?*
Well, that’s when you bring in what I like to call . . . Fuzzy Scarcity.
===========================
What The Heck Is “Fuzzy Scarcity?”
===========================
Fuzzy scarcity is where you create doubt and turbulence in your prospect’s mind by saying that while this fantastic deal at this fantastic price and with these mind-breaking bonuses *is* available right now . . . it *might* not be tomorrow.
You *might* decide to raise the price (maybe even *double* it) . . .
You *might* decide that that super-awesome “deal maker” bonus is just too damned cool . . .
Or you even *might* decide to take the whole shebang off the market forever after you make a certain number of sales just because that’s what you want to do . . .
The key here, of course, is to keep the terms of your scarcity “Fuzzy” and vaguely defined . . . and to make sure that you never, ever (ever) lie. (There’s a special, and rather well populated, corner of hell reserved for marketers who lie about this sort of stuff.)
===============
Need an example?
===============
Here’s some “riffing” copy that I came up with while I was at John Carlton’s “17 Points Of Copywriting Success” workshop a couple of months back. (Tangentially, that conference is where the whole “fuzzy scarcity” concept stopped being “fuzzy” and solidified nicely in my mind.)
This is for an ebook I’m working on called “The Ultimate Best Man Speech” and this copy will appear pretty far down the sales letter . . .
“Hey, listen . . . if you’ve read this far down this letter it shows me that you’re serious about learning how to do this right. . . and about giving a really kick ass best man speech at your buddy’s wedding.
And, if this is right for you, I want to make sure you get your hands on this info and put it into action.
But here’s the deal.
My friends who have gone through the “Ultimate Best Man Speech Guide” think I’m kind of a moron. They think I’ve gotten way too excited . . .
With the audio recordings, the “plug and play” wedding speech examples, the instant email access to me and all the other awesome bonuses, they think I’ve gone overboard.
And I’m pretty sure that I’m going to either cut this package WAYYYY down, or I’m going to basically double the price.
Not sure.
But I’m thinking about it.
So if you want to get the “Sweetheart deal” you should grab it now.”
Get it?
Now, of course, for Fuzzy Scarcity to work, you first have to convince your prospect that they actually *want* what you’ve got to sell . . . but once you do even just a *hint* that you might take it away from them (or that they might get an “unfair” deal that nobody else is going to get) will have them buying like crazy.
P.S. Obviously there’s a whole lot more to say on this topic ranging from how to use bonuses to create scarcity to the fact that for a certain segment of the market scarcity is actually a feature (why the heck do you think people buy diamonds?) but that’s all way beyond the scope of this brief article.
——
And that’s that.
Before I go, just a quick tip of the hat to the late, great George Carlin. I doubt he had much love for Copywriters or marketers, but damn that man knew language.
Remember, you can always leave a comment on the blog version of this article on the HWW Blog: http://www.haddadink.com/blog
Chris “Mr. Moneyfingers” Haddad here with a very, very late edition of HWW.
I’ve been down in LA the last couple days at Eben Pagan’s “Altitude” program.
If you don’t know who Eben Pagan is, you should. He built a $20 Million dollar a year “Dating Advice” empire in 6 short years and is easily one of the smartest and savviest marketing minds I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.
Most of the seminars I’ve been to in my marketing career have been pricy and badly disguised pitch-athons, but my two days at Altitude were nothing but great networking and pure content.
You can sign up for Eben’s list at http://www.getaltitude.com.
With that out of the way, let’s get to the main event:
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How Far Is “Far?” – Why Jargon is *Killing* Your Sales
==========================================
A bit over a year ago, my good friends Scott and Mason flew out to Seattle for a couple days of intense male bonding.
And we had a *great* time.
We trekked out to Snoqualmie Falls, marveled at the Sci-Fi Museum, rocked it at the Experience Music Project , basked in the Seattle sunshine (I swear, it really doesn’t rain that much. Really.) and generally acted like giddy and goofy tourists just getting a taste for life on the coast.
Like I said, it was a great visit and a lot of fun . . .
*Until I Made The Big Mistake Of Suggesting We Go Out For Pizza.*
This was on day four of a four day visit. We were all tired and punchy and sick of being in the same room. And we were *hungry.* After 10 minutes of trying to figure out what to eat, we had this conversation:
Me: “Let’s just go out and grab some pizza. There’s a place right down the street.”
Them: “Is it far?”
Me: “Far?”
Them: “We’re tired and punchy and weak with hunger. We don’t want to walk far.”
Me: “No, it’s not far at all. It’s just down the street. I go there for lunch all the time.”
And to me it really *wasn’t* far. I’ve been a car-free American for about 3 years now, walk *everywhere* and, more importantly, am used to the staggering and brutal hills that make up the Seattle landscape.
Mason and Scott? Well, not so much.
It took a bit, but . . .
*After About Ten Minutes Of Marching I Figured Out That *My* Definition Of “Far” And *Their* Definition Of Far Were About As Similar As Apples And Nuclear Warheads.*
Them: “Dear God, are we there yet? I thought you said it wasn’t far?”
Me: “It’s not. We’re almost there.”
Them: “You said it was down the street!”
Me: “It is down the street!”
Them: “Which street?”
Me: “That street!”
Them: “That street is far!”
And it kind of went on from there. I think at one point we devolved into a Laurel and Hardy routine. Scott was so hungry that he decided to take his chances with some wild berries we saw on the way (that was a mistake.) And Mason did something that I don’t want to talk about here but that still makes we wake in the night covered in sweat and wishing for chocolate.
===================
“Alright, Haddad, But What The Heck Does This Have To Do With Marketing?”
===================
Good question, and one that I even have an answer to.
You see, the problem I had with Scott and Mason is pretty darned similar to a problem a lot of businesses have when they try to talk to their customers.
A lot of businesses (especially tech companies, medical pros and folks who sell supposedly complicated products and services) fill their marketing with words that mean one thing to them, and something completely different to the people they’re trying to sell to . . . .
Or worse yet, they pack their ads, websites and brochures with all sorts of fancy proprietary jargon that means a lot to them (“Our solution solutionator uses the latest in solutionization schemes to solutionize!”) but that leaves their prospects confused, annoyed and feeling abused . . . . and are confused when the money *doesn’t* come rolling in.
==============================
So How Can You Conquer The Jargon Plague And Make Sure You’re Actually Speaking Your Customers Language?
=============================
Well, I’ve got two *really* simple ways to obliterate jargon and figure out what words actually mean to your customers.
1. Visit forums and message boards that your customers use and pay really close attention to how the average folks on the board (not the super technical folks who go to message boards to feel good about themselves) talk.
And (this next one is shocking.)
2. Ask them.
You see, if I had just asked Scott and Mason what they meant by “Far” before heading off on our deadly zombie march to the pizza place, I would saved us all a lot of horror and heartache.
And if you just ask your own customers (over email, through a survey or even one on one) what the language around your product or service means to them, you’ll earn more customers, make more sales and pocket more money.
And that’s it, folks.
I’ll be posting something new to the blog (http://www.haddadink.com/blog) next week. If you have any questions or comments, you can hit me up at chris@haddadink.com
And you can learn more about me at http://www.haddadink.com.
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Haddad Ink., 1463 E. Republican St. #28A, Seattle, WA 98112
Dave Navarro just posted our 30 minute consulting call in full. I kicked Dave around pretty hard during our talk . . . and had him begging for more. You hear the call at:
