Hi Friends,

Strolling down the sidewalk on my way to meet my wife for lunch today, two pretty blond girls walked up and handed me $5 cash.

I said, “Five bucks… for both of you… how cheap do I look?”

(Okay, I didn’t say that, but I would have if I’d thought of it so let’s not my deteriorating wit-speed ruin a good story.)

Turns out they were promoting a new subscription coupon service for a local website. And handing out cash money was the best idea they could come up with for getting the word out.

Actually not a bad idea at all. Attaching cash “grabbers” to a strong sales letter has been a trusty direct response marketing weapon for years.

Problem with this campaign was, not only didn’t they have a strong letter to go with the money… they didn’t even have an informative pitch — let alone a compelling one — to drive me somewhere I could get more details and (gasp) actually sign up for something.

Instead, this is exactly how my conversation with the pretty blond girl went…

PBG: Hey, would you like some free money?

Me: Whattya got?

PBG: TBO just started a new promotion called daily deals and we’re going “old school” to get the word out.

Me: (authenticating cash) Cool, thanks.

PBG: You’re welcome. Tell your friends.

That was it.

Result of TBO’s $5 investment (plus whatever they paid PBG to help get rid their of cash): my lunch waitress was slightly over-tipped.

Much to the TBO ad department’s chagrin…

• I’m not educated or excited about their new promotion…

• I’m not armed with a handy pitch (either from PBG or the scarce info card wrapped around the money) about the new service to go along with the story of a cute blond handing me money on the street.

• I’m not compelled to sign up for this service based on the idea that I’ll get “more free money” via these great deals from places I already love to patron.

TBO.com... throwing their cash in the trash.

In other words, their “let’s hand money to strangers on the street” idea was as effective as tossing the bills in the trash.

(Except for the fact that I’m writing about it and if you happen to live in the Tampa Bay area you might be compelled to search out the promotion. Unlikely.)

But wait… the real crime of this horrid campaign is yet to take place…

When I went to visit the landing page (surely they created a separate landing page for this promotion — no one’ s THAT inept)… there was no URL directing me to a landing page (I stand corrected). Just a small ad hocking seafood on the busy main page at TBO.com

That means a web service hired pretty blond girls to go stand on the street and hand people real cash money just for signing up for their new coupon service… but failed to create a web page for the service!

WOW!

I made a quick video to show you where the “info card” does lead  and how once you do find the landing page for the new promotion, you leave there more confused than when blond chicks handed you money on the street corner.

Click play to witness the epic failure of the web portion of this promotion…

OK, hate to kvetch and run, but my times up for today.

I’d love to share ideas with you guys about how to do money grabbers the right way in the comments section. If you have any good examples, please share. I’ll also try to dig up the famous Halbert money grabber sales letter opening to share. That short piece of copy alone contains everything TBO needed to fix this campaign.

Otherwise, let this be a reminder about how important it is to thoroughly PLAN your campaign before you start handing money to strangers.

Go make money,

Kevin

Hi,

My friend Max asked a good question and I got so involved in writing my reply, I decided to make a new post of it. It’s a follow up to the networking at seminars tips I gave out in the interview with David Raybould. I hope you find it useful.

Here’s Max’s question: When you mentioned the awkwardness the first time with Yanik, I can totally identify… But – how on earth did you manage to go from ’socially awkward writer’ to doing stand up comedy in front of crowds? And appearing on flashpoint?

Ahhh… good question, Max. Well, just to be clear… you’ve got the progression backwards. I went from socially awkward teen (all comics are socially awkward), to stand-up comic, to appearing on Flashpoint, to socially awkward writer.

I think what it comes down to in regards to feeling awkward, Max, is confidence.

When I went to those first marketing seminars I mentioned in the call — I felt like I didn’t quite belong yet. I assumed I hadn’t yet accomplished enough to earn my swagger.

What I learned (the hard way), was in reality, my insecurities were coming from the fact that I was too focused on an outcome from each encounter.

I felt like I had to impress people with what I’ve accomplished for them to take me seriously.

That’s backwards. And as I explained in the call, when you approach someone with genuine curiosity about them and what they do… they very naturally become interested in you and what you do.

That’s how healthy friendships (and partnerships) are formed, right? It starts with two people showing a sincere interest in one another.

So, hopefully, the story of my awkward encounter with Yanik Silver will help others avoid the trap.

The idea of “networking” is actually pretty inviting when you remove the pressure of “what’s in it for me” and instead think, “how can I help this person.”

I know that may sound kinda hokey, but it really works.

Here’s another good “networking” tip… this one I heard from Michael Masterson (incredibly cool cat, no matter what the cynics say) at ETR Bootcamp back in November… (which, by the way, I was invited to by my (now) good friend, MaryEllen Tribby, after meeting her briefly at another event just weeks before.)

(Not trying to name-drop here, just show that if an awkward goof like me can do this — anyone can.)

Michael and I were chatting when a guy approached him, looking perplexed. He said, “Michael, I’ve always heard that the best way to network is to walk up and say to people: ‘Hi, I’m Ed, what can I do for you?’ But I’ve been doing that all day,” Ed continued “and people just look at me with blank stares.”

Michael asked Ed what he was in a position to actually offer a guy like Clayton Makepeace (whom had given him the blankest of stares). Ed replied, “Well, nothing really, I think that’s why it’s weird.”

Obviously, Ed was using similar advice to the kind I just gave a minute ago a bit too rigidly. It’s important to enter a conversation with business leaders realistically.

If the person you approach is so much more advanced in their career that you couldn’t possibly offer help to them — then directly asking them “what can I do for you?” will seem silly and desperate. Especially if they’ve not even had a chance to get to know you yet.

Michael gave him some good advice on how to engage the person more genuinely. He said, “Instead of trying of trying offer them something when you’ve really got nothing… just ask them for advice.”

That’s a good tip because most people love to share their knowledge. It strokes their ego a bit, and makes them feel good if they can actually help you out.

Let’s face it… none of us got were we are today without the generous advice and guidance of people more experienced than us. Most of us remember that — and are happy to return the favor when given the chance.

So, the key to “networking” with anyone, anywhere, no matter how accomplished they are… is to just be genuine and curious.

Try it and see.

All the best,

Kevin

Something different today and I think you’re gonna dig it.

Last week at ETR’s Bootcamp, Mike Koenigs inspired me to rush out an buy a Kodak z18 pocket cam, and I’m putting it to good use.

Here’s how: I’ve found that if you approach life with an open mind and an eagerness to learn…

… we can learn something valuable from everyone we meet. And every lesson of value in life also contains an important lesson in sales.

So, I’ll be interviewing my good friends (and total strangers) about the tactics they use to sell and sharing these quick and dirty videos with you.

Yesterday my good friend, Lou Angelwolf, stopped by the house for coffee and spontaneously became the first interview in the series.

There are 3 Big Lessons in this 8 minutes clip, and several more quick ones that can help you sell more — better.

I hope you find it useful, and as always, your comments are encouraged.

Kevin