The Other Callisthenes Gave Him A Lesson In Salesmanship
Callisthenes was an early biographer of Alexander The Great, who was portrayed as a role model for salesmen in this previous post.
Alexander The Great came along just before Mike The Mighty, um…, that would be me 
Recently, while doing some research, trying to keep up with one of Copyblogger’s great posts using a historical figure to metaphorically teach a marketing or sales lesson, I came across this story and wanted to share it with you.
A young salesman was asked just where he got his habits that had led to his great success.
” Callisthenes. “
The sales manager knew that Callisthenes was an early biographer of Alexander The Great, but wondered how he’d helped this young man, so he found out the Socratic way, he asked.
” Who ? No sir, my Callisthenes is the guy who wrote advertising editorials for Selfridge’s Store in London. “
It seems the young man had come across a book of advertising editorials and had devoured them and had taken them to heart.
I’d personally give a King’s ransom for 3 or 4 like him.
He had gotten out of college, full of piss and vinegar, and had read everything salesy he could find.
One passage he especially took note of was:
” We hope that no visitor ever leaves our building without finding that it is a place of understanding and friendship. “
He’d paraphrased it to say :
” I hope no customer I ever see fails to find me a salesman of understanding and friendship. “
My wife said it like this to someone the other day, bless her sweet heart :
” When he talks to a customer on the phone, he treats them like they’re the only person on the face of the earth. “
To me, for that few seconds or minutes, they are.
I Want Candy - The Mantra Of Today’s Website Visitors
Back in the Big 80’s, pop culture icons Bow Wow Wow screamed “I want candy !”.
Today, website visitors are screaming the same thing. They want candy. They want free samples. They want a little taste.
Several bloggers in my RSS feed reader are already giving them a free, downloadable sample.
For instance, David Meerman Scott gives away a free ebook, titled The new rules of PR: How to create a press release strategy for reaching buyers directly.
Seth Godin’s latest free ebook is called Flipping The Funnel.
Mike Stelzner gives away a sample chapter of his book, Writing White Papers.
Thom Singer lets you take a free Networking Quotient.
Rich Brooks and the gang over at Flyte Blog give away articles and advice.
Brian Clark, over at Copyblogger, started by giving away Viral Copy and now he has over 21,000 RSS subscribers.
I’m sure I could have found a few more, but you get the point. You need to have a free, downloadable sample of your work handy for those first time visitors.
Do you want over 20k RSS subscribers ? Give it away.
Want to see your free ebook downloaded over 250K times ? Give it away.
Want to have book publishers slobberknockin’ over your next novel ? Give it away.
Want to find a co-author for your next project ? Give it away.
If you have another example of candy you’re giving away that I wasn’t aware of, feel free to link to it in the comments and give it away.
Weekend Link Lust In Quotable Form
I caught up on my reading today, by reading the last 4 issues of USA Today, our local newspaper and a couple of magazines.
Somewhere in those four days worth of local newspapers, I read a comic strip called Get Fuzzy.
I adapted this quote from a line I read and you can feel free to use it, steal it, adapt it or ignore it. Your choice.
” Feed me food and I exist. Feed me links and I live ! “
If that’s not a bloggers creedo, feel free to enlighten me as to what is.
Have at it.
Friday Night Link Leak
Okay, it’s friday night and Jet Li’s got a new movie - War - that starts in about an hour, so instead of a lengthy post, how about a link leak to a great post on a great blog.
My blog buddy, Brad Shorr’s post about 4-Star sales people and their 4 qualities was a “winner, winner chicken dinner” as we say here in the country.
The line about how they take things personally, was a really good blog post idea starter for me, so you’ll see that one … soon.
Click thru and enjoy and if you don’t already, subscribe to his RSS feed and give him a chance to enlighten, educate and entertain you.
You gotta like a blog that concentrates on ACTION !
If You Gotta Drive Around For 29 Hours …
Over the last two days, I’ve been out, driving around, from jobsite to jobsite, visiting customers, dropping off samples, attending pre-construction meetings, taking pictures of projects, etc., to the tune of 29 hours in two days.
If you have to be gone that much, drive that long, eat that much road food, etc, the best thang that could happen is for you to get about 45 minutes from home and see this sunset.
Me and my Casio took this shot out the window of my Camry, at about 75 MPH. Not bad for my minimal skills.
Please click on it to see a larger view.
Sunsets like that are why I live in the western part of Kentucky. That and Miranda Lambert on my Sirius Satellite Radio, singing Everybody Dies Famous In A Small Town, cranked up really, really loud, windows down on my Camry, about 75 MPH and the smell of home cooked food in my nostrils. Yes, I can smell my wife’s cookin’ from 45 minutes away. It’s that damn, good.
Sorry there’s no sales advice here today, but I’m too dang tired to try. Enjoy the sunset and be glad you didn’t work 29 hours in two days.
Oh, and go buy Miranda’s CD, it’s that damn good, too !
Can A Salesman Learn To Pitch ?
A few years ago, my family and I used to spend about 55 evenings a year at Louisville Slugger Field. I sold the block and brick used to build it. Maybe my favorite sale of all time.
Some of my customers and a few suppliers used to call me while I was there and they’d hear the ballgame in the background. It would have been after 6 PM when they’d call and they were surprised not to get my voicemail.
They’d always ask, ” Do you guys go to every game ? “ And I’d have to say yes. I’d tell ‘em I love baseball and I learn something about selling and people every time we go.
I’d always wanted some concrete evidence to share and I finally found some.
An old-time salesman who happened to be a big baseball fan, like I am ( Go Cardinals ! ), told this story:
” Baseball made me a better salesman, so my time was well spent. “
I wanted to know the answer, so I let him finish the story.
For years his idol had been Carl Hubbell, an old-time Giants great. He knew every stat the man had created and followed his career in it’s entirety.
” I discovered the secret to his success and that’s what made the difference in my sales career. His secret was that he never pitched to the batters weakness, but to his strength. “
That went against everything I thought I knew, so I had to have him clarify that for me. Their strength and not their weakness ? That would be, um… different and I never heard that before.
” Most batters have a weakness and most pitchers try to exploit it. Then they concentrate on it. Then every other pitcher follows suit and tries the same thing.
Hub used his head and figured that if every pitcher was throwing to that weakness, after enough tries and practice, it could become the batters strength. He pitched batters different than very other pitcher they’d face.
I used that idea in selling. I studied my prospects and pitched to their strengths. In other words, I was completely different than every other salesman my customers faced. And it worked for me.
Another thing I learned from Hubbell was self-confidence. He had it and plenty of it, because he was good at what he did.
Every time he was faced with a difficult situation and came thru, his self-confidence grew. “
After I heard that, I actually tried it and it worked fairly well for me. I’ve sold people who I was told I’d never sell, purely because I was coming from a far different angle than they expected.
Play to your customers strengths, don’t pick at their weaknesses and they’ll see you as more of an equal and less of an adversary.
I Hate Myself For Loving Long Copy
My buddy Brian Clark over at Copyblogger is the reigning king of Rockstar marketing posts and I sure don’t want to start a war of words with such a skilled warrior, but I feel like somebody has to at least give him a run for his money.
Over the last few weeks, while designing a campaign for a golf related product, I’ve lost some sleep waiting for the right words to make their way into my brain, down thru my fingers and on the screen.
Then, while riding down a lonely highway, listening to The Big ’80’s on my Sirius Satellitle Radio, I heard Joan Jett’s version of I Hate Myself For Loving You and, as I sometimes do, I tried to quickly write a new version of the song, before my ADD kicks in and I’m off doing and thinking something else.
Below is what I came up with. After you read this, click thru to one of Brian’s many posts that compare long and short copy.
Then, try to write some great Celebrity Marketing Posts and see if we can knock The King off his pedestal.
I Hate Myself For Loving Long Copy
Midnight gettin’ uptight, got long-copy to write
I should be done, now it’s quarter to two
I know I’m hangin’ but I got rent that’s due
Hey Jack it’s a fact, they’re talkin’ on blogs
I turn my back and they’re puttin’ you down
I’m not really jealous don’t like lookin’ like a clown
So write long-copy every night and day
You’ll make more sales and make your bills go away
I hate myself for loving long-copy
But I can’t break free from the the things it’ll do
I wanna walk but I run back to you that’s why
I hate myself for loving long-copy
Daylight spent the night writin’ you
I’ve been dreamin’ ’bout the convertin’ you’ll do
I won’t be angry ’bout the hell you put me through
Hey words betcha you can treat me right
I just know I was writin’ all night
I wanna see ‘em beggin’, say pay me just for spite
I hate myself for loving long-copy
But I can’t break free from the the things it’ll do
I wanna walk but I run back to you, that’s why
I hate myself for loving long-copy
If You Market On The ‘Net, You Need Sonic Toolkit
If you don’t need to promote anything on the ‘net, you can skip the rest of this post.
Sometimes I get emails that ask me about some of the resources we use to help us operate, promote and maintain 50+ websites and blogs.
How do you build lists ? How do you run Ask-type campaigns ? How do you add audio to websites ? How do you add video ? How do you test and track ? How did you cloak your affiliate links ? And many more.
Well, the truth is, many, many moons ago, I was introduced to Jay Jennings (shown above)and he’s always provided me with the exact same tools he uses in his own marketing ventures, so I haven’t had to shop around very often.
And when someone else has something great, but WAY overpriced, Jay can usually code/program up a tool that will enable us to do the same thing … only for less money.
Now days, Jay has gone the way of the membership site model, so I jumped on board as soon as he sent me the email.
Why would I join a site that has the same tools I already own most of ? Simple. You just know he’s going to make sure those tools stay updated first, because he wants those members to stay subscribed, so he can stay in the wilds of Alaska and code like a demon in the wilderness !
And besides, what the heck is $14.95 a month added on my Visa bill. I just got back from taking my wife to Starbucks and spent that much !
Here’s the deal. Jay has taken a slew of internet marketing tools and has packaged several of them together in one membership site called Sonic Toolkit.
The first three tools are Sonic Memo Express, which is just about the fastest and easiest way to get streaming mp3’s on your web site or blog - Sonic Syndicator, which lets even non-geeky people use RSS feeds on their site (it’s even attached to a database of tens of thousands of articles you can use) and Sonic Flycatcher, which (despite the funky name) is one of the fastest ways to do market research for any niche. It can also be used to generate content for blogs, ebooks, info products, etc., which is what we quietly do with PPC ads and this simple little tool.
Here’s the slickest thing about the Sonic Tookit site. Jay’s adding new tools on a regular basis and every three tools he adds, the price goes up … except for those who’re “grandfathered” in.
Whatever the price is when you join, that’s what you pay for the entire time you’re a subscriber … no matter how many tools he adds.
I personally think Sonic Toolkit is a “must have” for any internet marketer who wants to increase the conversions and drive more traffic to their website or blog.
I’m hoping you see the value and that there’s no way to lose and get you in before the price goes up. He emailed me today and said he has 2 of the three new tools ready to add, so you need to hurry over and join before he gets the 6th tool ready.
Besides the first three, Sonic Memo Express, Sonic Flycatcher and Sonic Syndicator, he’s got the 4th tool (Sonic Flix) coming out of “open beta” in a couple days and the latest tool, Sonic Test & Track (split testing and ad/link tracking) is in “closed beta” (only certain people get access to it) right now and will probably be opened up later this week.
Like I said, that means he’s ONE new tool away from the next price increase. When he adds the 6th tool, he’ll be increasing the price from $14.95 per month to $19.95 and, of course, if you’re in before the price goes up, you don’t EVER pay a higher price, you lock in your price no matter how many new tools are added.
Think about it. It’s $14.95 to join and see if these tools can help you market your blog, your site, your service or your product more effectively, more efficiently or more economically. Surely you can see the value in giving it a try.
Click thru to Sonic Toolkit and give it a try. Simple, huh ?
Here’s a video, if you need more info:
Madonna’s Miffed About Her Tips At Friday’s
” Hi guy’s ! Are you good tippers ? “
That’s how my lunch partner and I were greeted by a host at the Friday’s we ate lunch in last Wednesday.
Apparently, the waitress, who was actually named Madonna, got stiffed by her last customers.
So the guy who seated us actually asked me that. I said, ” Heck yeah. He’s rich and I’m well off. “ What the heck do you say at a time like that ?
Madonna came by to take our drink orders, so I tried to stir up a little conversation by say, ” I’ve got all of your CD’s ! “
She said, in a flat, dry monotone, ” I don’t have any of my CD’s.”
My half-a-club and French onion soup was fine, the service was fine and Madonna seemed competent enough, but the words the host greeted us with seemed to leave a pall over the entire lunch.
My partner paid for lunch and left the tip. He didn’t do her any big favors.
My question for you guys is this;
What the heck do you say to a host like that and would you have left a big-o-wad ?
EDIT - Jeffrey Eisenberg pointed out this great article about tips, which I think you should read, so I’m giving you the chance to read it and prosper.
Study Proves People Love Them Some Them
I just read several things that all salesmen and copywriters should already know:
People love them some “them”. A lot.
We knew that already, but I didn’t know just how much.
A study of college-aged women included this test: The women were given a pen and paper and asked to write anything they wanted.
460 out of 500 wrote their own name.
Shown a map, 447 out of 500 pointed to their hometown.
I’ve personally seen people look at a group picture and immediately ask, ” Where am I ? “
Self-interest sells.
Feel free to use it.
I do.
