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| The Client Letter |
| An Astonishingly Powerful Marketing Secret I Learnt From A Tortoise! |
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September 5, 2011 Leigh, Kent [Editor’s note: Michael Silk, Editor of The Silk Report is filling in for today’s issue of the Client Letter.] Today I’m going to share with you THE most powerful and profitable success “secret” you could ever deploy in marketing your business. A Tortoise. If there’s one place that freelancers and professional service providers screw up their chances of high fees, it’s the very FIRST time they talk with a prospective client… in 23 short minutes, you can make sure you don’t make this expensive mistake.
I’ll explain in a second. Right after, this true story: Back in the 1970’s a young American set up in business as a commercial real estate broker. This young real estate broker was professional… knowledgeable… diligent… hardworking… and… honest. What you would call a model real estate broker. Trouble was, for the first 3-years in business… This Broker Was “Stiffed”
Out Of Many Commissions That Were Rightfully His. And I’m not talking pocket change here. Which let’s face it… SUCKS BIG TIME! But guess what? In his 4th year of business, our young real estate broker put together 6 major deals. Not only that, he got paid the full commission he was owed on each deal. And to top it all off… over that 12-month period… he got paid a total of… wait for it… $849,901.39. Which is probably worth close to 4-times that amount in “today’s money.” What changed? Well first, let me tell you what didn’t change:
In other words, for all intents and purposes… The Real Estate Broker Was Exactly
The Same Person He’d Always Been. Actually that is not entirely true. At least not from the point of view of the sellers and buyers of the properties he brokered. See what this young real estate broker did (after 3-years of getting his teeth kicked in on every deal) was put into place a number of strategic measures that… Elevated His Posture In The Mind
Of Both The Buyer & Seller On Each Deal. No longer was he “just another” annoying broker to be squeezed out of the deal. Now he was getting the respect… and most importantly the money… he was entitled to. And the only thing that changed was his… POSTURE. Do you understand what I mean by posture? Your posture (in the business sense) is the level of authority and leadership other people perceive you to have in a business deal. The operative word in the above sentence is perceived. Because remember, in marketing yourself (which we all must do): perception is reality. Bottom line: If you are perceived as having a strong posture… People Will “Dance To Your Tune.”
Especially prospects and clients. They will give you the respect you deserve. They will follow your instructions. And, they will pay you what you are worth. And the neat thing is: You Have A Lot Of Control Over
The Way You Are Perceived. A lot more than you probably realise. By the way, I call this posture control process “mind frame engineering.” For example, when I strategize a marketing promotion I spend a lot of time thinking about how I can engineer a positive and receptive “mind frame” in a prospective customer or client… Before I Ever Offer Anything For
Sale Or Attempt To Close A Deal. This is not done overtly, of course. It’s very subtle. But very powerful. Because what I’m really engineering is a “mind frame”… That Makes People Want To Buy From Me
Without Me Having To Sell Them. Or, in the case of our young real estate broker – it made the parties to the deal want to pay him every penny he was owed at closing; instead of screwing him. And so, it is my contention (and the contention of many others)… that… THE most powerful and profitable thing you can do in your business is… Consciously & Deliberately Guide People
To Perceive You As Having A Strong Posture. I’m not talking about misleading people. Or worse yet, lying to people. Guide people. Remember: it’s your responsibility to “frame” how people view and perceive you. And one excellent way to do this is to create what I call… An Industry Watchdog Consumer
Awareness Report (Or Audio CD). This report (audio CD) does at least three things:
By the way, you’re probably wondering — why the reference to the tortoise at the beginning of this post? It’s because the real estate broker in the above story was Robert Ringer – and in his excellent book, Winning Through Intimidation – Robert Ringer refers to himself as “The Tortoise”. Here’s an “on the money” quote from Robert Ringer: “It’s not what you say or do that counts, but what your posture is when you say or do it.” Words to live by! Talk soon!
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