My Magic Lamp

Have I ever mentioned my magic lamp?

Last night in one of the many social networks I am a member of I received an email from a new contact. This is somebody I have never talked to or met before.  Someone I could pass on the street with a simple “Hello” and keep going, in other words, a total stranger.Yet immediately  this poor soul hit me up with one of the oldest schlockiest lines from the “Some will, Some won’t, So what.” Salesman’s pitch handbook... “If I could show you a way to MAKE MONEY ….blah, blah, blah… throw in the word “FREE“, and “would you be interested?”

They followed up with the fact that I would have “OWNERSHIP in the company” just my sponsoring “X” number of people. For good measure they assumed that I still needed convincing beyond this point and that I should trust them.. so they assured me that “it’s not to good to be true.”

Finally they hit me with the call to action telling me that I needed to “call the number provided ASAP!”

In a recent post “Do you think like a customer” I detailed the top 10 things  potential customers find most important and it was not whether a person could make money or how much of it they could make but WHO was making the offer!

I get a dozens of these every day and usually politely decline but for some reason I felt sorry for this poor person. I must admit to enjoying a bit of humor interjected into things and wrote a reply with this in mind.

Remember, this is a person who
*does not know me, we have never met or talked before,
*knows nothing about me, am I rich, poor, single, married etc.,
*is a total stranger to me and whom I know nothing about either,
*has just, out of the blue, offered to show me how to make money,
*claimed I would “own” part of the company,
*asked me to take their word for it even though I don’t know them,
*urged me, based on all this, to call them ASAP

My reply followed in the exact same vein as their pitch to me, I made a incredulous claim… “Thank you for the offer NAME but I have a magic lamp that I rub and it grants me my every wish.”

I then gave some of my credentials (excerpt)…. “I have been in the business of sales/marketing for 51 years now. I have built 18 companies of my own,….” and in case they didn’t believe it and needed convincing I assured them that “I can read a pitch a mile away.”

Finally I told them that.. “It is sad to see that you have been sold a bill of goods with a lot of cleverly crafted hype, when you are ready to find your way to true freedom, wealth will just come with it. Give me a call ”.

I will not print the reply I received. *Sigh*

As I laid out years ago in my article “Wanna Get Married?” there is such a thing as too fast, too much and too soon.

The really sad part is I really “DO” have a magic lamp and it does work!  It is call relationship building or magnetic marketing and it works each and every time I use it!

I make friends, I give to those I know, I share my knowledge and skills with all, I care about people, I build long and lasting relationships and doors magically open, wealth accumulates almost as if its own.

Quote from Michelle Hoffmann:-
“Magnetic-Magic… not a lot of “net” difference in the results.”

If you do not know me how do you that you can help me?
If you do not know me how do you know what I need?
If you do not know me how do you know what I want?
If I do not know you why should I listen to you?
If I do not know you why should I believe you?
If I do not know you why should I trust you?

Lastly, and this one is about the company that was pitched to me, misrepresenting something in order to make a sale is a sure fire way of losing people fast. “Profit sharing” is NOT the same thing as “Ownership” in the company!

Most people can not sell, they are not salesmen and are not trained how to do it properly.  Handed a bunch of old fashioned lines and told to “Go get em” they are let loose to wreak havoc.  The moment your “ego” is part of the equation and “you” have to “make” the sale, you are doomed to fail most of the time.

Hard sells like this one do work, but they are sales and sales need to be done again and again and again and the attrition rate YIKES! Accosting strangers, hours on the phone, hundreds of “no’s” for just 1 yes… been there, done that and learned my lessons years ago.

So the next time you want to promote your business to a total stranger, it may be worth your while to actually get to know them first and then see who can help whom.

Otherwise you might end up trying to selling liquor at an AA meeting.
Some may fall off the wagon and buy from you but their friends will quickly jump in and help them ditch you in order to get them back on the straight and narrow.

And to the person from Los Angeles who inspired this posting…
Call me when your ready, my offer to help you still stands.