Reading time: 6 – 9 minutes
“Give a Man Just Enough Rope….
And he’ll hang himself with it.”
Its an old saying. In a nutshell – if somebody isn’t doing right,
if he’s lying or he’s doing something he doesn’t feel proud of…
And you are pretty sure of it – just give him enough rope and
he’ll hang himself.
Show his colors, as they say.
You know, I’ve been called arrogant and some people no doubt
condemn my business as being a lowly form of money-grubbing.
The truth is that money is a motivation but its not a higher
priority than integrity or honesty to me.
I called an old lead today. It was a guy who had expressed
serious interest in Jaguar Platinum a while back and he had
never followed through. I called him to see if he was still
in the market for an income program.
As soon as he learned what I was calling about he told
me he wasn’t looking anymore because he had found something.
Immediately he boasted of his income to me. I didn’t ask
and I’m unimpressed by income claims, but he bragged anyway.
Our conversation was very brief. As soon as he finished
telling me how much money he was planning to make in
the next month and telling me he was on the fast track -
well I just told him right out :
“I’m not interested in cash gifting,”
He said, “I feel sorry for you,” and hung up on me.
As soon as this guy’s very crude attempt to bully me into
giving him money (its cash gifting so there is no product
or value promised in the transaction) he basically spit
on me.
Yeah. Thats what it felt like. It felt like he spat in
my face.
I have encountered such things before of course. But
here’s the thing –
This man claimed to be in business of a sort. But as soon
as he revealed his contempt for me – because I just said,
in a nutshell :
“I’m not going to send you cash in the mail for nothing,”
His response of saying, “then I feel sorry for you,”
is totally unprofessional and not even decent human
behavior.
Now THAT tells me everything. It tells me his motivation
is unmitigated self-interest and greed. It tells me that this
man does not feel good about himself and what he is doing.
It tells me he probably doesn’t sleep well at night.
…because he has put his desire for money as a primary
value, far more important to him than respect for other
people.
Now this in fact coincides with my views about cash gifting
programs – that they appeal to unmitigated greed, not the
desire to add value and respect to the marketplace.
This guy just confirmed my opinion.
So don’t call me asking me if I would like to participate in
a cash-gifting plan. I won’t do it. Its ammoral and warped
in my opinion and it’s asking for trouble.
I can feel dozens of people unsubscribing right now…
people who have got themselves involved in these things.
ANYHOW – when you express contempt for a person who
isn’t interested in joining your program you establish very
firmly a picture in that person’s mind of who you are and
what you are about.
Now I WILL ADMIT that every time I talk with a good
business prospect and the person doesn’t move forward
I feel a twinge of disappointment.
I sometimes feel like I’m not a very good salesman. Sometimes
I doubt the value of the persuasiveness of my writing and
sometimes I wonder if somehow I have offended the other
person.
I’ve been at this for awhile though and I have a pretty
thick skin. I don’t take rejection personally but I do wonder
if I could have presented everything in a better way.
Its been a point of pride for me that I try to take the viewpoint
of the guy or girl who is just starting out and wants to make
some money. I know they want wealth but they also want
the truth about things. SO I tell it like it is:
- Success takes work, more than you expect it to. Its not
like the WORK is done in breezzy interludes between
martinis. You have to apply yourself on a daily basis.
- You have to read and educate yourself to do this business
effectively.
- Most people who stumble in this business do so out of
ignorance.
- Marketing on the internet is NOT a thing you do for
a couple of minutes now and then, especially at first
you need to take some time to learn how to do it. Only
after you have built a foundation in your marketing efforts
can you ease-off and watch the systems work on their own,
automatically.
- Mentoring and coaching and all that stuff helps, but you
have to have a passion for what you are doing first and
foremost. If you are going to be a successful marketer you
need to take an ACTIVE INTEREST in EDUCATING
YOURSELF on the subject.
I know that when you are just starting out in business you
have limited resources. Thats why I teach and encourage
you to do all sorts of things that are NOT glamorous,
sweat-equity activities that save you money and build
your experience at the same time.
I’m a good sponsor because I am actually a down-in-trenches
marketer – and I’m good at it only because I worked hard
to get where I am.
I don’t want you to perceive success with any Bigger-ticket
program like Jaguar-ms.com or Liberty League to be an easy
ticket to getting rich.
Sure, these things can be profitable business ventures but ONLY
if and when you go to work like I did.
And treating people with respect.
And getting straight on your values.
Because success, if its built on lies and contempt for other
people isn’t a success most of us would want.
And I suppose I feel sorry for the man who feels sorry
for me – because I don’t have to boast about earnings to
know I am doing something worthwhile – or to enroll
people in my business.
WHY is that?
Simple.
I add value to the marketplace.
All real wealth is built by bringing value to the marketplace
and understanding your potential customers. This is basic
stuff. It’s in famous books like Think and Grow Rich – it’s
self-evident in our normal buying behavior. We want to get
value for our dollars.
Look for ways you can do that and you can make a lot of
money.
And you’ll be able to sleep at night. Something I suspect
the man I spoke with could not do.
The post author, Loren Woirhaye writes sales copy and creates marketing systems for business clients who want to slash customer acquisition costs and position their businesses For 20%-30% sales growth in the next 12-18 months. He writes regularly about marketing and life at his Entrepreneur Blog.
