Dilbert Cube Escape Plan: Rainmaker
It was terrifying to leave the “safety” of the Dilbert Cube. I couldn’t help but remember all the times before, when I was attempting to sell and recruit. Back then I would *always* miss my monthly goals.
Yes, my new post-Dilbert Cube life was much more promising. Still I had to overcome my old Fear Of Failure. It was sooooo easy to imagine my post-Dilbert Cube life being the same as before.
Plus this was right after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and nobody was spending money on anything then. <GULP>
So I make a list of literally a dozen things I can do, all of them for other companies.
My first opportunity is at this company in Arkansas. They have a new product they want to start selling. I spend half a day with this CEO and I pummel him with questions.
Suddenly in the middle of the afternoon it all snaps together in my mind. I ask him:
“If you combine your advertising, plane trips, trade shows, booth babes, software demos and everything else, how much $ do you spend to get 1 new customer?”
He thinks for awhile.
“Fifty thousand dollars.”
I say, “If I could reduce that number to $15,000 would that be good?”
“That would be great.”
“Then that’s what I’m going to do. I’ll put together an action plan.”
I send him my plan. I’m going to write him a white paper, a lead generation page for his website, and place 2 magazine articles for him. It’s going to take 2 months and I’m gonna charge him $7500 per month.
He accepts it. 19 days into my post-Dilbert Cube life, I have my first client.
That’s how I replaced my income in 19 days. No regrets, never looked back.
[Did you notice??? I just gave you a HUGELY powerful technique, right here. Somebody who read this story will have made $10,000 from this by the middle of next week, if not sooner.]
When you consult, you really sell MONEY AT A DISCOUNT. If you know what their numbers are [and by the way *they* usually don't, you have to help them] and what the new numbers need to be, you can find a piece of the pie that makes sense for you.
Personally I believe that you should offer assurance of tangible results. Not just a huge list of things that your client should do that hopefully might someday make some customers have good feelings about them.
Don Crowther has been making a living as a marketing consultant for something like 10 years now and he “sells results not procedures” to his clients. He’s assembled a module in his course on “How to be a social media consultant.”
(Which in Don’s world is, uh, not the same as somebody who goes to parties and blabs about Twitter.)
Today is the last day that Don’s course is available. You can get the full story here:
Thursday: Euro Economic Turnaround Teleseminar
Just got off the phone with one of my Roundtable members in the UK, discussing economic uncertainty. She says, “A client who had committed to a £200,000 project suddenly chopped it down to a fraction of the size because of budget cuts.”
“They asked if they could rush the remaining scraps of the project through right away so they could squeeze it in before the end of their fiscal quarter.”
A lot of folks are struggling to orient themselves. Clarity, focus and courage have never been more prized than they are at this moment.
Welcome to the tunnel of chaos.
For this reason I’ve arranged to have corporate turnaround expert John Paul Mendocha join me on a teleseminar Thursday July 29 at 3:00pm London UK Time. This is our Economic Turnaround Teleseminar, focused on a narrow range of actions you can take right now to generate cash this week and move to higher ground.
John has stared down many a freight train. John is THE guy CEO’s call when the ship is sinking and even the rats are jumping over the side and fleeing to safety. He has transformed dozens of failing companies to high profitability and market dominance in 3-18 months. His toolbelt is full of fast-action tactics. On this call we will deliver one hour of sharply honed, focused advice on how to make your sales go UP while everyone else panics.
Time: Thursday July 29 at 3:00pm London UK Time. (14:00 GMT, 10:00am US Eastern Time, 9:00am US Central Time, 7:00am Pacific time, 12:00am July 30 Sydney Australia time).
Phone: (+1) 212-990-8000
Pin: 7733#
Perry Marshall
P.S.: Everyone who registers for my September UK seminar (www.perrymarshall.com/uk) can join me for a 2nd hour on a private conference line immediately following this call. I will personally answer ANY question you have about any aspect of your business or turnaround strategy. There will only be a small number of people on this 2nd call so you will get personal attention.
Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorem: The Universe, Mathematics and God
80 years ago, Kurt Gödel toppled empires of mathematical philosophy with his famous Incompleteness Theorems.
I’m every bit as interested in science, philosophy and engineering as I am in business. Gödel’s theorem has profound implications for how we understand the world.
The materialist view is popular in secular circles. It states that the laws of physics and the universe we know are all that is. It sees the universe as a giant machine. It assumes that everything we experience is purely the result of blind cause and effect. It scoffs at the idea that there is any such thing as God or metaphysics.
This view was epitomized by “Logical Positivism” which was espoused by a group known as “The Vienna Circle” in Austria, led by Ludwig Wittgenstein. Logical Positivism says that anything that cannot be experimentally verified or mathematically proven is invalid.
The Logical Positivists were confident that very soon, all the loose ends of mathematics would be nailed down by a single unifying theory. The world would finally fully embrace reason and logic and leave the failures of religion behind.
Kurt Gödel was a member of the Vienna Circle and in 1931 proved that a single unifying theory was impossible. He proved that the goal of the Logical Positivists was unachievable. This was a devastating blow.
Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorem says that any system that is complex enough to express mathematics cannot prove, by itself, that everything it says is true. It will always rely on something outside the system that you have to assume is true but cannot prove.
You can then step outside the system and complete your proof, but in order to do that you will now have to invoke something else from the outside. So you keep expanding ever outward, invoking still more things that you cannot prove.
This was very disturbing to mathematicians, because mathematicians hate uncertainty.
Many people have raised the question of whether Gödel’s incompleteness theorem applies to the universe itself. If the universe is mathematical, then yes in fact it does.
Stated in Formal Language:
Gödel’s theorem says: “Any effectively generated theory capable of expressing elementary arithmetic cannot be both consistent and complete. In particular, for any consistent, effectively generated formal theory that proves certain basic arithmetic truths, there is an arithmetical statement that is true, but not provable in the theory.”
The Church-Turing thesis says that a physical system can express elementary arithmetic just as a human can, and that the arithmetic of a Turing Machine (computer) is not provable within the system and is likewise subject to incompleteness.
Any physical system subjected to measurement is capable of expressing elementary arithmetic. (In other words, children can do math by counting their fingers, water flowing into a bucket does integration, and physical systems always give the right answer.)
Therefore the universe is capable of expressing elementary arithmetic and like both mathematics itself and a Turing machine, is incomplete.
Syllogism:
1. All non-trivial computational systems are incomplete
2. The universe is a non-trivial computational system
3. Therefore the universe is incomplete
Some time ago I posted an article about this: http://www.perrymarshall.com/articles/religion/godels-incompleteness-theorem/ and I was greatly interested in seeing if anyone would be able to poke a hole in this argument.
Nearly everyone agrees that math is incomplete. The idea that the universe is also incomplete apparently makes some people very uncomfortable. If the universe cannot explain itself then there has to be some kind of higher power at work.
The debate essentially comes down to this:
-If the universe is illogical and inconsistent then it is theoretically possible for it to be complete.
-If the universe is logical and consistent then it is impossible for it to be complete.
In other words, if the laws of mathematics and logic apply to the universe, then God has to exist.
You cannot prove that the universe is mathematical, but the idea that the universe is mathematical is the #1 assumption of modern science. Toss that assumption and the whole philosophical framework of western civilization crumbles.
In the history of science, you will find that belief in a God who created an orderly mathematical universe is one of the foundations of scientific discovery.
If you visit the world’s largest atheist website, Infidels, on the home page you will find the following statement:
“Naturalism is the hypothesis that the natural world is a closed system, which means that nothing that is not part of the natural world affects it.”
If you know Gödel’s theorem, you know that all logical systems must rely on something outside the system. So according to Gödel’s Incompleteness theorem, the Infidels cannot be correct. If the universe is logical, it has an outside cause.
Thus atheism violates the laws of reason and logic.
The Incompleteness of the universe isn’t proof that God exists. But… it IS proof that in order to construct a rational, scientific model of the universe, belief in God is not just 100% logical… it’s necessary.
Practically speaking, all knowledge we have about anything is incomplete. There are always some things you’re certain of, some things you’re somewhat sure of, and some things you cannot prove at all. Human knowledge is always enlarging the circle of what is known, but every question that we answer just raises three more questions. It never stops.
And I would submit to you that *this* is the essence of faith, as practiced by thinking, reasoning people.
Many people assume that religious faith is something that is embraced purely on the basis of emotion or intuition, and has nothing to do with facts or logic. This is completely untrue – at least in Christianity. Christianity does not ask you to believe without evidence or rational reason. Belief in God, in Jesus, and even the afterlife is based on historical claims, logical structures, and reasonable arguments.
The Christian life itself is in many ways the carrying out of a hypothesis: That if you follow these teachings you will have an excellent opportunity to experience success in your work, your family, and in your pursuit of meaning and answers for the deepest questions.
Perry Marshall
Social Media: The 3 stages of a revolution
Sometimes when a brand new, revolutionary thing comes along, hardly anyone notices. Except a few visionaries who do notice. They quietly make a fortune. (Think Microsoft. Computers were for geeks and then when everybody realized they needed one, Bill Gates made a bloody fortune.)
Other times, the brand new, revolutionary thing comes along, it’s fairly obvious to everyone that it’s going to be a BIG deal. (Think Internet. Everybody knew in the late 90’s that it was going to change the world.)
When that happens, hardly anybody makes a fortune. Instead there’s just this massive sea of chaos that’s all hype and no substance. (Remember?)
That’s Stage 1.
Stage 2 is, everyone gets disillusioned with it and takes their toys and goes home. Things calm down for awhile. (Think ‘Post-Dot-Com Crash.’)
Then in Stage 3, now that sanity has returned, the real practitioners go to work delivering real value. (Think ‘Pay Per Click.’)
Social media online is going through that exact same cycle. Social media is at stage 2.5 right now. The intense windstorm of nonsense is subsiding and the real players are beginning to emerge.
For broad social media strategy across all the various networks, I’d be hard pressed to name a more tuned-in, ruthlessly pragmatic specialist than Don Crowther. Don is releasing his Social Profit Landscape today and he’s assembled a series of outstanding video tutorials.
Today I’d like to encourage you to avail yourself of this resource. For 2 years, the buzz about social media was more annoying than your neighbor running his chainsaw on Sunday morning. Things are different now:
http://www.perrymarshall.com/socialmediavideos/
What to do when your entire industry suddenly crumbles
Imagine this: You’ve dominated the world market for centuries. Leaders in your business enjoy secure incomes and workers earn admirable wages. You’ve created a tradition of dignity, respect and superiority.
Then, unexpected foreign competition swarms in like carrion fowl. Within 24 months they crater your market share, destroy your margins and drive the major players into bankruptcy. Morale plummets, panic ensues. Wholesale economic destruction is imminent.
What will you do now? The future dangles delicately in the balance.
This is a true story. It already happened. An unlikely contender stepped on the playing field. A “dark horse” staged a dramatic turnaround and led not only his company, but an entire nation, to higher ground.
Do you feel the maw of the beast breathing on your neck? Get the rest of the story and a fresh dose of inspiration here:
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Many entrepreneurs are struggling right now and desperately need leadership and new confidence.
My commitment to you is to deliver to you the increased confidence, marketing knowledge, and most important, the business savvy that you need to overcome whatever challenges you confront right now.
My #1 channels for doing this will be Renaissance Club, Mastermind Club, and a new offering (not yet available) called Mastermind Pro. In the coming weeks you are going to see a wholesale re-invention of my membership programs so keep your eyes open.
Meanwhile I want you to always keep this in mind:
The solution to whatever problem you face right now already does exist, either in whole or in component parts that can be assembled. All you need to do is ask the right questions and present those questions to the right people.
That’s it. It really is that simple. As long as you remember this you’ll be level headed, even in the tunnel of chaos.
Today I invite you to ask me your questions in the comments section below. I will be able to respond to some of these directly right here on the blog. In other cases I will respond to them in upcoming emails. Please be as specific as you possibly can.
Your business and your success are important to me and my team and I are committed to delivering the finest Pay-Per-Click and online marketing education available.
Thanks for spending time with me today, and remember – just like the Swiss – you can re-invent your business and your industry too.
Perry Marshall
How a good man died because of bad marketing
My wife Laura is is by no means a “Marketing Maniac,” but she’s learned a thing or two from years of sleeping with a guy who is.
Laura is heavily involved with relief agencies that serve the poorest of the poor in India and Africa. Last winter she went to a conference in St. Louis where hundreds of charities were recruiting workers and raising funds.
Her comment to me upon arriving home:
“It’s incredibly depressing that the very people who are doing some of the most precious work in the entire world are the most abysmally horrible marketers.” And she plunks down a stack of brochures to prove the point. She says, “Half the time you had no idea what these people were doing, let alone why you would want to help them.”
A good man literally dies every day because those organizations haven’t bothered to master the art and science of communication. Heck, a 100 good men die every day because of their incompetence, maybe even 1000.
Early this morning I recorded a conversation with UK advertising legend Drayton Bird (The MP3 will be posted for Mastermind Club members). Drayton has been writing ads for literally 50 years now. In one sentence, Drayton explained why these organizations’ marketing is so bad:
“They think people are going to be interested in what they do simply because it’s good and important. They think their cause is so noble that they forget to think of anybody but themselves.”
Amen Drayton. And I gotta tell ya, this is a nearly universal affliction. I’m as guilty of it as anybody. I almost never hard sell, even when I should. I’m completely serious when I say that there are people out there whose business failed because I didn’t convince them to buy something that I sell.
Whatever it is that you do, there are people whose life is LESS good because you didn’t convince them to give THEIR money to YOU. Because what you sell is worth MORE than what you charge and you know it.
The better the product you sell, the more obligated you are to shout it from the mountain tops.
The irony is, it’s often the people with the most crappy products who invest the most effort into selling them. If you doubt me, turn on the TV and watch the infomercials. How many of them are selling some totally cheesy product that breaks after 1 week or doesn’t deliver the what’s promised, yet they’ve crafted and tested a brilliant sales pitch?
Why is it that crappy product = great marketing and saving lives = bad marketing???
Is there anything wrong with this picture?
NEVER let the virtue of what you sell lull you into laziness. If you’ve fulfilled the obligation of creating a good product that delivers the goods, then you have a 2nd obligation. Which is to sell it with gusto and enthusiasm.
You’ve got the goods. Now, stand and deliver.
Perry Marshall
P.S.: If you live in Europe, not being at my London seminar with Drayton Bird will cost you £50,000.
The most precious commodity is ATTENTION. How to get it:
There’s nothing harder to obtain – or more valuable to possess – than a few minutes of your prospect’s exclusive focus.
To get it, you don’t have to shout or be annoying or obnoxious. All you need is ONE clever idea, one arresting hook. Then suddenly she is listening to you intently.
On Thursday July 22 I’m doing a teleseminar on how to make that happen.
This session is precisely about discovering that magical, attention-getting hook. It’s at 12:30pm London Time (11:30am GMT, 9:30pm Sydney time, 6:30am US Central Time).
My guest is Drayton Bird, who for years was the right hand man of the legendary David Ogilvy. He has churned out hundreds of absolutely brilliant advertising campaigns. Now in his 70’s, he’s a legend to insiders in the business. Drayton is a guest at my London UK seminar September 10-12 (www.perrymarshall.com/uk).
He’s going to teach you his formula for finding the extraordinary within the ordinary, of making the familiar new and exciting.
If you come to this teleseminar with a desire to re-invent just one of your marketing campaigns, by the end of the hour you’ll know how to do it.
Date: July 22, 2010
Time: 12:30pm London, 11:30am GMT, 9:30pm Sydney, 6:30am US
Cost: Free
The number is a US telephone number, Country Code “1″: (+1) (646) 519-5860
Pin number 2665 followed by the # sign
Talk to you then!
Perry Marshall
Facebook cheers up nursing homes
Yesterday I heard from a very reliable source that Facebook has triggered a sea change in the nursing home industry. This comes from a client of one of my business mentors.
The #1 reason people die is their friends have died or been dispersed to the four winds; their family doesn’t visit them anymore, and they have no more reason to get up in the morning. I’m sure all of us have visited long-term care facilities and seen the blank stares and hopelessness of aged people living out their last days.
Facebook has changed that. There are many, many 77 year old folks in nursing homes who now have 60 Facebook friends and interact with them on an hourly basis. This is literally extending life spans – to the point of wreaking havoc in the long-term care industry.
This is because many of the payment models are based on people living only so long and their communities on Facebook are literally extending their lives.
(It’s also creating some interesting social gaffes. Like after a person dies, their friends are still getting reminders: “You haven’t reached out to Ethel for awhile. Send her a note. Click here to POKE Ethel.”)
It’s also obliterating illiteracy. Kids might be able to fake reading books in school, but they can’t fake writing comments on their friends’ pages. I seriously believe that within 5 years, nearly every single kid in the developed world will be able to read, write and type – because of Facebook.
Within 10 years, the same will be true in developing countries – because of mobile phones. Yesterday I saw a video of men with pickaxes in Rwanda digging 6 foot trenches for fiber optic cable. Rwanda is rapidly becoming the most wired country in Africa.
To hard-core, driven business types, Facebook might seem like a toy. That’s what most people thought about the Internet 10-12 years ago. It turned out to be something much bigger than that, didn’t it?
I don’t know if Facebook is a perfect fit for your business or not, but if you haven’t taken our self-evaluation you might want to do that right now. It literally takes 60 seconds and you can do it at www.IsFacebookForMe.com.
Perry Marshall
Why Fancy Often Fails
When I was getting started in marketing, my favorite part was all the “unbelievably cool super flashy” stuff that I saw the masters do. Riveting headlines, ballsy copy, daring offers.
The problem was, when I tried to do the same thing with my customers it just didn’t sound right. It was almost like trying to stick a rock music drum solo in the middle of a country music song.
One of my fave rave UK musicians is Gavin Harrison. He’s the extraordinarily talented drummer for Porcupine Tree and on this video he talks about the rivalry between “technique” and real art. And how sometimes you don’t have to try nearly so hard to pull of something that’s really beautiful and effective:
Gavin’s ideas translate *exactly* to marketing, and to cultivating relationships with customers. In my London UK seminar in September, I’m going to focus on how you can accomplish more in less time by being more relaxed. By being less technique focused not more.
Fred in Accounting: Genius or Idiot?
Us marketers have a real interesting relationship with bean counters: We use them the wrong way. In 2 areas:
(1) We FAIL to have bean counters tell us how much money our promotions and sales funnels are making for us. Seriously, most of us don’t have any “cost accounting” on our advertising and product sales at all. We shoot from the hip. Dumb.
(2) We let our bean counters scrutinize our reps, distributors and affiliates. “Hey wait a minute, I don’t really think you have to keep paying Jeff for that customer you brought him last year.” We amputate a critical piece of our sales channel and we kill the goose that lays the golden egg.
That’s backwards. It happens, by the way, because the cost accounting of #2 is a whole lot easier to perform than #1. Accountants are notoriously shortsighted about marketing and business strategy anyway.
Here’s how it should be:
(1) Our bean counters should be telling us, in dollars and cents, how much those promotions are earning. Most of us have products we should get rid of. (Myself included! As soon as I’m done with this email I’m gonna go fix this.)
(2) Our bean counters should not be allowed to make personal staff and sales channel decisions. They don’t understand the nature of the relationship.
Let’s get this right. Again, I’m guilty of this myself. Gonna change this.
Robert Serling created a document called The 8 Questions and one of my favorite sections is called “Meet the Captain of Your Ship – Fred in Accounting.”
There’s some real gold here and I think you’ll benefit from these 8 questions:
http://profitalchemy.com/the8questions/
Perry Marshall
