- July 26, 2018 -
I'm going to tell you a story.
And by including a few small details, I'm going to attempt to get you to draw a certain conclusion...a wrong conclusion.
Don't try to read between the lines, just listen to the story. Are you game?
(Clue: if you're fan of Perry Marshall, you may have heard the story - but listen anyway and play along with me 'cause I'm gonna up the ante.)
Perry's friend and colleague John Paul Mendocha dropped out of high school when he was 17.
The kid hitchhiked to Vegas and decided to become a professional gambler.
After a few weeks running loose on the Vegas strip all alone, he was feeling a little over his head and figured he needed some street smarts.
So he found a guy name Rob who ran a professional gambling ring and asked him if he'd mentor him.
Rob agreed...in exchange for a cut in his winnings.They both shake on it.
Young John wastes no time in asking, "So how do I win more poker games?"
Rob says, "Well...you gotta play games you know you can win. Which means you gotta play people who are gonna lose. You gotta play people who are less smart than you. And those people are called marks.
"Jump in the car, kid. Time for lesson #1."
Rob pulls into a strip club and they sit down.
Music's pounding.
Women are snaking around dance poles.
There's a lot of drinking and all kinds of distractions.
Rob pulls out a sawed-off shotgun from inside his jacket and slips it under the table. He opens the chamber and racks it so that it goes...
Right there...under the table in the club.
A few people look around, trying to see where the racking sound is coming from.
Bill, the owner of the club, comes over to their table. “Hey, everything OK over here, boys?”
“Everything’s fine, Bill. Just teaching the lad a lesson.”
Then Rob leans over and says to John. “John, did you see those people who turned around? Those guys are NOT marks.
Don’t play poker with them. Boy, your job is to play poker with everyone else...'cause they're not street smart.”
STOP!!
So what is the marketing lesson you got from this?
+ To find suckers who you can pull the wool over their eyes?
+ To find people not as smart as you to make the most money off of?
I've heard this story several times, and every time...it just hits me the wrong way.
Now, I know this isn't the lesson Perry intended.
My point is that unless you nuance your message the right way...you're going to attract the wrong people.
Or you'll push away the right people.
The point Perry is making is that everything you do in marketing is racking the shotgun.
Some people will find you on Google; some won’t.
Some will click on your ad; some won’t.
Some will open your emails, some won’t.
Some will book a free consult, some won't.
It’s all racking the shotgun.
You send one calculated signal that most ignore, but a few will respond to.
Those who turn their heads are the 20% you want to work with.
[leadpages_leadbox leadbox_id=14555ac46639c5] [/leadpages_leadbox]
