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This Auction is for Jay Abraham's 'Mr X' Book. RRP:
$477
It's an absolute goldmine of Marketing info, and it's
available here at a reasonable price. It's a must for anyone in
Business.
Here's what it contains:
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Contents
The Preamble - Jay tells the story
of the Mr X book.
Introduction - written by Mr X.
As Jay Abraham says "This book is a virtual encyclopaedia of
the world's most profound marketing lessons. It
will take years of experience for you to get it all down pat. You
should refer to this book again and again over the years ahead.
Each time you pick it up, you will learn new lessons of great
value. Never before has a marketing book contained so much wisdom
and so many money-making insights. Study it, apply the lessons and
in time, you too, can be acknowledged as a marketing genius."
Chapter 1 -
Customers
One of the biggest mistakes many companies make is to focus
too much of their time, effort and marketing budget in attracting
new potential customers at the expense of developing the strength
and financial value of existing customer/client relationships.
From Jay Abraham's perspective, it is different.
Your best prospects for increased business are your
existing customers and all the opportunities for
reselling, cross-selling and up-selling.
The Mr X book will tell you in detail the ways to strengthen
your customer relationships and to increase their value to you.
It covers the important
marginal net worth concept, a sample interview
between Jay and a client, the importance of capturing customer
names/details and follow-up marketing, sample sales letter to turn
an occasional customer into a regular subscription customer or to
encourage repeat business.
Chapter 2 -
Education
For Jay Abraham, one of the primary roles of marketing is to
educate your customers about your generic product and service and
then about your business and the unique advantages that you offer.
It may sound crazy but this includes a few of the less
positive things.
Why? Because if you admit a few issues that could put some
customers off, you increase the credibility of the remaining copy.
The purpose of this education is simple. To make a buying
decision with confidence, people need to understand and will
naturally favour the business that is trying to help them
understand. It just becomes obvious to follow their lead.
This chapter also includes one of my favourite Jay Abraham
techniques -
tell the customer why!
We are all subjected to so much advertising clutter and noise
that even if we notice an advert and it looks good, the almost
automatic reaction can be "it looks too good to be true."
So if you make a great offer, then explain why you are able
to do it and why you are doing it.
But your educational responsibility doesn't end when you make
the sale. People need to be educated on how they can get the best
out of your product and service and when they are using it
well, educated on the value that you are creating for them
The Mr X book also emphasises the importance of preemptive
advertising and tells the story of
Claude Hopkins and Schlitz beer.
In another nice little story of the difference it makes to
people walking around a museum to know that an unattractive piece
of art was considered a masterpiece as it is one of four that the
artist made in their career and that the others have been sold for
an average of $4 million. Instead of just dismissing it, you would
stop, look and try it appreciate the value that other people must
see. That is the value of education.
Chapter 3 -
Host Devices
This is a key chapter that could
make a massive difference to your business. It
covers the importance of host-beneficiary arrangements and is a
major cause of Jay Abraham's astonishing success in creating profit
for clients.
This is where you profit from helping someone else leverage
your customer relationships to sell their products and services. Or
alternatively you take advantage of other people's relationships to
be introduced to new, on-target prospective buyers.
The concept trades off the existing goodwill between customer
and supplier and uses it to introduce new products and services
that the buyer is likely to find attractive. This targets the
marketing like a laser beam while also carries the endorsement of a
third party.
This chapter of the Mr X book also includes a challenge. Are
the ways that you can work with competing businesses rather than
against them?
Nearly every business could benefit from some kind of
host-beneficiary arrangement and it's particularly applicable to
businesses that would otherwise only have a one-time sale. If
you've done all the hard work of finding the customer, convinced
them to buy, done a great job and they are delighted with you, it
would be an awful waste to allow the relationship to go cold.
This chapter is strong on making the deal happen and often,
this is where the big money is.
Many people are not familiar with Jay Abraham's host
beneficiary concept so if you approach a company with what you
think looks like a win-win deal, they may be suspicious and turn
you away.
But what if you apply your marketing skills? They'd listen
more if they truly understood "what's in it for me". They'd listen
more if you educated them about the concept, how they can benefit,
about you and your company and your commitment to providing great
products and services.
Chapter 4 -
Start-Up Marketing
This chapter moves away from Jay Abraham to the work of Jim
Cook with excerpts from his book "The Start-Up Entrepreneur".
It lists the
25 marketing must-do's for a new business and
emphasises how important it is that any
new business is designed from the customer's perspective.
Unfortunately the "better mousetrap myth" is a myth. The
first hurdle any small business faces is that customers have to
hear of their company and then they have to believe in it.
It also features an excerpt from Dale Carnegie's famous "
How To Win Friends And Influence People." It's at
the core of marketing - you offer what your prospective customers
want.
Henry Ford once said "If there is any one secret of success,
it lies in the ability to get the other person's point of view and
see things from that person's angle as well as your own." Simple,
yes. Obvious, yes. But do you systematically do it?
Chapter 5 -
Motivational Marketing
This time we move into the world of
Napoleon Hill and his famous book "
Think and Grow Rich" based on the money-making
insights of Andrew Carnegie and many other successful people of the
early twentieth century.
This chapter from Mr X summarises the lessons from the
ground-breaking book and reading the story makes me realise just
what a brave decision it was for Napoleon Hill to make.
Chapter 6 -
Unique Selling Proposition
After two chapters away from Jay Abraham's own thinking (but
drawing on sources that influenced his thinking) we are very much
back with Jay on the importance of developing a compelling
USP.
Just to remind you.
Your
USP or unique selling proposition is that distinct, appealing
idea that sets your business apart from every other "me-too"
competitor.
This is a much quoted and well known concept but
this chapter in the Mr X book nails the USP
concept.
Instead of talking loosely about how important it is to have
a USP, it gives many practical examples of how a USP can be built
around a particular customer focused criteria:
- a broad selection
- big discounts
- advice and assistance
- convenience
- top-of-the-line products
- speed of service
- superb service above and beyond the basics
- a comprehensive guarantee.
Being different is at the core of any successful strategy
and your USP is how you explain that difference in a few
words that can then be built into all your marketing
communications.
But it has to be much more than a marketing slogan. Your
existing customers have to believe in your USP as much as new
prospective customers and you can only make that happen if your
systems and people deliver the USP customer benefits.
In an interesting twist, which is just so typical of Jay
Abraham, it can even be used with dissatisfied customers.
Make a sincere apology, restate your USP, assure the customer
of your commitment and invite them back to try again with the
incentive of a special deal.
Chapter 7 -
Direct Response
This chapter sets the ground work for longer chapters on
advertising and direct mail.
What's the ultimate aim of advertising?
To sell more products and services.
Institutional advertising promotes the brand and may create
favourable associations that sneak into the sub-conscious, but
direct response marketing is "
salesmanship in print".
Its purpose is clear - to sell.
It makes a compelling case for the prospect to buy and
includes a call for action so that the customer picks up the phone
and calls or sends backs the order form in the post.
But best of all, because direct response marketing is
designed to produce results, the results can be measured. Campaigns
can be tested. You can tell which marketing works and which
doesn't.
And that means that you can spend your marketing budget
wisely, investing in the winners rather than hoping that the losers
will build up into a crescendo effect of name recognition that
creates top of the mind awareness and ultimately sales.
Chapter 8 -
Writing
Do you write your own copy or do you use a professional
copywriter?
Mr X recommends that even if you don't do it yourself, it is
still essential to learn the skill so that you can check that your
copywriter is doing a good job before you spend the money on the
promotional campaign.
Mr X quotes Rudolf Flesch's 25 rules for effective writing.
[In case
Rudolf Flesch is a name you are not familiar with,
and I wasn't he wrote a book "
How To Write, Speak and Think Effectively".]
I would also recommend that any time you come across some
compelling copy you stop and take a few minutes to analyse what
makes it so compelling and these 25 rules are an excellent
checklist.
Chapter 9 -
Advertising (this chapter is massive - almost a
book within a book)
Remember "advertising is salesmanship in print". Live those
words and your advertising will be a success.
This chapter includes the expected warning against
institutional advertising and points you towards direct response
marketing.
It then goes on to look at the importance of headlines and in
particular testing headlines.
The Mr X book then quotes extensively from
Claude Hopkins classic text "
Scientific Advertising" together with
David Ogilvy ("
Confessions Of An Advertising Man") and
John Caples "
Tested Advertising Methods". It's fascinating to
see the three experts advert so close together.
The book then includes 100 of the greatest headlines ever
which can be adapted to your particular circumstances.
The next expert extensively quoted is
Eugene Schwartz and "
Breakthrough Advertising".
Next it is Australian advertising wizard
Chris Newton with nine lessons before returning
back to Jay Abraham's advice on writing adverts including
classified adverts and Yellow Pages.
Television adverts are covered by David Ogilvy.
There is an interesting comparison of the advantages and
limitations of small ads by John Caples.
This mammoth section ends with advertising that pays for
itself on a per inquiry or per order basis with advice from Jay and
John Mauldin.
Chapter 10 -
Converting Prospects
Stage 1 - advertise to generate the leads.
Stage 2 - convert those leads into customers
Jay (via Mr X) emphasises how important it is to make it easy
for the customer to buy and one of the factors that Jay Abraham is
most famous for is risk reversal.
Often one of the major barriers of turning a prospect into a
customer is to overcome the fear and anxiety that the purchase may
make the prospect worse off.
Unfortunately we've probably all made bad buys as we have
been swayed by convincing advertising (and Jay Abraham certainly
wants you to use compelling copy) but two things soften it.
The first is the guidance from the strategy of preeminence -
you do what's in the long term best interest of your client - and
the second is the topic of risk reversal.
Why do suppliers expect their customers to take the risk?
It's crazy. It's the supplier who knows how good the product
or service is while the buyer is naturally sceptical of the claims
that are made.
But these concerns are taken away by a risk reversal
technique. Take a look at this example:
Try a product for a month. If you like it, send us the money.
If you don't, call us and we will arrange for it to be picked up at
no expense to you.
Wouldn't that encourage you to try something that you've
found appealing. You can't lose.
Jay Abraham has taken risk reversal into an art and science
with a whole combination of different approaches and the inevitable
encourage - test and see what works for you.
The chapter also includes
- adding incentives
- packaging deals
- following up leads
- techniques to help get the order
- common sense market research
- using creative emulation
- special promotion techniques
- post-purchase reassurance
- assumptive letters
- the two step approach - drop into their comfort zone with a
small, low value purchase first
Chapter 11 -
Direct Mail Marketing (another massive chapter)
This chapter in the Mr X book builds on the contents of the
advertising chapter but in the context of direct mail.
Jay Abraham sees four different types of direct mail
campaign:
- direct sales - to generate orders
- lead generation - to create qualified leads for more
extensive selling
- for introducing an alliance partner in a host-beneficiary
arrangement
- communicating with your own customers
The main purpose of a direct mail letter is to be read so
certain things are critically important.
First and foremost is the list.
Second is the envelope and there are differences of opinion
on the envelope and whether teaser copy should be used or just say
what it is or whether a plain envelope is best. The professional
advice is to test.
Next is the letter itself, starting with the headline, moving
into the copy which establishes credibility, makes an offer,
provides reassurance with risk reversal and then the call for
action.
A great way of looking at a sales letter is that it is "a
sales person at your customer's convenience." It can be ready any
time, interrupted any time, returned to at any time.
As well as extensive advice from Jay Abraham, the chapter
also includes some great advice from Joe Karbo on headlines (use
the 4 Rs), a major section from Lauren R. Januz, Galen Stilson and
Luther Brock.
The chapter ends with eight sample letters that "increase
profits like crazy."
Chapter 12 -
Telemarketing
This chapter starts with advice from telemarketing expert
James Cook for big telemarketing campaigns and then Jay provides
tips for how smaller companies can do it.
Chapter 13 -
Marketing Help From Your Vendors [Suppliers]
Jay Abraham believes that you should aim to pay your
suppliers by the results. Much of his success for the early part of
his career was based on contingency payments where his fees
depended on how much extra profit he generated.
The concept is simple - "If you work with me and it's very
successful, I'll reward you far beyond your usual hourly rate."
Chapter 14 -
Public Relations
This chapter of the Mr X book starts with a reprint of
Ron Tepper's "An Insider's Guide To Effective
Publicity".
It explains the benefits of PR and then goes on to explain
that your PR has to tell a story and if possible, piggyback on
current affairs and news.
There are tips on how to get PR on radio and television and
when and how to pitch your product.
There are then tips from James Cook. In fact I've only just
realised how little Jay Abraham really covers PR in his own
material.
Chapter 15 -
Building A Powerful Sales Force
This is a key area and it is interesting to see it from Jay's
marketing background rather than a sales training perspective. The
chapter includes:
- guidelines on getting the most from your salespeople
- how a problem solving approach can increase orders
- your sales person's hot buttons
- seven rules for coaching your sales force
- how to make the most of rejection
- eleven top notch ways to improve your listening skills
-
Jim Cecil's process for attracting, selecting and
training sales people.
Chapter 16 -
Barter
This is a fascinating area where you can buy, even when you
don't have any money or sell to someone who doesn't have the cash
to pay but has something that you value.
Chapter 17 -
Marketing For Professionals
Some professions are restricted by how they can market their
business but Jay solves this problem in a variety of ways
including:
- newsletters
- seminars (and with modern technology this now includes
teleconference calls and webinars)
- newspaper columns
- information hot-lines (which will now include information
packed websites)
Chapter 18 -
Marketing For Specific Businesses
In this fascinating chapter Jay's techniques and quick-fix
marketing solutions are applied to fifty different kinds of
business - wholesalers, mail order, lawyers, coin dealers, travel
agencies, health and fitness clubs, tanning salons, car dealers...
As Jay says "As a budding marketing genius, your task is to
combine and recombine basic marketer concepts I've taught you into
new and creative applications to your specific business. Most of
the concepts work beautifully and harmoniously in combination with
one another."
Chapter 19 -
Marketing What You Know
This chapter moves into some of Jay's advanced profit
building techniques.
When you have boosted your profits and found ways to draw
customers to you like a magnet, you have the option of making even
more money by teaching other people in your trade the same
techniques.
Why would you do that?
Well suppose that you have a geographically based business
but you don't want to expand out of your county (UK) or state (US),
then you have every incentive to profit by training people outside
your area and sharing in their extra profits. It doesn't affect
your core business but will boost your bottom line.
One step further is to licence someone else's special skills
and sell training in those skills where both you and the original
creator share in the profits.
Chapter 20 -
How To Put On A Great Marketing Campaign
In this final chapter everything is brought together.
Recommended Reading
Glossary
Just in case you don't understand some of the terms. When
I've read the book I didn't think it contained a lot of jargon but
I will have become used to certain terms so the glossary may be
useful.
The Profit Odyssey
In this final section Jay explains that he is never satisfied
because he always believes there is more opportunity and things can
always be made better.
![[Image: o_jay-abraham-mr-x-book-efd8.jpg]](http://cdn.iofferphoto.com/img3/item/490/720/764/o_jay-abraham-mr-x-book-efd8.jpg)
