Ferny & Ray

(Thanks to Barry Dunlop and Dean Hunt for help with this list.)

I wanted to lift the veil and tell you exactly who’s at the top of the internet marketing world. Ray and I recently returned from the Underground Online Seminar IV held this year in Downtown Los Angeles.

The who’s who of internet marketing was there and along with knowing how to make money, they also know how to party! (Click for Footage from Mini-Kiss Concert)

And as a result of meeting all these “gurus”, I decided to take their names down and create a list based on my experience, the value they’ve added to my marketing career and the $$$ they bring in for their respective businesses:

Here it is:

1. Carlos and Lupe Garcia
2. Tom Bell
3. Jim Lillig
4. Eben Pagan
5. John Reese
6. Yanik Silver
7. Joe Polish
8. Brock Felt
9. Buck Rizvi
10. Frank Kern
11. Mike Dillard
12. Mike Filsaime
13. Jim Edwards
14. Jonathan Mizel
15. Dan Kennedy (honorary)

Please feel free to give feedback on this list, if you think there is someone out there who is deserving.

Otherwise, it’s my blog and I’ll name who I want to.

-Ferny

The Truth About Why Lead Generation Systems
are No Longer Working in Today’s Saturated Market…

“Many of these theories have been killed off only when some decisive experiment
exposed their incorrectness… Thus the yeoman work in any science… is done by
the experimentalist, who must keep the theoreticians honest.”
- Michio Kaku, Theoretical Physicist

Hopefully, I won’t anger too many of you, but I think the writing is on the wall and this needs to be said.

Over the past couple of years, ‘automated MLM systems’ have taken the MLM industry by storm. Initially, what made a ‘funded proposal’ so attractive was that it offered us a much easier and better alternative to the “traditional prospecting” methods.

Finally! No more “3 foot rule”, cold calling, buying leads, home meetings, hotel meetings, and everything else that our uplines said was part of their “system”.

We were watching guys like Mike Dillard, Daegan Smith, Ty Coughlin, Jay Kubassek, among others, growing massive downlines almost overnight, without needing to talk to a single person.

In fact, Daegan Smith even gave himself the title of “The King of Never Calling a Single Lead”.

Ah, those were the good ol’ days…

Since then, the online MLM market has become saturated with systems promising things like:

• “No selling”

• “The system does the work for you”

• “We close sales for you”

• “No phone skills, needed”

• “No prospecting”

• “Build your downline on autopilot”

I have to admit, I was sold on ‘attraction marketing’ for these same reasons. I was tired of coaching and wasting my time with people who had no business, being in business for themselves.  I needed to figure out a way to filter through the “losers” and “tire-kickers” to get to the real leaders who were going to build this thing.

Then Magnetic Sponsoring walked into my life and forever transformed my business and life. Raymond and I went on to create the ‘Attraction Marketing Formula’ based on the teachings from Magnetic Sponsoring, but geared towards Google Marketing and some of the “techie” stuff.

But then we started noticing something…

The MLM Pendulum is Swinging Back the Other Way

Recently, I had some pretty eye-opening conversations with fellow networkers involved with some of the most popular “turn-key” systems out there.  (You’d recognize these systems immediately if I mentioned them by name.)  And I have to admit, it was ‘deja-vu’ as I was listening to them.

It was as if I had gone back in time 3 years, before Magnetic Sponsoring was released, and I was listening to the struggles, trials and tribulations of your “Uncle Bob’s MLM”.

“I’m not making any money…”
“No one is joining my team…”
“I’ve lost all my savings…”
“I’m not getting any upline support…”

These conversations confirmed the suspicions I’ve had floating around my head for a long time…

Traditional Methods are Making a Comeback

Now, before you get upset and start sending me hate mail, allow me to explain exactly what is happening.

First of all, NO you DON’T have to go back to cold-calling or prospecting at Starbucks and frisking people for a “dream”. We already know that’s not going to work.

But there’s a subtle trend I’ve been watching happen over the past year.

The systems who were promising “turn-key” businesses, with “no selling” started having live training calls on…

PROSPECTING OVER THE PHONE?

Huh?

What are guys like Todd Falcone, Joe LoBalsamo, and Mark Wieser doing on these live training calls for “automated systems”?

These guys are old school.  These guys make like 40 dials per day to grow their businesses.  What do we need them for?

This is the Internet Age, baby! Prospecting calls are like soooo 1980’s…

…or are they?

The Ultimate MLM Advantage

The bad news is that if you are expecting to build your business from your computer without talking to anyone, you’re screwed.

The good news is that if you are willing to pick up the phone and talk to people, it will give you the ultimate competitive advantage in today’s saturated “mlm systems” market.

The reason these “old school” trainers are watching a rise in their businesses, is because at the end of the day, people want to talk to people.  If they are going to join a business with a $2000 entry point or buy a high-end information product for $500, they want to know there’s a real person behind the system and someone there to help them.

*********Ad: Learn How To Sponsor and Prospect Online*********
My buddy Joe LoBalsamo has agreed to do a FREE live training call on how to use ‘traditional’ phone skills with a ‘funded proposal’ for maximu profits and results. Learn more: http://attractionmarketingformula.com/prospecting
*************************************************************

That’s the whole reason why Web 2.0 is so huge now.  People want to interact with other people, especially when it involves taking out their wallet.

The fact of the matter is, if you are interacting with your customers or prospects via chat, email, forums or by phone, you have a much, much, much higher chance of getting them to buy or join your business.

It’s that simple.

But there are also some very crucial things you should be doing to ensure your success in a web 2.0 world.

Traditional Prospecting 2.0

First, you want to create as many opportunities for your prospects to contact you for support.  Here are a few simple things you can do:

• Put your phone number on all your capture pages, emails and sales pages.
  To protect your privacy, I recommend you use a Business Voicemail service, where calls are forwarded to you via an 800 number and only after the caller has identified themself.  (If you want to learn more about this, call me at 866-834-3625 so you can see it in action and I can give you the purchase details.)

• Use a real email address when delivering your autoresponder messages.

• Provide AIM, Google chat or Skype details, so people can send you messages.

• Have an “Ask Us” form on your website, which allows people to submit questions via your website.

• Have a guestbook form on your website, where prospects can say “I was here”.  Have them provide an email address when they sign.  This gives you an opportunity to start a conversation by emailing them.

• Send personal emails to as many of your leads as you can, every day.  People know the difference between automated emails and real emails. Take 20 minutes a day to start a dialogue with new subscribers.

• Here’s the scary one – have your prospects provide their phone numbers when they opt in and CALL YOUR PROSPECTS!

Now that last one is probably not making your feel warm and fuzzy, but it’s actually the most important one.  This is where the training from guys like Todd Falcone, Joe LoBalsamo and Mark Wieser come in.

The great thing about using your own ‘funded proposal’ is that the prospects on your list requested information from you first.  Your calls will be primarily consultative in nature.  You are not calling them to pitch your business, but just to help with what they requested information on.

However, it is inevitable that people will eventually ask about your business with questions like:

“What company are you with?”
“How much money are you making?”
“How do you market?”

Your answers to these questions will be the difference between having ZERO success and growing a huge and profitable business.  That’s why investing in courses like Blackbelt Recruiting will make a huge impact in your business, but also on you personally and how people view you through your everyday interactions.

The Inner Game of MLM

Finally, as you start to develop your phone skills, and prospecting skills, you’ll start noticing that you’ll start attracting leaders to you.  All forms of your communication (email, copywriting and speaking) will start exuding this ‘mystical’ magnetism and people will be naturally drawn to you.

And the real kicker is that you’ll start attracting leads to you in the OFFLINE world, as a result of your new magnetic personality!

As you start seeing the cost of PPC and advertising rise, your ability to acquire a lead using more “traditional” means, will be very easy and FREE.  It’s the most ironic thing I’ve experienced since I took my business online.

So the truth about all these “automated turn-key” systems, is that they are not what they initially claim to be.  The system can be a very powerful tool, but it’s not your entire business – unless you happen to own the system.

At the end of the day, the advantage that you can have over another rep using the same “automated system” will be YOU, INC.

They already know what the system can do for them.  Now they are going to want to know what YOU can do for them — that’s the difference maker.

To help you get through this process, my buddy Joe is an expert on internet prospecting and figuring out, which people on your list are most likely to join your business. He’ll be doing a FREE LIVE training call, exclusively for AMF subscribers on Monday, March 17th.

Go here to register for FREE:
http://attractionmarketingformula.com/prospecting

To Your Success,

Ferny Ceballos

What ‘Building on a Budget’, 2.5 Margaritas, Mike Dillard and an
Aston-Martin Drive Through Downtown Austin Have in Common…

“What does that button do? “
- Ferny, While Riding in Mike’s “Spy Car”

Whoa, dude!

So what can I say? I just happen to be strolling through Austin, TX and decided to give Mr. Dillard a call so I can stop by and say “hello” since I just happen to be in the neighborhood.

(Real Story: I flew to Dallas for a seminar, but I arrived 3 days early, so I rented a car and drove down to Austin to watch Mike press the Big Red Launch Button for ‘Building on a Budget‘.)

So I phoned and asked Mike if it was ok if I stopped by. AND before he had a chance to answer, I rang the door bell. (Asking is simply a formality in today’s age.)

Ferny Wonka in the Magnetic Sponsoring Factory

Just like I expected, Mike Dillard opened the doors wearing a big black top hat and welcomed me into the magical world of the Magnetic Sponsoring factory. I met the queen of the factory, Steph (Mike’s girlfriend).

Aside from the elves who ran around turning the cranks to keep the Magnetic Sponsoring Community running, the Sofas stuffed with 100 dollar bills and the waterfalls of Xango juice, the place looked pretty normal.

Mike had been watching the numbers come in for ‘Building on a Budget’ with an inquisitive look on his face.

Apparently, one of the M.S. elves had tripped while turning the crank and caused the system to have a failure on Internet Explorer. Needless to say, Mr. Dillard was none too pleased.

The problem was resolved, elves reprimanded, and then the tour of the factory continued.

What I saw I cannot possibly describe, but let’s just say that I was exposed to the secrets as to how everything you see on Magnetic Sponsoring comes to life.

Mike literally snaps his fingers and the elves mobilize to make things happen.

(Real Story: Mike calls the MS programmers on his iPhone and barks orders.)

Mike and Ferny Go For a Ride

So after a hectic morning, Mr. Dillard took off his top hat and put on his sun glasses. He led me to the back of the factory and we walked through the secret door to the MS underground cave and saw this…

Mike (w/out the top hat), Ferny and the Aston-Martin (worth more than my house)

I gotta say, you can’t get any closer to riding in the Space Shuttle than riding in this thing with Mike behind the wheel.

I made the unfortunate mistake of pointing at a button with an image of a car with skiggly lines under the wheels and asked, “What does that button do?”.

He said, “Let me show you…”

Whaaam! In under 1 second he managed to ramp to 3 G’s, the Aston-Martin starting skidding and I turned pale white, (I’m naturally a dark beige).

2.5 Margaritas and “Queso” at Polvos

So after our adveture through Downtown Austin and being seemingly invisible to police radar, we arrived at a ‘hole in the wall’ joint called, ‘Polvos’ that looked like the walls were going to cave in… It’s an clear sign of some good eatin’.

There I had some of the best margaritas I’ve ever had, (paid for by Justin and Tim Erway’s share of Magnetic Sponsoring, LLC).

After some masterminding, my 2.5 margaritas and the best ‘queso’ this side of the rio grande, we hopped back into the ’spy car’ and headed back to the MS factory to make sure things were running smoothly.

From ‘Building on a Budget’ to MLM Millionaire

Back at the “factory”, I asked Mike a little bit about his life before MS and if you aren’t familiar with his story, it’s pretty pathetic (no offense, Mike).

Mike was literally living off the dollar menu of Taco Bell, had no furniture in his small apartment and pawned his DVD’s to survive. Every cent he earned went towards “building” his MLM business.

I use the term ‘building’ loosely, because he did a lot of the same stupid things most MLM’ers continue to do today, (i.e. buy generic leads, sizzle cards, 3 foot rule, prospect at cafes, cold calling, etc.)

Are you doing any of these?

He told me about having been mentored by Joe Schroeder, Robert Blackman and learning the way they did business and then applying their teachings to the internet.

The Most Important Thing to Spend Your Money On

Mike discovered that the most important thing to spend your money on in any business, was not leads, flyers and other prospecting “tools”. The most important thing was investing in yourself to develop the skills to do business online.

So essentially, the new “Building on a Budget” course is Mike’s way of giving YOU what he had learned from Joe and Robert, but updated for the Web 2.0 world. On top of that, Mike knows better than anyone what it is like to be in dire straits and needing to find success.

It’s amazing to know that story, then experience the millionaire lifestyle Mike has created for himself after having lifted himself out from the MLM gutter. And this isn’t anything that is unavailable to anyone.

The only difference is the time, effort and education Mike is providing in his course.

My visit with Mike ended with a few more margaritas and enjoying a great view of Lake Travis:

Lake Travis from 100’s of feet above (simulated blur to account for margaritas)

Feelin’ Good in Austin

I thanked Mike and his beautiful girlfriend, Steph, for their hospitality, tour of the MS factory and continued my Texas tour towards San Antonio to spend time with my girlfriend, (she was in Texas for the March 4th primaries).

I then headed back up to Dallas for a seminar with Keith Baxter and other affiliate marketers.

It’s important to remember that Mike, (even with the Top Hat), is as human as you and I are. The only difference is that he was focused and willing to do what others weren’t willing to do.

Like myself, you can learn through ‘Building on a Budget‘ and stand on his shoulders to strive for the success.

It’s the best investment you could make, because the alternative is living off the dollar menu from Taco Bell and being dead broke for 6 years, like Mike was.

You’d be silly not to take advantage of it.

So Here’s Exactly What To Do

All you need to do is register at http://attractionmarketingformula.com/budget, and follow instructions to purchase ‘Building on a Budget‘.

You’d be silly not to pick up a copy of “Building on a Budget“. For less than thirty bucks, it’s a bargain.

If you do, you’ll be well on your way to living the lifestyle I got a taste of, this past weekend.

Thank you, Mike for your hospitality!

It’s time to get to work.

To Your Success,

Ferny Ceballos

Okay, so in the previous post, “The Secret Society of Traffic Conversion“, I covered fundamental #1 to making friends with the internet marketing giants and getting them on your side.

Now let’s move on to the next four fundamentals you should adhere to in order to make the best of your marketing seminars.

Lesson #2: Establish yourself as someone of expertise by asking interesting and insightful questions (i.e. don’t be stupid).

Ask intelligent questions or even making helpful (note the operative word being “helpful”) suggestions and not being afraid to be in the spotlight. This is one of the best ways for you to set yourself apart from others in the audience and make people think “oohhh, that person has something of value and I should find out what it is” and want to come talk to you.

In a sense think about others who are less knowledgeable than you are in that particular area – by asking an intelligent question not only are you demonstrating an understanding of the topic but you are also doing them a favor by asking the question they were too afraid to ask themselves.

Lesson #3: Gurus are nice (for the most part) and are more than happy to help you if they deem you are worthy and are genuine.

Let me explain.

At the seminar, I did the unthinkable and the unreasonable. Not only did I initiate contact with the gurus and probed for more details, I also created the possibility of getting them to come online and do interviews with us!

While many of us think that gurus are the “untouchables” and that they couldn’t care less about who’s in the audience since they already make $x bazillions dollars – I‘ve found this to be absolutely false. What you have to realize is that each of these gurus are just like you and me. They all had to start SOMEWHERE.

And odds are, where they started isn’t very far off from where you are at now.

And more importantly, odds are that someone in their lives gave them a helping hand to get them where they are now.

As long as you are authentic and sincere (and friendly), they’d more than happy to chat with you and address your questions and provide advice (within reason of course). This leads to #4…

Lesson #4: Offer something of value to the gurus – how can you help THEM??

You can imagine how some people would take advantage of #3 and just hassle the heck out of the gurus for “favors”. What these newbies are forgetting is one of the cardinal rules of marketing/business/life. The “What’s In It For Me” (W.I.I.F.M.) principle.

Those folks who are pestering the heck out of gurus, chomping at the bits, are basically trying to get something for nothing. Never mind that these gurus just gave their best X minutes on a stage presenting the very knowledge being sought after. Never mind that these noobs didn’t even bother doing some research beforehand (not to mention that they didn’t even bother purchasing the guru’s product)…

You see, we all should learn to stop feeling so entitled. Don’t think “oh, the guru’s already making millions of dollars, he/she SHOULD help me now…”

Balooney. The gurus don’t owe you jack.

Want to know how to get their attention? Offer something of value to them. Ask them how you can help THEM for a change. Give them access to your list for example; promote them on your humble site/list; anything… SOMETHING. At the very least acknowledge that it is only out of their kindness that they are helping you.

Take Fernando and myself for example. It is only through adding value back to Mike Dillard and Tim Erway and doing our best to offer whatever help we can did they take note of us. It was only after we studied their system religiously and sucked in all their teachings did we start separating ourselves from the crowd.

So ask yourself this when you are speaking to gurus – what are YOU doing for THEM?

Lesson #5: Take pictures with the gurus and send it to them so they’ll remember you.

Okay… this is almost cheating but it works. Like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Be bold and be different… ask a guru for a picture after chatting with them for a bit. Tell them you’ll send them the picture when you get home and do it! After all, who doesn’t like seeing a picture of themselves in their inbox?

Not only will they get a lovely picture of their own face in their inbox, they’ll also get a picture of you and this will help them remember you… This makes it easier getting in touch with them for any other endeavors (see #3 and #4).

Lastly, let your list know! “Hey, look at me! I was at *blankity blank* and met *blankity blank*.” This shows you are active in the field and are constantly learning new things from other gurus.

One last note… do give the guru credit by letting people know who he/she is and linking to his/her site.

And there you have it folks. Next time you get a chance to go to a top caliber seminar… DO IT! You never know what sort of information, ideas, and contacts you can get out of it (odds are, you’ll get TONS)!

Special thanks go out again to Brock and Buck – thanks for creating such an awesome environment and inviting me to the event.

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend a 3-day traffic generation hosted by Brock Felt and Buck Rizvi in Orlando, Florida dubbed “The Secret Society of Traffic Conversion”.

Man, what a trip!

Brock Felt and Yours Truly at “The Secret Society of Traffic Conversion”

There was a ton of good marketing information and strategies. Even though I already knew much of the information presented, from years of study, implementation, and instruction for our customers, I still had a mind blowing time.

There are always golden nuggets of information around every corner, no matter how much you know.

My philosophy is this, as long as you can walk away with at least ONE solid idea, strategy, know-how, piece of information, etc. it was worth it. In my case, I came away from the seminar loaded with tons of ideas so it was definitely worth it. (Attraction Marketing Formula is about to get a major revamp, be on the lookout )

The standout speakers at the convention were hands-down Carlos and Lupe Garcia. The information they presented was astounding. If you don’t know who Carlos and Lupe are, they went from high school dropouts to making millions of dollars online while driving literally 5.8 BILLION visitors to their site over the span of a few months…

Yes, that wasn’t a typo, that was a ‘B’ you saw before ‘illion’.

Another speaker I was very excited to learn from was Michael Cage – the “King of Teleseminar”. He presented some powerful information and tactics using teleseminars to create interest in and generate revenue for your business.

His presentation was so compelling, I even shelled out $2K for one of his programs and I can’t wait to dig into it.

Don’t worry, for those of you who are customers of the Attraction Marketing Formula, I’ll be breaking down some of the strategies I learned in our exclusive “customers only” bonus tele-clinics and webinars. Heck, Michael and several other gurus were even kind enough to make themselves available for exclusive interviews, which we’ll happily invite our customers to listen in!

There was a loot of other speakers as well, which I gathered a ton of lessons and information from.

Our hosts, Brock and Buck gave each speaker ample time to speak, (3-4 hours), so the speakers really tore it up!

The thing that really stuck out for me at this event was the atmosphere. Brock and Buck made sure that while the event was loaded with top-notch presenters, it was also a very friendly environment where it was easy to network with others. I got to rub shoulders and chit-chat with top marketing gurus and other marketers in the crowd and ask lots of questions.

Buck Rizvi and Yours Truly at The Secret Society of Traffic Conversion

While I learned some of those “golden nuggets” of marketing information, the true piece of information I want to share with really has nothing to do with those marketing tips. It has to do with how you network and create powerful alliances and contacts. I came up with 5 tips to help you. Let me share with you the first one:

Lesson #1: You can create powerful contacts.

You are in a place where you are surrounded by dozens if not hundreds or thousands of other marketers. You are also in the presence of a handful or dozens of marketing gurus who found a way to get them to where you’d like to be… You are surrounded by potential leads, prospects, customers, JV partners, affiliates, and like-minded individuals.

What do you do? Do you a) hide in your seat and hope nobody sees you or b) do you bust out your people and marketing skills and create some contacts?

I opted for option b and so should you.

A lot of these seminars are setup such that you get several mini-breaks and a few long breaks. These provide excellent chances for you to mingle with others in the audience. You should adopt an “abundance” mindset and see each of them not as competitors but as potential partners.

Go talk to others. Find out what they are doing. Find out how you can help them and how they, in return, may be able to help you. Leverage the quality of people that seminars attract. You’d be surprised by how many contacts you can create this way and how fruitful this can be for you and your business.

So next time you plan on going to a seminar be sure to first hone your people skills and be positive and energetic. People will be attracted to you like no others.

And it helps when you apply principle #2 which I will share with you next time. So stay tuned until next time when I share with you 4 more powerful networking tips!

To Affinity and Beyond,

Raymond Fong

I got this question today and I think it will help a few of you:

“After banging my head against a wall for the past two years doing it the way my upline has told me, how can things possibly work this way?”

Hi ,

I got your question and I felt your pain so I wanted to address it.

It’s not your fault or your upline’s fault.  It’s just the way it is.

The internet has transformed this industry faster than most MLM
leaders can keep up with.

They built their businesses one way and it worked.  That way
is no longer viable, but it’s also very hard for any MLM leader
to admit that their way is no longer a good way and give up
their position of leadership and try things a different way.

It’s threating for an MLM leader to admit that they have to
start from square one and learn a different way.

It’s time for you to become a leader all of your own and learn
what works today, not follow someone else who has a method
which worked yesterday.

Leadership is about paving a new way for your team, not following
someone because you are afraid of leading.  Have faith in
knowing that what you decide to do will work.

All the Best,

Ferny Ceballos

Last Thursday, I had the privilege of attending Altitude’s Million Dollar Marketing Makeover seminar with Eben Pagan.  If you don’t know who Eben Pagan is, well…. let’s just say that Mike Dillard and hundreds of other top tier marketers are his marketing students.

If that doesn’t get your attention, he goes by the pen name “David DeAngelo” in the Dating Advice niche and generates over $20 Million per year in sales from DoubleYourDating.com.

Well as part of this exclusive opportunity, Eben was putting attendees in the “hot seat” live on stage.  He would literally bring someone on stage, flash their website on the big screen and redesign your marketing strategy, your copywriting, your site design and help take your marketing from ZERO to $MILLIONS in under 15 minutes.

Well, I was one of these lucky entrepreneurs who got put in the “hot seat” and it was badass!

Eben normally charges $10,000 for the same type of marketing makeover in private, so getting torn apart in public was well worth the monetary savings.

Initially, things went well.  He analyzed my sales page and complimented it on the format and then proceeded to ask me questions about my market, the techniques I use in my market, and after about 5 minutes he got into tearing my sales page apart.

After he worked through my headline, he went into what I should put into the body and off the top of his head started telling me EXACTLY what he would like to see in my sales letter… and about 30 seconds into him speaking I started getting goosebumps…

I had a thought run through my head, “Holy Cow! Eben Pagan is writing my sales letter…”

So I made sure not to open my mouth and let Eben talk uninterrupted for as long as he wanted to go.  He then stopped after a couple of minutes and asked me if there was anything I wanted to add.

I responded, “Nope.  You pretty much just wrote my sales letter”.

His reply, “Then I guess we’re done here then”.

We shook hands and I left the stage to applause and dozens of people wanted to get my business card. (I guess I somehow impressed them with my silence).

Although it would be impossible for me to explain the entire methodology Eben used to write my sales letter in a short article, he did give me the most important secret he uses in his copywriting and I wanted to pass that along to you.

During the initial exchange he asked, “What’s your best traffic source?”

I replied, “Google Adwords is hands down the most consistent and reliable.”

“What’s your best Google Adwords technique, which has worked best for you and which any network marketing newbie could use and get immediate results?” Eben asked.

I answered his question and he said, “Put that into your sales letter.  Put the best technique you have and give it away for free within the copy of your sales letter.”

Now I have to admit I was reluctant to even tell Eben Pagan about my technique, much less give it away to everyone who visits my website.  But that was exactly what he was asking me to do.  I was a bit concerned about giving away my ‘bread and butter’ technique, but then the light bulb went off in my head.

He explained that by putting your best technique first, which any newbie can use, you are accomplishing a number of things, which 99.99% of sales letters fail to do:

1)      You are getting the prospect to read your sales letter, because you are embedding valuable content among your sales presentation.

2)      You are gaining their trust and gaining credibility, because the prospect will be thinking, “Gee, if this is what he’s giving away, I can only imagine the value I’ll be getting if I paid him to show me more.”

3)      Psychologically, you are instantly turning yourself into “their guru”, because among a sea of ‘snake oil salesmen’, you have given them something they can implement immediately, get results and your prospect will have a natural tendency to come back to you for more, forever. (Much like I come back to Mike, while he gets to siphon more money from my wallet with every new promotion.)

What made that session even more amazing was that I knew Eben was showing me how to do something he, himself, uses in his marketing for Double Your Dating – a $20 Million company.

As my friend Jim Yaghi correctly pointed out, in David DeAngelo’s sales page, Eben gives away a technique which any guy can use to instantly know if a girl is ready to be kissed or not. He calls it the “Kiss Test”.

Eben was telling me to use my version of the “Kiss Test”, which offers incredible value, immediate results and is easy to do.

So next time you sit down to write a sales letter, start with your best easy to do technique and give it away for free.  It’s Eben’s $20 Million copywriting secret.

For more on copywriting, sales letters, email marketing and more, subscribe to your Free 10-Day AMF Bootcamp, today!

Your mind is equally powerful in both the positive and the negative sense. How you choose to calibrate your mind and harness this power is up to you.This past weekend, I was faced with that choice… for all of 26.2 miles and for 4 hours and 42 minutes.

I ran the OC marathon last Sunday – it was my first one ever! Prior to this event, the longest I ran was 13 miles back in high school when I was 45 pounds lighter… I’ve been wanting to do a marathon since 1999 but just never got around to it.

Things kept popping up and I just kept finding excuses to NOT do it.

Well, several months ago I decided enough was enough. I wasn’t getting any younger so I signed up for the race and that was that. Months later, there I was at the starting line. I felt well rested because as part of my umm… “marathon training”, I tapered for the seven months leading up to the event.

…

In a sense this is much like how many of us start our businesses. Oftentimes we find ourselves taking that huge leap of faith and saying “no more excuses” and venture off on our own. The only thing is… many of us have never owned a business before and have absolutely no idea what to expect and how to run one.

No worries, you start off cruising, learning as you go, and letting your “passion” drive you. Much like running a marathon, you pace yourself and just soak up the venue and enjoying the scenery.

You sip the water that you wisely chose to take with you and chomp down on some “power gel”.

But what happens when you hit “the wall” at mile marker 20 when your muscles take turns cramping up; when you are afraid to stretch out because you might pull something; when your knees feel like they are going to explode; and when keeping your eyes open make you “tired”?

Do you take your eye off the prize and start thinking about the pain you are in? Do you let your fatigue get to your head and give up? Or do you power on ahead knowing that these hindrances are nothing compared to the prize that lies ahead.

Much akin to running a marathon, you will run into difficult times when running a business. There will be challenges that lie in your path to whatever it is that you seek as an entrepreneur. It is not the wisest, smartest, savviest, nor educated of us that become successful – it is oftentimes the most stubborn and yet passionate of us that prevails.

For me, crossing the finish line at the end of the 26.2 mile journey felt incredible. It made every painful step I took worth it. It gave me such a huge sense of accomplishment I wanted to pass out (or maybe that was just because I was so doggone tired, but you get the idea =] )

The victory wasn’t so much that I finished a marathon; it was that I followed through with my promise to myself to run a marathon and that in the face of hardship, I prevailed.

So I ask you, in times of fear and tribulation; in times of challenges and hardship; how are you harnessing the power of your mind?

Do you use it for good or for bad? Do you use that power to build yourself up or tear yourself down? For your sake and your business’s sake, I hope you are building yourself up.

I leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”

– Theodore Roosevelt