A marketing discovery was the key…

If you’ve read much in the self-help genre, you’ll recognize the title of this blog post as the title of Frank Bettger’s classic book originally printed in 1947.  Dale Carnegie called it “the most helpful and inspiring book on salesmanship that I have ever read.” 

I’d highly recommend it to anyone in direct sales or marketing today.  The principles still apply.

But I’m not here to write a review on a 63-year old book.  The truth is, the title of this blog post is my personal story, with a twist.

Establish a personal sales record this year

If you’re not involved in selling, skip this post.  But if you’re in direct sales, and want to cut down on appointments, increase your closing rate, and make more money than ever, read on…

In August of 1997, I was spending gobs of money on a divorce attorney.  I was in a custody battle for my one-year old son.  I was trying to unload a 3,600 square foot home in a very nice neighborhood that I had just bought a year earlier.

It wasn’t the best of times.

The only thing I had going for me was my direct sales career (I was in  fundraising sales), which was humming along quite nicely.  Problem was, I couldn’t focus anymore, and I had a lot less time to go out on appointments.  But I needed to increase sales about 20% just to pay the increased bills I now had.

I needed a solution, and I needed it fast.

The power of marketing to multiply yourself

That’s when I discovered Dan Kennedy, www.DanKennedy.com.  Dan claims to have produced more small business millionaires than any other marketing person alive today. 

He didn’t make me a millionaire (at least he hasn’t yet), but what I discovered from Dan helped me have three consecutive years of 20% sales growth, from 1998-2000.

So, what made the difference?

I started going on fewer appointments.  I worked three and a half days a week instead of five.  And I stopped working evenings.

All because I learned to harness the power of effective marketing.

What I learned how to do (and have been doing ever since) is create extremely effective direct sales letters, sent out to all my prospects.

Direct response internet marketing

Today, while I still send out some direct mail on behalf of clients and for my own business, more often than not it’s an email letter or some other form of internet marketing.

Same results: work less (but smarter), get prospects coming to you, and increase your sales.

If you’re a sales rep who’s never tried direct marketing on a large scale, you’ll be blown away by the possibilities.

I hope you’re never in as desperate a situation as I was. 

But if you’re a sales rep who’s ready for the best year of your life, with fewer appointments and shorter hours, consider the direct response marketing approach. 

It worked for me.  And I can help it work for you, too.