The Secret The Gurus Are Not Telling You
Posted by Sant Qiu in : Strategic Positioning & Branding on March 15, 2008 , 10commentsWelcome to my newly revamped blog. Phase 1: the face lift, was just done.
Do you like it? Let me know what you think.
To thank you for being a loyal reader I’d like to share with you the secret that the extremely successful gurus are NOT telling you. This is the secret that gurus like Rich Schefren, Frank Kern, Yanik Silver, and other really successful ones are using. The exact same kind of secret that big ultra successful and big companies like Mercedes Benz and McDonald’s is using.
As you can see, most the well-known gurus have similar standards of expertise and technical knowledge. They know how to do keyword research, they know how to use copywriting effectively, they know how to create buzz, they know about the launch sequence, etc…
So why is it that some are much, much more successful than others?
What is the DIFFERENCE that make the DIFFERENCE?
Find out in this audio:
(Note: This is the first time I’m posting an audio. Hopefully everything works out fine 
It took me about 2 hours to record and post this 14 min audio. But I’ll get better)
Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Cheers.
Destroy Objections And Close More Sales With Reframing
Posted by Sant Qiu in : Strategic Positioning & Branding on February 4, 2008 , 3commentsI’ve been quite fascinated with the happenings of the US presidential elections 2008. It’s interesting to observe how the US presidential candidates position themselves and their campaigns. I’ve found the commentaries on their speeches and debates among the candidates to be an interesting case study of the persuasion tactics of ‘reframing’.
In persuasion, ‘reframing’ is an effective way of turning a negative quality/situation into a positive one. This means changing the context so that people see things differently.
For instance, if someone thinks they are too old to do something, you can reframe their outlook by saying, “Compared to younger people, you have more years of experience and practical know-how to do this.” You are effectively changing what they saw as a shortcoming and turning it into a positive attribute by placing it in a different context.
The United States presidential elections 2008 has been a fertile ground for mudslinging among candidates (and in some cases, their spouses) and criticisms of each other’s campaigns and political stand. But it is also a great resource on how to reframe ‘negative’ facts to project a positive spin.
Case study: Barack Obama has positioned himself as a candidate that represents change. This positioning is so powerful that he got all the other candidates scrambling to find a position in his ‘change’ game. Almost all of them were talking about the change they are going to bring to the White House. (That’s a sign of a winning campaign)
Hillary Clinton, in an attempt to steal the thunder from Obama’s change campaign, reframed the situation. She said that Obama is only talking about change, while she has been making changes all the while when Bill was president and continues to make positive changes.
Isn’t that just smooth?
Another great example: When Barack Obama faced criticisms from other candidates concerning his relative inexperience in Congress, he equated “experience” with being “conventional” saying, “Nobody had more experience than Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney and many of the people on this stage that authorized this war. And it indicates how we get into trouble when we engage in the sort of conventional thinking that has become the habit in Washington.” (Knowing that there are many voters who are unhappy about the long-drawn Iraq war and are ready for a “fresh” change in the White House.)
Reframing is also a very good way to smoothly overcoming a customer’s objections, rather than getting defensive. Most of the time, when a potential customer raises a strong objection, the salesperson tend to:
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get defensive about what they are selling,
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fabricate features in a desperate attempt to make the sale, or
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they disparage a competitor’s product so theirs looks better
These are all techniques that are weak and won’t get you the sale. The only thing they accomplish is to look really desperate.
Instead of trying to meet the objection head on or justify the ‘limitation’ of your product, reframe the objection.
Objection: “Your product is way more expensive than the competitor.”
Reframe: “You’re right. We’re more expensive because we offer a top quality that will ensure reliability and durability so you get what you pay for. I’m sure you want to get something that you can depend on and last long for your investment, don’t you?”
What you’ve done is agreeing that it is expensive. Explain the great reasons for the premium price. Attach the premium price to other attributes that the prospects feel are important. Now they have attached the idea of expensive with top quality.
Isn’t that much smoother?
Why People Keep Shoving Cold Hard Cash Into My Hands
Posted by Sant Qiu in : Strategic Positioning & Branding on December 19, 2007 , add a commentJust in October, when I started this blog, I had the intention of cutting down my consultation services and focusing more on my personal projects, such as starting an Internet-based business. I definitely see the tremendous potential of the Internet.
That’s why despite my crazy schedule, I tried to kick start my blog a few months back… in vain. New businesses kept coming in. Which was a good problem to have. However, this severely slowed down my exploring the exciting world of Internet marketing.
But in October I decided enough is enough! I revamped my website and started this blog to share my profit strategies and start creating a brand awareness for myself and my company. I also posted some really valuable case studies.
Things were going well for a while. My blog traffic has kept on doubling. And I’m getting a lot of new overseas readers. I squeezed out time to post on this blog as often as I can. But little did I expect…
The blog actually brought in even more highly qualified prospects who are ready to do business with me! Instead of cutting down, I’m now swamped with prospects shoving their money at me.
For example, last week we received a few deposit checks like the one below.
Someone even gave me a $1,000 cold hard cash for a deposit! (By the way, for non-Singaporean readers, below is how a SGD1,000 note look like. I just love the feel of cold hard cash in my hands)
And I’ve just came back from closing another five-figure consulting deal. All of that in a week. With no advertising, no active promotion, no nothing. If you’re a regular reader of my blog you would know that I’ve not promoted my consultation services here at all. But that didn’t stop qualified prospects to seek me out. In fact, I’ve raised my fees twice this year, and I’m now considering raising them again.
NOPE! It’s NOT my intention to try to impress you. I’m sharing with you this to show you how important creating a strategic positioning is for your business.
When you’ve created a powerful positioning in the minds of your target market, like I did, it’s literally hard to stop them from coming to you.
Recently, in his Attention Age Doctrine 2, Rich Schefren talks about becoming a Maven in your chosen industry. In essence this is the same as creating a strategic positioning in your niche market. This is also what Jay Abraham is talking about when he talks about the strategy of preeminence. Or what Dan Kennedy promotes as your U.S.P.
All of those concepts are very similar and highly related. But if you boil down all these various sophisticated terms and concepts, at the end the core idea is about differentiating yourself.
How are you different from your competitors and the rest of the masses? If your differentiation is perceived as more valuable than the rest of the available offers, the profit floodgates will open up for you.
Don’t dismiss the critical importance of this! Deliberately and conciously take some time to create a strategic positioning for yourself. You will be massively rewarded for it.
How To Strategically Position Yourself In An Overcrowded Marketplace
Posted by Sant Qiu in : Strategic Positioning & Branding on November 29, 2007 , 2commentsI’m back from a short break. And in this post I thought of sharing something that my clients often ask me about: How did I manage to help them multiply their profits exponentially, usually with minimal expenses (even though I literally did it in front of them). They want me to EXPLAIN my strategies to them.
One of my ’secret’ power tools I regularly use is the creation and development of a solid positioning. When you’ve created a strong positioning for your self/products/services, it’s like having a spotlight shine on you on the stage. All eyes are on you. Sure there may be other supporting cast members in the background with various degree of visibility. But when you do it right, you can be the lead act on the center of the stage.
The problem is…
Creating a positioning is a strategic move. It requires thinking and planning. However, most businesses are focused on marketing activities such as advertising, distribution of flyers/brochures, telemarketing, etc; which are tactical activities. They often neglect to really think about the message (the strategic positioning) that those marketing materials contain. It doesn’t help that most tips and advice found on the Internet are focused on tactical activities. “Do this… do that…” etc.
This explains the proliferation of the ‘me-tooism’ in the marketplace. Everyone is trying to be like somebody else (their competitors, their mentors, their idols, etc). I know many gurus/mentors encourage the concept of modelling, which is to emulate the business/person you want to be like. Heck, I am personally pro modelling.
BUT… while modelling is an excellent method to improve, it’s a very bad strategy for marketing. If you are using this strategy you’ll just be ‘another one of them’. Just think about it. Which famous brand is well-known because they are like another business? Yep! A trick question.
Well-known brands are well-known because they are ‘different from’ not the ’same as’! And yet, most businesses adopt the ‘fight fire with fire’ strategy to compete in the marketplace. For example, if their competitor introduces a new product/service, they will react by launching something similar. This is a ridiculous strategy! You fight fire with water, not fire!
Fighting fire with water means that instead of trying to do the same thing you do something different or unexpected. Carve out your own positioning and create your own niche. It is also a useful strategy to ’steal their thunder’.
Let’s say you are in the beauty industry. If a competitor launches an oil-based anti-wrinkle product, instead of launching something similar, you can introduce a water-based one. And you then explain why water works better and (subtly) explain why other base ingredients (such as oil) is not as effective. Go the opposite direction.
This way you are seen as a leader and an innovator, not a follower.
Here’s a real marketplace example. There are hundreds of toothpaste brands. However there are only a few that have managed to create a solid positioning. You will notice that all of them have differentiated themselves from each other (even though in reality they are competing in the same market).
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Colgate Total: Complete 12 hour protection
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Crest: Fight cavaties
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Close-Up: Freshening Xperience (Freshens your breath. Their positioning is about getting people close together. They even have kissing tips on their website! That is congruency.)
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Ultrabrite: Whitens your teeth
As you can see, they each positioned themselves differently, solving different problems even though essentially at the core, they all help to clean and protect your teeth. Each of them have created their own spotlight so the target market can find them easily. Have you created yours? Or are you just ‘another one of them’?
Are You Different Or Are You Just Like The Masses?
Posted by Sant Qiu in : Strategic Positioning & Branding on November 5, 2007 , add a commentAre you different? Do you stand out from the crowd? Are you unique compared to the rest of your competitors?
If you take a look around, you will notice that all extremely successful people and businesses are different compared to their competitors. They have put in the effort to stand out from the crowd. This is an extremely powerful albeit logically simple concept that will give you the edge over your competitors.
In fact, one of the first things I help all my clients do is to create a distinct differentiation against their competitors. Using this strategy I’ve helped them triple even quadruple their businesses easily.
There are many benefits for being different. (more…)
Positioning Strategies For Real Estate Agents
Posted by Sant Qiu in : Strategic Positioning & Branding on October 5, 2007 , add a commentJust recently I was asked to do a talk for my good friend and co-author of our best-selling book in Singapore titled ‘Get Rich Now: 15 Strategies from a Self-made Millionaire‘, Dr Dennis Wee. (Dr Wee is one of Singapore’s most celebrated entrepreneurs. Despite not having completed his high school education, he managed to start and build up his own real estate company, Dennis Wee Group, to become of Singapore’s leading real estate companies generating S$3.8 billion worth of sales in 2006.)
He wanted me to share some marketing secrets with his real estate agents and I was more than happy to do so because I believe there’s so much more that agents can do to position, brand and market their services. Sadly, most agents, whether in real estate or financial services (insurance) or any other industries, tend to see themselves just as a salesperson. This perception of themselves is limiting their growth and income!
By thinking that they are just salespeople, they don’t see the possibilities of growing their careers into full-fledge businesses. There are so much more benefits for someone to think big and build a big business, compared to just existing, and making a living. Donald Trump said: “If you’re going to be thinking, you might as well think big.” But that’s another topic for another session.
Here, I’m going to show you some detailed examples of how an agent can differentiate himself using some simple positioning and branding strategies that I have used with other clients to great success. (more…)
Strategic Positioning For Profits
Posted by Sant Qiu in : Strategic Positioning & Branding on October 5, 2007 , add a commentAs human beings we tend to label things, to generalize things, to simplify, so that we can assimilate the tons and tons of information that are being dumped our way every single waking hour. We become so good at it that it becomes a subconscious activity. To demonstrate:
You won’t notice your breathing pattern (until I mentioned it), the weight of your body on your bum that is being supported by the chair (until I mentioned it), even your urge to blink right now. You just blinked didn’t you?
Ok, Ok, so what has that got to do with increasing profits? Simple! We tend to shut out things that are ‘common occurrence’, ‘the norm’, and ‘the standard’ in favor of paying attention to things that stand out and are different. Knowing that, you can easily and very consciously set up your business/service/product/offer to be different than what is on the market. And when you do that, you will be guaranteed a huge jump in profits!
Let’s take a look at a couple of examples from different industries: (more…)
