Since the launch of our book “Secrets To Dominate Your Niche” in late April, things have been crazy (in a great way). The book became a National Bestseller in just 12 days, while competing with big names like Robert Kiyosaki & “The Last Lecture” (they were released about the same time). In 19 days it became the #1 Bestselling Business Book in Singapore.

We’ve been covered in many mainstream media. Readers are also raving about it. It was great! We have been receiving requests to conduct talks based on the book. One reader even proactively brought the book to his country (Philippines) and organised a launch there! You can read more about the exciting developments here: www.SecretsToDominateYourNiche.com

There are so many other exciting developments… but for now I’ll keep them under wraps for a while longer. Just know that I’ll be putting out more valuable content right here!

WAIT! Before I get side tracked…

The whole reason for this post, which “forced” me to write a post amidst my critical schedule, is to share with you a couple of great videos by the “legendary” John Reese.

Normally people got the “legendary” title after they’ve passed on. Like the legendary copywriter great - Gary Halbert. But John Reese is definitely a legend in many marketer’s mind, even though he is exceptionally well (and I wish him great health so he can share even more of his secrets with us).

He is the first guy who achieved the GROUNDBREAKING “Million Dollar Day” on the Internet. Since then many others have achieved that significant breakthrough and even more. BUT John was the first who led and opened the way.

Now he is back again with even better stuffs! He has just released 2 videos packed with strategies and tips for FREE… only till 15th July, when he release his new course.

Watch it here:

http://www.trafficsecrets.com/sqpromo

The videos give us some insights of his latest discoveries and ideas. I particularly liked video #2, about “owning more of the Internet”. I think you will find it useful.

He is releasing these great contents to start creating awareness for his Traffic Secrets 2.0. The great news is you can watch the videos for free, with no obligations… and still benefit massively from the tips and strategies that he is revealing. And he is going to deliver even more videos in the coming days… … BUT only for a limited time! I think when he launch his Traffic Secrets 2.0, he will take down all these free videos.

So go watch it now while you can:

http://www.trafficsecrets.com/sqpromo

By the way, some parts in video #2 I felt that the tips were covered too quickly, make sure you pause or rewind it to get the best tips. Remember to jot down your notes.

Enjoy them.

(Feel free to share the link to others who can benefit from the videos)

*** *** UPDATE On 15 July *** ***

John has released his brand new Traffic Secrets 2.0 and has pulled down the videos for now. The links now redirect to his Traffic Secrets 2.0 sales page.

*** *** *** ***

Finally… The book is done and we’ve received the first copies of the book. We’re really excited about it! We’ve received incredible reviews from some really big name business leaders like Brian Tracy, Joe Sugarman and many others. (Read their reviews HERE) It will be in the stores sometime next week. Majority of the bookstores like Kinokuniya, Borders, Times, etc, have already ordered it. We even have online pre-orders and bulk orders from overseas!

Here’s a sneak peek on what’s happening:

I’m holding one of the first few copies that was literally “Hot Off The Press“. It looks great and it feels great! We’ve been getting raving compliments (unsolicited) about the cover of the book, thanks to our wonderful designer Jessie. This photo taken with a mobile phone camera doesn’t do it justice. We used matt black for the background. The title and the picture are embossed so they “pop”. On top of that we added gold laminate on some of the keywords. It is fantastic! It’s something you’d be proud to be seen carrying around.

We’re busy with preparing to mail out the books for those who have pre-ordered and to the media. Each of them are personally autographed by my co-author, Thomas Fernandez, and myself.

Walking the talk: We are giving some copies to the media for their reviews. But we didn’t want to give it to them “plain & boring”. After all, these people are probably receiving dozens of solicitations for reviews. To stand out and be different we came up with a novel idea of wrapping the book in a “money bag”. The bag is rich black and is made of “felt” material. Then we used a golden rope to tie it up. And for the final touch, we hanged the picture from our cover (that became our logo) on the rope. What do you think?        We are also getting rave reviews about this packaging. But most importantly, we already have confirmed media appointments in the next coming weeks! That’s the power of being different!

Michelle and my wife, Olivia, who are largely responsible for making the packaging looks great!

The branding doesn’t stop at the packaging of the book. What do you think we will be wearing on the launch day and those media interviews? One of Thomas’ staff modelled the T-shirt for us. He looked so youthful and handsome… in it! (Yeah, him pretending to read the book was a blatant attempt at product placement :) )

Currently the “Hot Off The Press” mini promo is still on till end of Sunday. If you’re interested to get early, personally autographed copies you can still get it HERE. But not for long, as we’re running out of our early copies. After that you can grab it from the bookstores… but with no personal autographs from us.

By the way, this whole process is a great case study of creating a brand. We did a lot more than what I shared here. I’ll reveal more next time. Meanwhile, go check out the promo before it’s gone!

Leave your comments on the book, the packaging bag, the pretty babes, the handsome t-shirt… I mean the handsome guy and the T-shirt he wears below. I’d love to hear from you.

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:

Go get Adobe Flash Player!

(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.

In just a few weeks I’ll be launching a book that I’m co-authoring with a very successful, award-winning entrepreneur. The title of the book is: “Secrets To Dominate Your Niche: Differentiating Ideas To Easily Outwit, Outsell & Outperform the Competition!”

We’re really excited about it. This book is about entrepreneurship & marketing. We show you how you can create your own niche and dominate it.

We’ve sent out an early copy of the book for reviews and we’re very happy to have received wonderful reviews so far. Here are a couple of excerpts:

“Powerful, direct, clear and highly useful advice. You will definitely learn something new and important in this bold, outspoken book. I did and I’ve been a leading marketer for over 20 years!” - Michael Weissman, High Technology Marketing Guru and co-author of The Paradox of Excellence.

“I love the book! There are so many powerful and practical messages and strategies revealed. This is real life stuff! I also enjoyed all the action points, as nothing happens without action…”
- Frank Furness CSP
International motivational speaker, sales trainer and author

“This is an excellent guidebook for entrepreneurs. In it Thomas and Sant reveal the secrets to building your business for massive profit and success… strategies can literally help you dominate your niche market. If you are interested to improve your business, get the book!”
- Adam Khoo, Chief Master Trainer & Best-Selling Author, Adam Khoo Learning Technologies Group

But we need your help!

We are in the midst of tidying up the book and having the designer work on it. We have gotten 3 possible cover versions. We want to get your feedback. Which of the 3 cover designs appeals to you the most? We’re looking for something that stands out and grabs attention. And of course compels you to grab a copy.

Which one captures your attention more than others? Which one makes you want to reach out and get a copy to read? Which one makes you want to buy?

Cover 1

Cover 2

Cover 3

When you give us your opinion, I will send you excerpts of the highlights from the book.

Here’s how:

1. Please leave your opinions below as comments.

2. Please fill in your email add when leaving a comment so we can email you the ebook.

3. Only leave sincere and truthful comments.

4. Please choose the best one you like, the second best and the third. Remember, we’re looking for the one that grabs your attention, makes you want to reach for it and buy it.

5. If you have additional comments, we’d love to hear them. Please keep it short and to the point.

NOTE: This will only be available in just the next few days. I reserve the rights to take this down as soon as I think we have a good indication. So if you’re interested to get excerpts of the highlights, let us know your opinion ASAP.

Thank you very much for giving us your feedback. We really appreciate it.

Cheers!

Sant

1) It is a 3rd party endorsement. This can be very persuasive because someone else is saying positive things about you. Obviously you will be saying great things about yourself. But when someone else is doing that, it is much more credible. You can increase the credibility factor by having an authority figure endorsing you.

2) You can use testimonials to tell a ‘before & after’ story. People love stories. Just before I sit down and write this article I was just on the phone with a client. He was telling me how surprised he is with the kind of results he is experiencing. His conversion just skyrocketed! And all he did was follow what I told him to do… include persuasive testimonials that tell before & after stories. Previously my client just didn’t believe that adding testimonials will make any difference. In fact he was concerned the testimonials will make his image look ‘low class’. With my insistence and guidance he agreed to test this out. The testimonials we included tell the stories of how he solved his customers’ problems and how thankful they are. As expected, conversion exploded. My client told me if he knew that testimonials had such a huge impact he would have use them much sooner. And I encourage you to do the same. See, I just told you a mini before & after story.

3) Answer objections with testimonials. This is one of the ’secret’ techniques I use that others rarely revealed. Other than a credibility booster and a persuasion tool, testimonials are great for resolving potential/known objections. Just imagine if you have a testimonial from an authority figure saying how you helped solve his problems and ending with “…yes, his service is expensive BUT worth every single cent. I won’t want to use anybody else than him.” Boom! Triple the potency!

The next time you know your prospect is going to negotiate your price, simply give them that testimonial. You can even use testimonials to 4) point out certain positive differentiations about you that your prospect might not be thinking about yet.

5) Testimonials are extremely flexible and applicable in any industry. Every single business is a marketing business. Every marketing business can benefit from using testimonials. I don’t care what industry you are in. I’ve used testimonials in many different industries with great results. From luxury items, to industrial, to F&B, to education, to construction, to design, to manufacturing, to training…

And it can be used in any medium and format. Check out these recent testimonials I saw:

If they can use it, you should too! To check out more interesting testimonials go to HERE 

Now, are you going to use testimonials in your marketing?

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:

1. get defensive about what they are selling,

2. fabricate features in a desperate attempt to make the sale, or

3. 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?

So my wife asked, “Does your version of “medium well” mean that the steak will bloody and red on the inside?” She asked that question 3 times and each time, the waiter kept on replying her, “Normally people eat steak done medium well at the most. That is how you should eat the steak. That’s what we recommend.” In the end, she gave up and said, “Ok, I’ll have it medium well, just please make sure that the steaks are not bloody and red on the inside.”

Well, the steak came prepared according to the ‘recommendations’ of the restaurant and was bloody and red on the inside. My wife didn’t really enjoy her steak and she also felt peeved that the waiter didn’t listen to what she was saying. We won’t be going back there.

Isn’t that interesting? Here’s another interesting story…

Recently the newspaper featured an interview with the Managing Director of Human Resources Services for South Pacific at FedEx Express. She recalled an incident where her friend wanted to buy an orange from a fruit juice stall but the service staff at the stall refused to sell her one. She would only sell her orange juice. In the end, her friend gave up and didn’t buy anything from that stall.

Comparing that sales experience with her native country of Hong Kong, she said, “In Hong Kong, the staff will sell you an orange just to get your business. So I feel Singapore can learn to be more flexible and have the attitude of “sell what customers need” rather than “sell what we have”.

Did it hit you yet?

Most entrepreneurs, marketers and salespeople focus too much on their own products. They tend to follow a strict, inflexible sales pitch, regardless of who they are selling to. Since they have spent so much time learning about the product’s features and technical details, they simply regurgitate what they had memorised instead of tailoring their product knowledge to fit each individual customer’s needs.

They forgot about the most important thing - What the Customer Wants. The sales pitch is NOT about the product and its features, it is about the customer.

While having in-depth product knowledge is essential, it is only useful when it can used to support the sales pitch. Being inflexible is one of the biggest mistakes a marketer/salesperson can make. They might alienate and even turn off the customers like the examples mentioned above.

If they want it “well done” and not bloody, give them that. If they want the orange, sell them that… and a cup of juice along with it.

No matter how good you think your product is, if they don’t enjoy it, they won’t come back. And if you frustrate them, they will probably spread the word. But they get what they want, they will most probably appreciate your customized service for them and come back again.

Are you selling what your customers want? Or are you selling what you have?