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But Wait . . . There's MORE ! January 31, 2003
Here's a Pop Quiz~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~What kitchen tool cuts through a nail, a tin can and a radiator hose and still slices a tomato paper thin? ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ If you DIDN'T answer Ginsu Knives, it's ok to crawl back into your cave now. The Ginsu Knives commercials ran non-stop through the
late 70s and early 80s. They have been off the air for
over 20 years, yet their effects still linger like the
smoke of a cheap cigar. I have watched them
hundreds of times, and they are among my fondest
childhood memories. (I lived a sheltered life.) The Remarkable Ginsu Knife!
Lesson 1.If Ed needed to spend THAT much time demonstrating how a simple knife works, imagine how important it is to explain something as complicated as building a fence, planning a wedding, or injecting Botox in someone's face. Too often, we expect shoppers to be better informed than they really are. Consider a plumber who spends several years working and learning his trade before earning his license. After he has successfully proven his thorough knowledge and experience, he markets his business with a one line ad in the Yellow Pages that says "Stop Leaks". That's expecting the consumer to use an incredible amount of imagination. There are dozens of variations between plumbers in terms of residential, commercial, new construction, remodel, inside, outside, and on and on. Expecting a two word ad to attract the right type of customer and build his business isn't reasonable. Instead, the plumber needs to be very specific on the types of work that he does, the special skills he has, his areas of focus and why a particular type of customer should hire him instead of someone else. Unless he clearly identifies the types of work that he wants to do, he isn't likely to find customers who stumble upon it. Cut Onions So Fast, You Won't Have Time To Cry!
Lesson 2.You've got to use a strong visual to make your ad successful. The old adage holds true, "You've got to stop the eye to start the sale." For best results, use a single image that is clear, powerful, and covers about 1/3rd of the total ad. Don't skimp on graphics. If you select a good image, you'll be able to use it for years. Once you find a visual that reinforces your message, use it consistently across all of your advertising. If you've chosen your image wisely and used it consistently, it will ultimately become linked with your business.
Absolutely Risk Free!
Lesson 3.Shoppers are afraid of being ripped off. Their fear will keep them from having necessary and important work done. As a business person, you need to do everything you can to give shoppers comfort that you are a reliable company. You can do this through testimonials, BBB membership, years of service, and other indications that you are a company that they can trust.
Now how much would you pay? Don't Answer Yet! Lesson 4.Give the shopper a reason to call by offering something special. It should be something that has high perceived value but low cost. You might consider putting something in your ad such as: Call for our free booklet, "101 Costly Errors to Avoid when Selling Your House." It's very valuable to the shopper, but costs you very little to produce. What you're trying to accomplish is to get the shopper to call you instead of calling your competitor. As a final note, as I was putting this article together, I
discovered that some Ginsu knives are manufactured in
the
US and others are manufactured in China. The Chinese
made Ginsu set of 10 knives can be found at retail
prices as high as $19.99 for the set. However, if you
buy a shipping container load of those knives, the
wholesale cost
is only $0.80 for the entire 10-piece set. That's 80 cents
for 10 "genuine" Ginsu knives! With profit
margins like
that, it's no wonder the announcer was so excited.
But wait, don't call yet. . .
Answer to Brain Teaser The great checkers tournament.We recently held a checkers tournament between departments at corporate headquarters to see which group was mentally superior.I can't tell you which departments played against each other, because then you would be able to figure this out by counting employees. Let's just say that in a battle of wits, one team arrived unarmed. The teams didn't have the same number of players so to make things fair, we had players compete against members of their own departments as well as the opposing side. Our tournament rules required every player to complete exactly one game of checkers against every other player. After everyone was finished, we had played a total of 120 checkers games. Although we didn't crown an individual champion, one department thoroughly trounced the slackers and half-wits in the other department. How many players competed in total? ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Our WINNER is David Meloni of YPM Yellow Pages Media!This Week's Brain Teaser
My dear Aunt Edith likes to wear pigtails in her
hair.As you can see, she gets dressed in the morning without turning on the lights. She's into wearing pigtails because it makes her feel
like
her favorite singer, that fine, upstanding, young, role
model, Britney Spears.
She doesn't mind which scrunchies she wears, as long as they're both the same color. What is the minimum number of scrunchies that Edith needs to pull out of the bucket (without looking) to make sure that she has one matching set? The answer is at the bottom of this newsletter
About the Author
A prolific writer and speaker, Dick publishes a popular
weekly newsletter (you just read it) and frequently
addresses industry
and trade organizations on business and marketing
technology. Along with a CPA, Dick has a business
degree from the University of Notre Dame.
Here's what one industry leader has to say...Dear Dick: After 54 conferences since 1988, I have had the opportunity to hear something in the vicinity of 3,000 presentations. Rare is the speaker who can both entertain and inform his audience. Rare still is the speaker who provides meaningful data to support his perspective. You managed to accomplish all of these in your outstanding presentation at our recent Yellow Pages - Return on Investment Conference at the San Diego Sheraton Hotel. You spoke on a subject that is vital to the future of everyone in the Yellow Pages business. And you told your audience how you are succeeding in selling Internet Yellow Pages. Importantly, they were listening to every word because you were humorous, while at the same time presenting your information in such a way that everyone in the audience could relate to you. What a wonderful presentation. Not only did many people come up to me afterwards to tell me how good your speech was, but the anonymous evaluations from attendees rated you at the top. Thank you so much for taking the time to give such a valuable and important message. Sincerely, John F. Kelsey, III President and CEO The Kelsey Group, Inc
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The Answer to the brainteaser is 7.
She needs to pick one more scrunchie than the total number of colors available. She might have a match before picking 7, but she's guaranteed to have a match on the 7th pull. Our WINNER and the proud owner of a TransWestern Publishing Bottle-Popper is Bill Phelan from Hoffman Estates, Illinois! |
Knives are not exactly the most exciting kitchen implements. Archeologists have found prehistoric caveman artifacts proving that knives are older than civilization itself. The first knives ever used were splinters of silex or flint. The shards' sharp edges formed a sort of cutting implement that made skinning and hacking up animals killed in the hunt an easier chore. Flint stones were excellent for scraping pelts to make into clothing. Coincidentally, I have a cousin who dresses himself using this time honored technique to this very day.
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