Monday, July 23, 2012

You will feel good offering amazing benefit to 95 million people and make a large profit, too.


Dear Reg,

I’d like to let your friends and associates know of an exciting opportunity that has a high-likelihood of being both of major benefit to people worldwide, and providing a very strong income.

You can help us solve a major problem

Did you know that 41% of U.S. adults, 95 million people, have a symptom of insomnia almost every night? Even if you sleep well, it's highly likely you know people who have trouble sleeping. When someone sleeps poorly, it causes…

Increased:
  • Stress
  • Irritability
  • Depression
  • Overall health problems

Decreased:
  • Ability to think clearly
  • Energy
  • Productivity
  • Quality of family, social, and work relationships.

Because of this, good sleep is one change that benefits almost every area of life.

My solution

I’m the Behavioral Sleep Consultant for Exempla-Lutheran Medical Center Sleep Center, Denver. I’ve been a psychotherapist since the late 1970s. In 1992, I developed severe insomnia as the result of a major life crisis. Over years of inwardly finding my way through my own insomnia, I discovered secrets about how the body and mind fall asleep and back to sleep. I created Sleep Easily, a highly effective and simple behavioral method of resolving sleep difficulties.

I’ve refined this method for 18 years with thousands of clients.

In addition to working with clients, I have created a recorded version of the Sleep Easily method, so people worldwide can learn this at home. The Sleep Easily recordings convey the method in a simple, logical way that is very attractive to the mainstream population.

Proven effective!

A study is currently underway with Sleep Easily being used by 91 people, including pilots, police, fire personnel, veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, patients of physicians from the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, and members of the general public.

This study is being conducted using an assessment questionnaire highly respected in the field of Sleep Medicine, and data is being collected and analyzed by an independent researcher.

Of the 91 study participants, we have so far received 22 initial post-treatment questionnaires. 22 is a sufficient number that these statistics are representative of what we will find when the remaining participants reply. Statistics:

·         82% reported improved sleep
·         94% of the improved sleep group noticed improvement within first three nights
·         50% noticed improvement starting their first night

Our marketing plan will reach millions of people who will benefit from good sleep

Sleep Easily, Inc. (SEI) is going to initially launch a 30-minute television infomercial about Sleep Easily, which will convey a feeling of integrity and trustworthiness.

We will initially broadcast this through the night when 90% of people watching television are doing so because they can't sleep.

The infomercial producer SEI has chosen has integrity and currently has one program grossing $50M annually, and another grossing $30M annually. He said that because our topic is sleep, he thinks our program could be even more successful than his other programs. 

When television infomercials are very successful, they produce a very high return on investment. While there can never be guarantees, our current investors recognize the optimal combination of factors:

·         The huge need for sleep
·         Our producer's success
·         The proven effectiveness of the Sleep Easily method
·         My experience and comfort with being on television
·         High quality of testimonials from physicians and other trusted professionals 

We have the team to succeed

The President of SEI has a non-competitive sleep product distributed in 28 countries. SEI's Business Development Advisor is one of the nation's most sought-after consultants in the sleep field. Our infomercial producer is one of the best in the world. I am the public spokesperson, and have much experience with and comfort being on television.

The time is now!

A sleep solution is counter-cyclical: The worse the economy, or national or world conditions, the stronger is the need for a sleep solution. Now is the time people need to be able to sleep and heal.

You will be rewarded for helping millions of people

The recorded version of the Sleep Easily method has an extremely low production cost, so it will both be affordable to millions, and be very profitable for investors.
While there can obviously never be guarantees, all of our current investors are excited about the likelihood this project has to produce a very high return on investment.

We’re excited because this project is moving so quickly!

  • Early August: Study results analysis completed and report written
  • Early September: Film testimonials, including testimonials from physicians
  • Mid September: Film infomercial
  • October: Test market infomercial
  • November: National rollout

As soon as this test markets well in the US, the infrastructure is in place to immediately have this program also broadcast in the world’s nine-largest English-speaking countries.

In addition to television, pilots and police personnel are now sleeping well and have offered to contact high-level officials in their professions to recommend that Sleep Easily be made available to everyone in their profession nationwide.

We have received strong interest from the military for using this with veterans with PTSD, and have met with top officials of the nation's largest insurance provider who recognize that getting people to sleep better will reduce healthcare costs. 

We are in discussion with a supplier to 3000 pharmacies nationwide. They are interested in placing Sleep Easily in these pharmacies.

Financial information

SEI has raised $270,000 to launch Sleep Easily on national television.

I’m seeking to sell a limited amount of my personal equity in SEI, for reasons I’ll gladly share with you when we talk. I’m seeking minimum investments of $5,000.

Sleep Easily, Inc. has a pre-market evaluation of $1,000,000, determined by an independent consulting firm, with shares priced at $1 per share. A $10,000 investment garners 1% ownership of the company.

My gift to you

I will offer free copies of Sleep Easily, equivalent to 20% of your investment (for example, for a $5,000 investment, I will donate $1,000 worth of copies of Sleep Easily) to any group you wish to help. We will do this in your name as the donor. Possibilities:

  • We are connected with local and national organizations serving veterans with PTSD
  • Emergency first responders
  • A group of your choice

Become a part of helping the world sleep well!

Because good sleep improves almost every area of life and our marketing plan will likely reach millions of people, Sleep Easily can have a major positive effect on society. This socially-conscious factor is attractive to our current investors. 

Because I’m offering just a limited amount of equity, I expect this to be completed within the week, so it’s available on a first-come, first served basis.

I would be pleased to give you more information, including financial projections andtestimonials from physicians and from many people who are now sleeping well using this method. My preference is that you call me at, 303-304-9933. If you wish, you could also email me at drshane@sleepeasily.com

With gratitude,

Richard
--
Richard Shane, Ph.D.
Sleep Easily, Inc.
3980 Broadway, Suite 103-165      
Boulder, Colorado 80304

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Groundbreaking Hiring Research on Top Sales Performers



Reg Gupton here,

I recently had a conversation with a client about reducing the turnover in his sales organization which he thought had to be in the 45% per year range.

As you can see from the article below, success leaves clues. Bill Bonnstetter, CEO of Target Training International, Ltd. completed this research where he found high turnover does not have to be the norm.

 "Research studies of top sales people in the United States proved that top sales performance can be predicted. The most successful organizations in the world already know that hiring the right people has the potential of becoming the most powerful "secret weapon" in their arsenal of competitive strategies. What they don't know is that hiring the right sales people can be as simple as following a recipe based on recent findings from a study conducted by Bill Bonnstetter of Target Training International, Ltd. in Scottsdale, Arizona.
As a result of twenty years of research, development and distribution of assessment tools to measure performance, we have been telling organizations that it is what's on the inside, not the outside, that counts, especially in sales performance. We are fighting the myth that hiring people who look and sound good leads to good performance. As global competition forces organizations to greater heights in key performance arenas such as customer service, quality and customization, aggressive organizations must be ever vigilant in the identification, acquisition, development and integration of innovative technology. This type of innovative technology is now available to select top sales performers.
Much of the research conducted in the past on top salespeople has been focused on behavior. Behavioral research has been popular because, like looking good and sounding good, behavior can be observed. Little, if any significant study has been focused on what goes on inside a top salesperson. Groundbreaking research now confirms that attitudes far outweigh looking good, sounding good or behavior in distinguishing top salespeople.
Two of our most significant assumptions were confirmed by the study. (1) Top performing salespeople are similar and, (2) Attitudes or values are more important than behavior in sales performance.
In the study, only top performing salespeople responded. Top performing salespeople responded to two assessments. One was based on the internationally validated DISC behavioral model and the other was based on the Personal Engagement, Motivation Version (PMEV), model.
Note that in the study of 178 United States firms, top sales performers tended to be spread across three behavioral dimensions. In view of these results, it is reasonable to conclude that salespeople can sell in most, if not all, behavioral dimensions.
However, when it comes to what is on the inside of top performing salespeople, the study confirm it is hands‑down, a Utilitarian Attitude.


There is help.  Contact me at gupton@growthseminars.com for your complimentary assessments  and to discuss how to save you and your company hassle and reduce your risk of more bad hires.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

10 classic marketing books you should read.


10 classic marketing books you should read.

Reg Gupton, here.

While these books are mostly about advertising and direct response writing, they should be in every business person's library and read often.  Many times.  Add them to your reading library today.


1)                  How to Write a Good Advertisement by Victor Schwab (Wilshire Book Company, 1962). A common-sense course in how to write advertising copy that gets people to buy your product or service, written by a plain-speaking veteran mail order copywriter in 1960.
Best part: 100 "archetypal" headlines that people are still using in various forms today to create new controls (e.g., "When Doctors Feel Rotten, This is What They Do").
Availability: Still in print (Wilshire Publishing) and available on amazon.com.

2)         My First 50 Years in Advertising by Max Sackheim (Prentice-Hall, 1970). Another plain-speaking, common-sense guide that stresses salesmanship over creativity, and results over awards. The author was one of the originators of the Book of the Month Club.
Best part: The oversize format allows full-size reproductions (large enough for the copy to be legible) of many classic direct response ads (e.g., "They Thought I Was Crazy to Ship Live Maine Lobsters as Far as 1,800 Miles from the Ocean").
Availability: Out of print and difficult to find.

3)         The Robert Collier Letter Book by Robert Collier. While Schwab and Sackheim concentrate on space ads. Collier focuses on the art of writing sales letters, of which he is a master. You learn how to write persuasive sales letters in a friendly, natural, conversational style.
Best part: While some of the letters may seem old-fashioned and dated. Collier's timeless principles still apply.
Availability: Comes In and out of print. Somewhat difficult to get.

4)         Reality in Advertising by Rosser Reeves (Alfred A. Knopf, 1961). The book in which Reeves introduced the now-famous concept of USP (the Unique Selling Proposition).

Best part: The idea that every successful ad must (a) offer a benefit, (b) the benefit must differentiate your product from the competition, and (c) the benefit must be big enough to motivate buyers to purchase your product instead of others.
Availability: On Amazon.com

5)         Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene Schwartz. A copywriting guide by one of the greatest direct-response copywriters of the 20th century.
Best part: The notion that advertising does not create desires; rather, it focuses already existing desires onto your product.
Availability; Available from Amazon.com.

6)         Tested Advertising Methods, Fourth Edition by John Caples. A classic book on the principles of persuasion as proven through A/B split tests.
Best part: The A/B split headline tests with the results (e.g., for an air conditioner, "How to have a cool, quiet bedroom – even on hot nights" pulled 2 times the response of "Get rid of that humidity with a new room cooler that also dries the air").
Availability: In print. Available in bookstores and online. Make sure you get the 4th edition

7)         Confessions of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy Charming autobiography of legendary ad man David Ogilvy, packed with useful advice on how to create effective advertising.
Best part: Chapter 6 on "How to Write Potent Copy."

Availability: Amazon.com.

8)         Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins (Bell Publishing, 1920). A book on the philosophy that advertising's purpose is to sell, not entertain or win creative awards - and how to apply this philosophy to create winning ads.

Best part: His observation that "specifics sell; superlatives roll off the human understanding like water off a duck's back."
Availability: Since the copyright has expired, this book is now in the public domain and is available as a free downloadable e-book on several Web sites. You can also buy it as a paperback on amazon.com.

9)         Method Marketing by Denny Hatch (Bonus Books, 1999). A book on how to write successful direct response copy by putting yourself
In the customer's shoes. Packed with case histories of modern direct response success stories, including Bill Bonner of Agora Publishing, and Martin Edelston of Boardroom.
Best part: The introduction of the concept of method marketing, which states: "You cannot write copy without getting inside the head of the person to whom you are communicating and becoming that person."
Availability: In print and available on amazon.com

10)       Advertising Secrets of the Written Word by Joseph Sugarman (DelStar, 1998). How to write successful advertising copy by a modern master of the space ad.
Best part: The 24 psychological triggers that get people to buy.
Availability: In print and available on amazon.com.