The "Millyun Dollar" difference between "Will Do" and "Done"

Howdy Warriors.....it's ME "again" and....although I've expounded on the MANY "Marketing & Sales" methods I've done, over 35 yrs, with all the different projects and programs I've done to allow ME to .....easily walk into ANY business and....COLLECT A CHECK....ON THE SPOT!

....with the results being that my sons and daughters AND grandkids are being raised by ...loving, educated and financially capable parents.... and....my Home and Vehicles and all my other Properties...ARE ALL PAID FOR!

I OWE NOTHING TO NO ONE BUT....TO LOVE THEM!
So....what inspired me this morning was all the threads about "HOW....to "get clients"...How to "sell" stuff.....How to make money...etc.

So.....I probably have not mentioned the "details" to my success in Sales, with ALL the many projects I've done..... often enough.....that has always worked for me, from day one and....with the hopes that some of you can take MY simple "Marketing Technique" and use it to help YOU be more successful in "Selling YOUR Stuff to others"....HERE'S what has been MY ....PROVEN "Success Formula"....

OK....hang with me, I don't know where this is going or how long it will be, I'm just going off the seat of my pants here.....so....bear with me!

After an emotionally devastating divorce from my first wife in 1977.... I went to the mountains of Colorado (from Chgo) to "start anew". Well, here I was in a town of 7,000 people. I loved the area (SKI-COUNTRY USA) I loved the people (laid back, easy going, rural)

So....if I wanted to stay here and build my life....I had better find a way to earn some income.

So....as "luck" would have it....I went to a local restaurant and saw, on the table in front of me, my first....RESTAURANT PLACEMAT!

Holy Camoly....I thought, "Yeah! THIS is something I can do!...Sell ads to local businesses!"

So.....I called the biz who made these placemats and pretended I was a future advertiser, that I was starting up a new biz and I thought "Placemats" would be a good way to "get my Name in front of local people.

He greeted me and told me how many placemats he printed and the price for ads.

With the info on HOW MANY and HOW MUCH.....I then took one of the placemats from the restaurant I had eaten at and....went to the restaurant across the street.

When I walked inside I noticed they did NOT have "Placemats" so....I asked if the owner was in and....HE happened to be at the salad bar and overheard me asking for "the owner".

He came over and said, "Hi! I'm the owner. Can I help you?"

I introduced myself....handed him a placemat from the restaurant acorss the street and said, "I'd like to print up some placemats for YOUR restaurant.... just like these....with some of YOUR Regular Diners advertised......FREE OF CHARGE to you! May I?

He looked at the Mats....looked at me....looked at the Mats and said...."OK! We serve about 2,500 meals a month!

I responded with, "How be if I give you 10,000 mats...enough to last 4 mos...FREE OF CHARGE? He agreed! We shook hands and I asked for his Business Card and a Menu.

This was 1977....waay before Google...waay b4 pc software ... so....I went to a few local printers and got their prices and chose one....went to the local Office Supply Store and bought a 3-ring binder, a few Page Protectors, a batch of paper and a black and red Magic Marker.

I used the Magic Markers to make up a "Sales Presentation" sheet saying; "PRESENT YOUR BUSINESS TO HUNDREDS OF LOCAL PEOPLE A DAY AT....BOB'S RESTAURANT!

I then went around town and collected business cards off the many "Boards".

I then had my printer scan the business cards I chose to make up a Sample Placemat. (This was a Type-Casting machine that would print out sheets, on heavy gloss enamel)

I then had a printed Placemat with 12 of the 12 spaces....ALREADY TAKEN by local businesses ....using the Busines Cards I got off the Boards.

With a Sample Mat in my hands...with 12 local businesses showing....I went to the 12 busineses that were ALREADY ON MY PLACEMAT!....showed them my placemat with THEIR AD ON IT!.....and....guess what?....

10 of the 12....BOUGHT THE ALREADY PRODUCED AD!
WHY? Because it was....ALREADY DONE FOR THEM!

There was NO...."I can make an Ad for you!" discussion! No "wondering" what kind of Ad little ol' me could make for him! IT WAS ALREADY MADE! HE COULD SEE IT! IN FRONT OF HIS VERY OWN EYES!

Thus....my Advertising Career has been HIGHLY SUCCESSFULLY BASED ON....HERE'S WHAT I CREATED FOR YOU!.....you STILL have time to change it BUT....it is HERE.... ALREADY MADE FOR YOU!

So....my hopes for you is that you might take into consideration the POWER OF........ALREADY DONE....psychology!

Understand ....it's OK to show "what you've done for others" and let your Prospects know you have the ability and talent to create something similar " HOWEVER.... there's nothing more powerful than showing a prospect....THE ACTUAL PIECE YOU CREATED..... FOR HIM!

Sure.....creating Ad Pieces or even Videos or Websites (or, whatever) for prospective clients.....IN ADVANCE....can be "time-consuming"....BUT....after 35 yrs of doing "Create B4 showing" has SWEPT hundreds of potential clients OFF their feet.....to where I was able to CONVINCE hundreds of prospects that;

1) They NEEDED what I was doing
and....
2) Since I had ALREADY DONE IT....why not just PAY me for it?
　
Here's an example of what happened this morning (Thurs Sept 5, 2013)

A new Yogurt Shop had opened on Tuesday (Sept 3, 2013)

I went in, with my digital camera in hand at 1pm Tues (3 hrs after they opened for the FIRST DAY)....found the new owner and asked her if I could take some digitals of her place to make a Video, AT NO OBLIGATION!

She agreed, as long as it was NOT going to cost her anything!

I assured her what I was doing was totally FREE!...NO obligation!

So....I took some shots...went home and made a video using PhotoStory3 (I love this free program from MS because I can ZOOM in)

Burned a DVD....popped it into my Portable DVD Player and.... WHALA! She was "blown away"!

Once again....had I gone in and showed her what I had created for others.....she may or may not have given me the Go Ahead..... because she did NOT KNOW WHAT I COULD DO FOR HER!

BUT....when I walked in this morn with a finished Video.....set my Portable DVD Player on the counter and clicked "GO"!.....she was TOTALLY BLOWN AWAY!

When I see this happen....even nowadays....years after I first SHOWED THE ACTUAL END RESULT.....BEFORE THEY EVEN KNEW WHAT THE PROJECT WAS....I know that this kind of Sales Technique WORKS.....WORKS....WORKS!

So.....thanks for bearing with me on this. I STILL get "jacked up" when someone who had NO clue about who I am or what I do....a "stranger "....walks into their business and... they find themselves writing a check to ME! WOW!

Side Note: The owner now wants me to make a Website AND Facebook page for her PLUS...."other stuff"!

Thanks for reading....I hope you got something out of this.

Don Alm.....Marketing & Sales Guy