Tool #10 – Using Endorsements to Maximize Profits from Every CUstomer With Yanik Silver
Last month we talked about using Joint Ventures and I hope you’ve started putting some of those deals in place. Now this month we’re going to cover the flip side of the coin – when you endorse others.
Really, this is so beautiful – let me explain…
Once you start building up your own customer and prospect base there will be certain products and services your customers want or need after you’re done with but for one reason or another, you don’t want to deal with or perform. So that doesn’t mean you can’t make money by referring your customers to others that do these things. Why shouldn’t you?
This is what master marketer, Dan Kennedy, calls the “toll booth” position.
Just like a real toll booth on the highway you’re charging other companies a “toll” to access your list.
Think about it…
Using endorsements will be like getting FREE money – I’m serious. The truth is customers have a greater capacity to spend than most people ever believe. And it doesn’t matter how prolific you are with offers and products because customers will continue spending money with other people. In fact, most businesses significantly underestimate their customers capacity for consumption. You won’t anymore.
The bottom line is the more offers you put out in front of your customers and prospects the more money you’ll bank. Period.
Now here’s how to do it…
Your first step is to sit down and think about what your customers need after they buy from you or contact you. Let’s run down a couple scenarios so you can easily start brainstorming.
Since I’m just moving into a new house I’ll start with a personal example. As soon as our movers moved us in you’d better believe Missy and I needed all kinds of things for the house. How about if you had a deal with a furniture retailer who gave you a 15% cut for any business directly referred. Now you would simply send out a thank you letter immediately after the move and provide a gift certificate good for $50 of free furniture at your partner’s store. Then once Missy and I get to the store we redeem our $50 for a $5,000 bedroom set.
Of course there are tons of other services and products we need with a new house so if you started making deals with severalSUPPLIERS you could easily double your profits.
Example #2: Chiropractor
Let’s say you’re a professional like a Chiropractor. What do your patients need after they see you? How about making a deal with a local store selling special chairs that are “back friendly”. Or what about a deal with local gyms that you can refer patients to that have specialized equipment. Really, there are lots of ways to do this.
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The next 2 examples take a different approach. You can start brainstorming what you can endorse based on your customer. Your clientele will determine what you can endorse and you can really go wild with possibilities once you understand who the majority of your customers are or where they are coming from.. For instance, if you’re selling to fishermen then you can be endorsing all sorts of fishing related equipment, trips and information.
Example #3: Upscale Restaurant
So what type of patrons come here? Usually well-heeled people who like to eat out, go out and be trendy. This opens up lots of possibilities – you could promote an upscale jewelry store, automobile dealership, clothing store, estate attorney, etc. etc. Really the sky is the limit and you do could start making more from your endorsement than your “main” business.
Example #4: Information Marketer
I sell a course to cosmetic surgeons on how they can market their practice better so my endorsement opportunities center around asking myself “what else do cosmetic surgeons need?” Simple. I’ve done deals with educational video tape producers, physician domain name sellers, seminar promoters, etc. etc.
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And there’s one more bonus way to brainstorm endorsement opportunities — and that is to be totally unrelated. You could be a travel agent who endorses a Realtor. You could be a dry cleaner who endorses a good accountant. You could be a baker who sends out an endorsement for a pet groomer. Really the possibilities here are endless. As long as you have a good relationship with your customer base and they trust you – you could endorse just about anything and it will work.
As you can see if you open up your mind you’ll find all kinds of incredible possibilities but you need to have your marketing antennae up. Also, if you do a lot of business online you need to get familiar with reseller, associate or affiliate programs. You can find nearly any kind of offer that’s right for your customers here: www.associateprograms.com
Okay, now that you’ve got your list started – let’s make the deal happen.
The next thing you need to set-up is a tracking mechanism to make sure you get paid (important point, right?). There are a couple ways to do this but the best way is usually the simplest. You need to set it up so that customers you refer will get a “special” deal by mentioning the letter, postcard or coupon they received. Or it could be a special “department code”, extension or a fake person’s name for phone orders.
Just make sure your endorsee’s staff is well aware of what’s going on and that everything will be tracked completely. There is a certain amount of trust on your end and you shouldn’t get into any deals where you don’t trust the person you’re endorsing. But then again why would you? If you don’t trust them – then I doubt they would provide a good service to your customers anyway.
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Side Note: Which brings up a very important point: You have to thoroughly review and check out anything you endorse. If not, your reputation is on the line with every endorsement (which is the power of this whole concept). If your customers start seeing you as someone who’ll endorse anything for a quick buck – you’re in hot water.
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Another way to assure you get paid the correct amount you negotiate is have some way to keep you in the loop of the transaction. Here are 2 ways to doing this:
- You accept the payment and your endorsee performs the service or delivers the goods. That way you know you’re getting paid since you got the money. Also, they know they are getting paid the correct amount because you can’t fulfill without them. This becomes almost like a “private label” deal.Quick example. My father’s medical equipment company did all kinds of repairs for medical equipment for physicians but we didn’t do endoscopes. Endoscopes vary from flexible ones that go up your nose to rigid ones that go in the other end. These were sophisticated pieces of equipment we never touched but our clients frequently asked us if we did repairs on them. The answer was always “no” until we struck a deal with a local endoscope repair company. So we marketed the service as being done by our company but we’d turn around and send it off to this other repair shop.
- The second way of keeping yourself in the loop is by giving a free bonus or gift that comes directly from you when the customer submits a receipt. This way you don’t have to mess with taking payments. So going back to our example #1 – the movers endorsing a furniture store. Instead of giving a $50 gift certificate let’s say they gave the customer a free boombox with a $100 or more purchase (very, very cheap – for resources check www.impactproducts.net). So now when Missy and I go to the furniture store and buy – we send in our receipt to get our boombox. Voila! now the Moving company can make sure they are getting the fair percentage they negotiated.This same idea works well for endorsing information products (especially digital ones). You simply tell the customer to send you the email receipt and you’ll give them the free bonus you promised. Nice and clean.
Direct Mail
This could be either envelope mail or a postcard. Here is a sample you can put to use:
Endorsement Letter Example ($50 Gift Certificate as Thank you)
Here is a simple letter you would send out on your letterhead endorsing someone.
| Dear Customer,
I just wanted to personally write and thank you for your business. Thank you for trusting your {move} to {your company’s name}. Instead of sending you “thank you” card or a box of candy, I thought I could give you something, which hopefully, will be much more appreciated…a gift of {category of product you’re endorsing}. That’s why I’ve arranged a very special deal with {name of endorsee} for you (please do not tell anyone else about this because this is just for you). Perhaps you’ve heard of {name of endorsee}. They are the area’s finest {Tell about them: retailers of upscale contemporary and transitional furniture. Their showrooms are filled with wonderful and unique furniture}. {Give personal experience with endorsee: In fact, my wife and I just bought our bedroom set from them} and we couldn’t be more pleased. I told {Doug}, the owner of {Unique Furniture}, our customers are special and deserved a really great deal. I told him I wanted to give each one $50.00 gift certificates “on the house” for anything in the store. He told me I was absolutely crazy and practically kicked me out of his office. But I explained that one or two people might come in and get only $50 of {furniture} but many more would see his great selection and terrific prices and would pick-up the bedroom set, couch or end tables they need. Go ahead and use the enclosed certificate which entitles you to $50.00 with my compliments. However, please be discreet when you walk in because I promised {Doug} we would keep this private so his customers wouldn’t be offended. {Unique Furniture is located at 1234 Main Street in downtown Arlington, right next to 1st National Bank.} There is absolutely no catch and there is no obligation to buy over $50. This is just something I thought you would really enjoy. Thanks again for all your business. Sincerely, (Your name) |
Also, go back to last month’s example and you can simply turn them around and use them coming from you. Simple enough, right? Like this one:
Example: “Anything” Endorsement
| Dear {First Name},
Why would your {your business type} write to you about a {business being endorsed}? It’s because I felt it was so important that you find out about {business being endorsed}. You know there aren’t too many businesses nowadays that meet your expectations, let alone exceed them. But {name of business} has done just that. And that’s why I wanted to personally introduce you to {business owner’s name}, the owner of {business}. For {#} years now, {First Name} has {tell about what they’ve done for you and any exceptional work}. And since I’m always on the look out for great deals for our valued customers and friends, I asked {First Name} if {he/she} could let me do something special for you. After a bit of “friendly persuasion” {he/she} agreed! So here’s the deal: When you bring this letter to {First Name}, you’ll get a 15% discount off {anything in the store}! I’ve enclosed a brochure so you could see what {First Name}has to offer. Take a look at it and then stop by {Business name} right away. You’ll be glad you did. Sincerely, {Your name} |
Note: If your endorsee has a proven direct mail piece – another easy way to use the endorsement technique is to simply send out their proven piece in your envelope but add a small “lift note” coming from you. This note could be just a couple paragraphs introducing the product and then telling people to read the full story (inside the proven direct mail piece). Nightingale-Conant frequently uses this endorsement lift note technique with notes coming from Vic Conant.
Coupons
The next way you can easily put this endorsement technique to work is by putting coupons out at your place of business. This technique works well if you have lots of walk-in traffic and don’t have a mailing list (shame on you) 🙂
You can simply place postcard sized coupons right on your counter, good for discounts and special offers to nearby stores. You could even do this as a no-money deal by getting other stores to do the same thing for you. Either way – this is a great promotional idea.
Email is great for endorsing since it costs you almost nothing and packs a huge punch. If you have an email list of your customers please put it to use. Here are a few sample endorsements I’ve done that have worked incredibly well (Notice how I frequently use personal stories when starting the endorsement – this is very powerful):
Example: PowerPause Endorsement
| [[firstname]] – 3 minutes to greater joy, wealth and happiness?
Hi [[firstname]] I stumbled across something unusual recently…. And as a valued Instant Sales Letter member I wanted to let you know about it. A few months ago I met a man named John Harricharan at a seminar, who graciously offered me his material to review. I smiled and politely thanked him but I knew that I probably wouldn’t get around to reading it anytime soon. (You should see my stack of reading material to get to and I’m actually a quick reader.) But as luck would have it, I was going away on my honeymoon one week after this seminar and I decided to bring some ‘lighter’ reading along. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I read a book that didn’t deal with the subject of marketing or advertising, but once I started reading John’s material on the airplane and I couldn’t put it down. It was simply incredible! His manuscript combined every success principle I’ve ever been taught and wraps it all up into one succinct exercise called a “Power Pause”. And the best part is it only takes just 3 minutes and 3 steps to achieve. Yep! Only 3 minutes! The truth is, I constantly find myself applying John’s simple (yet extremely powerful) “Power Pause” principles in my life now and I feel like there is no problem or situation I can’t conquer. (Frankly – I’m not one of those spiritual ‘walk on hot coals’ type of guys – but this stuff really has had a profound effect on my life.) What’s more, other top marketers like Declan Dunn, Jonathan Mizel, Monique Harris, Joe Vitale and Marlon Sanders all vouch for John’s material (he even has an endorsement from famed Deepak Chopra, MD). It’s amazing to think there are only 3 steps to solving almost any problem you’ll ever deal with (money, happiness, relationship, you name it). And John assures me that it works for anyone willing to give it a try. The only thing you need to give this information a shot, is an open mind. Open enough to take a chance on yourself and the material contained in the “PowerPause”. (Actually, you don’t even need to take a chance because his proven material is backed by a 100% unconditional, guarantee — so you really can’t lose!) Do yourself a favor and check out this valuable information by clicking the link below: http://www.surefiremarketing.com/powerpause/ You’ll be glad you did! Yanik Silver P.S. Could there really be 3 steps to happiness, joy, wealth and getting almost anything you really want in your life? I couldn’t believe it either until I applied the “Power Pause” material myself here: http://www.surefiremarketing.com/powerpause |
Example: Search Engine CD Endorsement
| <DISCOVERED! <$firstname>’s secret to a #1 Yahoo Listing
Dear <$firstname$>, I recently achieved a #1 ranking in Yahoo just by following the same simple, yet powerful information I’m about to share with you… The fact is no matter what you’re selling online, whether it’s your own products or services, or if you’re an affiliate — you need traffic! There’s just no way around it. And Search Engines are the last free way to drive lots and lots of targeted traffic to your site. But the BIG problem is getting a top ranking. You’re competing with hundreds, probably thousands, of other sites all looking for the top slots. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the Search Engines keep changing the rules on you all the time. It’s enough to drive you crazy! I threw in the towel because it seemed nearly impossible for a techno “dummy” like me to get high rankings…until now. That’s why I’m so excited to share a brand new resource that will literally give you an unfair advantage. Here’s what I’m talking about… It’s a new, step-by-step CD-Rom put out by one of the top Search Engine and directory placement experts, Jim Edwards. Please do *not* confuse this with another piece of search engine submission software or stale, outdated ebook. It’s the first interactive, tutorial I’ve seen that walks you through every step of getting top ten placement in the major search engines and the major directories like Yahoo. Getting top search engine and directory placement couldn’t be easier… You just pop the CD-Rom into your computer (MAC or PC) and look over his shoulder as he walks you through everything (the same steps his company currently charges clients a minimum of $1,500 to do for them). If you’re like me, I learn best by example – and that’s exactly what you’ll get here: * See Jim literally demonstrate right on YOUR computer screen. * Listen to him tell you exactly what to do. * Watch as he clicks the mouse…writes the text…creates the pages…right on your computer screen! You just follow his examples with nothing left to chance! Jim guides you from A to Z, step-by-step through the entire design and submission process. There’s absolutely nothing left out. And his stuff really, really works! I’m a perfect example since I used this same information to get a #1 listing in Yahoo for one of my new sites. Now, I can just sit back and watch the traffic (and sales) roll in! And I did it all with the exact same information you’re getting on this CD-Rom – I didn’t have any special help. Now, here’s more good news… Jim is allowing me to make our subscribers a very special 50% savings offer. This is totally legitimate if you don’t use our link below you’ll pay double on their normal site (which is still a bargain for the information you’re getting). Don’t wait. I’ve managed to set-up a special limited time offer for you to get the first shot at applying these BIG TIME Search Engine secrets. For your 50% discount and more information go here: http://www.searchenginecd.com/yanik I promise you’ll love it! Best, P.S. If you’ve ever wished for more website traffic… if you’ve ever wanted dozens, hundreds, even thousands more sales online…or even if you just wished you’d come up under your own darn company name in the search engines…then this product was made for you! http://www.searchenginecd.com/yanik |
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