Ten Strategies From Frank Kerns
Mas s Control Program
1. It's far more powerful when people decide for
themselves that they want your stuff, than when
you “convince” them to buy it.
Having studied the psychology of selling, and having been a direct
salesperson myself, I can say this is
absolutely 100% true.
It might sound counter-intuitive that
salespeople would know this
stuff (aren't they the guys that pressure you into buying things?), but
actually some of the best salespeople I worked with were the ones who
did exactly this... they helped the customer to
make their own decision
to buy.
You see, when you “convince” someone (which is how most sales
letters work), the customer is always aware (even if it's only at a
deeper level) that the decision was triggered primarily by some outside
pressure. (“OK, you convinced me”.) Plus, there's always the
subconscious desire to “prove them wrong”, or rather, to prove
themselves right.
That's just human nature – we don't particularly like to be proved
wrong, do we?
On the other hand, when a person decides
for themselves that they
want your stuff, they
own that decision and will defend it (because of
the principle of commitment and consistency).
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It then simply becomes a question of, Will you
let them buy it?
2. You do that by giving them really cool valuable
content that helps them to conclude that they want
something.
Part of the reason you're reading this report now is because Frank
shared lots of valuable
free content with people, in the form of videos,
tele-seminars, blog posts, reports and so on.
Some days ago I decided to go through as much of it as I could,
for the benefit of my
MyNoteTaking Nerd Blog Readers , so
I could show them
exactly how and where Frank is using his own
techniques, and what he's doing (and why he's doing it) at each stage
of the launch.
I've spent the better part of the last five days (often staying up
until 2am) studying as much of it as I could, and...
Wow. I've been amazed at what I learned
My motivation?
First, since not many people nowadays have the time to spend 3-5
days going
again through all of Frank's videos, reports, emails, and so
on (that's assuming you went through them the first time!), I thought
I'd save you the time by summarizing all the essential points I could
find, in this short report.
I'd like to think, however, that this report is a good example of
putting Frank's material into practice.
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By reading this report, and sharing this PDF with others, you have
what I consider to be a great summary of much of the free content
Frank put out there before his Mass Control launch.
3. The Internet allows “seductive selling” to occur.
This is Frank's term, which I don't think he was too happy with
himself, but basically
seductive selling is like a courtship, or
getting to know someone.
The way he puts it, the old way of selling is like going up to someone
in a bar, and asking them to sleep with you. If you're
lucky (and exceptionally good looking like me), you might get a
“conversion rate” of 1% or 2% (although I guess it also depends
on
how you ask!)
The “seductive selling” way is like dating or courtship, where you get
to know each other,
before asking whether they'd like to “take it to the
next level” as it were. This is, after all, how people “buy” into each
other, all the time.
(Personally, I don't think it's quite as black and white as it's put
here, but I'm giving you what Frank teaches. Sometimes putting
things into black and white contrast is a good teaching method.)
The Internet allows the natural process of seductive selling to occur,
because you can
build relationships, and get feedback in real time,
such as by email, and from blog comments.
In other words, you can
get into the mind of your prospect, and
then tailor your next message, and even your entire product, based on
what your prospects are telling you.
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4. People have different mindsets when doing
different things on the Internet.
Most marketers tend to treat search engine users, blog and email
readers roughly the same way -
roughly!
Frank's basically saying to us, “Stop it!”
We need to consider the mindset of each Internet user, in the
context of what they're doing.
Here's what he means...
A search engine user is usually in a “problem/solution” mindset,
or a “getting ready to buy” mindset.
For instance, someone who types in “stop baby crying” into the
search engine is looking for a solution to a problem – that of a
crying baby!
An important thing to remember, however, is they're probably
not
looking for your $39 ebook on “How To Stop A Crying Baby
Without Resorting To Tactics That Would Have Him/Her
Removed From Your Home By The Government” - or that kind of
stuff.
Instead, they're just looking for a bit of free info on how to stop
their crying baby – a “problem/solution” mindset.
Then there's the “getting ready to buy” mindset. A person who
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types in “resale value of honda accord” is probably doing research, in
preparation for an actual purchase. They're actually
“getting ready to buy”.
This is a
different mindset to the previous one, as Frank brilliantly
observes, and therefore requires
a different approach.
Again, blog readers are in a completely different mindset from the
search engine user. A blog reader is in the “news getting” or
“entertainment” frame of mind – requiring yet another approach.
And the email reader is usually in the “work” (aka “let's be
productive”) frame of mind, or the “I wonder what's up with Sally
today” mindset.
They are
not (or at least rarely) thinking, “Hmm... I wonder if
Marketer X is going to send me a promotion today?”
I guess I could summarize what he's saying this way...
Match your message to the mindset.
In other words, why send out a hyped-up sales pitch by email,
when email users are primarily in a “let's be productive” or “I
wonder what's up with...” mindset?
Instead, why not send them free content that
matches up the
mindset of an email reader?
Of course, that fits in with Frank's overall “Mass Control”
philosophy of
giving away really cool valuable content that helps
people conclude that they want something.
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5. People absorb information in different ways...
This one isn't anything particularly new, but it's something we
marketers easily forget – so thanks to Frank for reminding us.
We all have (at least) five senses – sight, sound, touch, smell and taste
– through which we take in information about the world around us.
Many of us have
preferred ways of taking in information. Some of us
prefer
visual means, others prefer auditory methods, and yet others
prefer
kinesthetic or touch. (A smaller number prefer smell and taste -
those kinds of people do also exist, it's just not as common).
This is relevant because...
6. ... when you present your material in different
ways, people “get it” more and trust you more.
By presenting your material in as many different ways as possible,
more of the brain responds, and because it gets the attention of more
of their brain, the weird effect is that they trust you more!
These are the reasons Frank gave out his material in all kinds of
different formats – videos, audio, PDF documents, HTML pages and
so on. People are seeing, hearing and reading, so different parts of the
brain are getting involved, resulting in increased trust
– and he's appealing to as many different types of person as he
can, given the medium (i.e. visual and auditory types in
particular).
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Plus, I notice that Frank often
repeats certain points in each of his
material, and so by not only repeating it, but repeating it in
different ways, it really
goes in, as it were.
7. Results are all that your target market cares
about (at first).
Jo is tired. She hasn't had any sleep in a couple of days. Her baby
won't sleep, but just keeps crying... and she doesn't know what to do.
When Jo searches for “stop baby crying” in the search engine, she
doesn't give two hoots about you, your product, how much of an
expert you are, or what wonderful offer you're about to make her... ...
all she
really cares about is stopping her baby from crying.
Period.
And when you think about it, if you want Jo to buy your stuff, all
that should matter to
you as well is that she only cares about
stopping her baby from crying at this point – nothing else.
And this is where the following techniques plays a huge part...
8. Give results in advance, and you are set for life!
He calls this “Results In Advance”, or R.I.A.)
Given that
results are all that your market cares about at first...
Deliver little doses of results in advance, and this
increase s
your credibility and builds their desire for more.
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This is truly powerful stuff, so let me explain, before you read it
again.
People want
results. At first, people only care about results. So if you
can give them stuff that actually gets them results, they are like,
“Hmm... that actually worked!”
You, and what you have to say, then become
instantly more
credible in the mind of your prospect . You become an
instant
authority in their world, by virtue of getting them
results. (Who
cares about a gazillion testimonials when they've
experienced
results for themselves? - not to say that testimonials aren't still
important.)
They are then prepared to hear more of what you've got to say.
You've given them results, and
now they want more . In their
mind, they think, “What next?” And they are going to turn to
you
to answer that question, because
you are the one that delivered
what they most wanted - results!
So let's say Jo searches for “baby stop crying”, and she comes
across a simple site with the headline, “How To Make Your Baby
Sleep In 5 Easy Steps”.
She's offered a simple report on how to do this, in exchange for
her email address, and most important of all, the free report
delivers
results for her. Her baby stops crying.
Now, how much more
powerful do you think those follow-up
messages are going to be, which go into more detail on why
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babies cry, how to pre-empt a crying fit, and so on, all great free
content extracted from your Baby Mastery course?
That's just an example, but Frank goes even further with this
technique.
He suggests you
write down all the things a prospect would need to do
in order to get the desired outcome.
For example, he used his own Mass Control product as an
example. What is the desired outcome for a purchaser? It would be to
“make money fast and ethically.”
What would they need to do in order to get the desired outcome?
They'd need to...
1. Get traffic.
2. Build a list.
3. Offer value.
4. Position your offer.
5. Put it in front of people.
So he created free videos on how to get traffic, and how to build a list.
That way, people could get
results in advance. Once they got
results, they'd say, “Mmm... that worked! What else has Frank
got?”
Plus, by doing this, he was simultaneously dealing with objections
such as, “I can't buy Mass Control, I haven't got a list!”.
Well, Frank told his potential customers
how to do it, for free!
In fact, he did it for every one of the things on the above list.
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What do you think the overall effect of that would be?
This is a
truly powerful technique. I suggest you read this one
again, and really think how you could apply it in your business.
9. Salespeople sell , friends tell stories .
I was actually shocked when I heard Frank say something in one of his
interviews that sounds obvious upon reflection, but actually isn't all
that obvious at first, because we just do it so naturally that we're often
not aware of it. It's this...
When we're in a bar or restaurant or among friends, as much as
80% of our conversation (at least the sober parts) involves
telling a story of some kind. (After the alcohol, I guess it drops to 20%
stories, and 80% singing and telling people how much you love them.
Or is that just me?)
If you don't believe me (or rather, Frank), record yourself next
time you're out with friends – you'll be surprised!
Those stories may not be profound - they may just be recounting what
you did, they did, I said, she said, and so on - but they're stories
nonetheless. It's just the way our brain works – we tell stories.
So here we are, as marketers, trying to come across as friends to our
potential clients (how many even put “Dear Friend” near the top of
their sales letter), and yet
do we actually talk to them as friends
would? How much of our sales letters involve telling
stories?
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Stories don't have to be long-winded tales of adventure, mystery and
intrigue - although those help!
Tell the story of the first time you had that “Aha!” moment that
led you to create the product. Tell the story of the challenges you used
to face.
Just tell the story.
Stories are entertaining, and telling them is what friends do.
Plus, and this is the really good part, stories can convey additional
meaning that is not immediately obvious.
Plus, if you recall from my analysis, he was also doing a bunch of
other clever yet subtle stuff in there as well, such as
communicating “double messages” that described the story, but
also described the reader's situation as well – messages that spoke to
the
subsconscious mind of the reader. And he was using some sneaky
“subliminal messages” as well, if you recall.
So you can do lots of useful stuff with stories – use 'em!
10. Make your product titles “killer”.
Think of...
Mass Control.
The product title alone invokes thoughts of government “black
ops”, manipulating people like lemmings, sinister “1984” style
authoritarianism, and so on.
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In one of his interviews, Frank says he could have called it
something to do with “education marketing”, but that wouldn't
have had anywhere near the same impact.
Mass Control might makes you wary... but it definitely provokes
curiosity and intrigue!
All of the insights and techniques you've been reading in this
report is just the stuff he taught in his free Mass Control material, put
mainly into my own words and condensed for you into one bite-sized
report.
www.mynotetakingnerd.wordpress.com
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