When I look back, I can trace the moment when my business started taking off to when I decided to do 3 simple things:
- Connecting with folks who were already successful. Or were destined to be successful.
- Taking action. And when things didn’t work, instead of whining, I analyzed why it didn’t work, and did it better next time.
- And this one is really crucial: I moved from explaining to enticing.
Instead of explaining to my prospects they should want what I had.
I enticed them by positioning what I had as the fastest path to what they wanted.
By far the biggest question I get from entrepreneurs I work with is: “How do I do that?”
How do I know what triggers their interest? And how can I create a flashpoint of intrigue and excitement – which I call “The Instant Yes” – so my prospects WANT what I offer. And buy what I offer?
For the last 9 years of my business, finding these answers has been an all-consuming quest.
I have read countless books, articles, and blog posts exploring the best ways to move your prospects from “That’s nice” to “I want that!”
And … here are five of the best ones, to help take your marketing, messaging and promotion from a confused crap shoot to a confident cash-in.
Some of these you’ve heard of. Some you haven’t. But they all explore a different avenue to make all your offers seductively irresistible.
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For my money, this is the premiere primmer on buyer psychology. It’s an amazing tour through the most powerful ways to craft your marketing as a deeply satisfying emotional experience: Not for you … but for your prospects!
It dives deep into the question we all must answer: How do you fascinate and captivate your ideal clients? And then deepen that initial intrigue into an unquenchable desire that results in a sale?
Her newly revised edition is good, but I recommend the first edition (from way back in 2010). It’s still the best of her books.
It was one of the turning points for my own business, and may be for yours. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Favorite quotes:
“We might successfully resist lust, but we cannot talk ourselves out of it. It’s rarely “take it or leave it”. Willpower can change our actions but not our fascinations”.
“No matter how long it lasts, or what behavior inspires it, every fascination binds with a singularly intense connection. We are, if only for a moment, utterly spellbound.”
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Sometimes the best place to start crafting an irresistible hook is not with your messaging. But with the business itself.
How can you create a business that is fresh, compelling and commands your attention right out of the gate?
This book is a fascinating study of companies and businesses that got their start as mavericks, outliers and rebels, caught their initial wave of customers and buzz by disrupting their industries. Before maturing into some of the worlds most famous, successful and profitable companies.
Too many entrepreneurs crash and burn by jumping up and down, creating disruption that is cute and clever or rebelling for the sake of rebelling.
The problem is, they can’t sustain and deepen that initial buzz until it becomes profit.
These are the stories of edgy companies that not only went against the grain of their industry, but survived and thrived because their outside-the-box approaches gave their customers MORE of what they wanted.
Favorite quotes:
“He calls it the “Spandex Rule of Branding” and it applies to strategy as well as marketing: “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should … Nothing’s more difficult than saying no to an attractive opportunity. And nothing’s more important.”
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Ever wonder what is actually happening inside your prospects when they become fascinated, intrigued and hooked by your idea or product?
This little known but amazing book answers that question. And will open your eyes as to why people react and respond the way they do, so you can intentionally design your messaging to get the response you want.
This book caused me to scribble more underlines, exclamation points and margin notes in the first few chapters than almost any book I’ve ever read.
It pulls back the curtain on the actual biology behind why humans respond the way we do. So you can create messages that pull your ideal prospects in … instead of put them off.
If “Fascinate” explores the practice of fascination, “Meet Your Happy Chemicals” dives deep into why it works. Yep, we are actually wired biologically to seek out fascination (it’s a survival skill).
And once you know this, you get a deeper understanding why so much of your messaging isn’t working. And how you can re-direct it so that it does.
The power of knowing this is you can use these ideas to effectively increase how seductive your products and offers are, so your clients not only “see their value”. They WANT your value.
Favorite Quote:
There aren’t a lot of pithy, memorable quotes here. Just one powerful insight after another, which is more than good enough.
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Video gaming is a multi-billion dollar industry, that has created a fiercely loyal, dedicated, passionate following that invests again and again.
What if there were a way to apply some of the secrets of the gaming industry to your business – so you could change lives (instead of just accumulate more points in Farmville?)
Nir Eyal spent over a decade researching these ideas. And he’s created a fascinating model as well as powerful ideas you can apply to your own business to create unprecedented levels of loyalty, engagement, and paying customers who return again and again.
When you know what kinds of rewards are most important to your target market, and when your products, programs and promotions are laser focused on delivering those rewards, your profits soar.
When you truly understand what matters most to your community, you can spend more time delivering it and reaping your own rewards. And less time worrying how you’re going to help your business take the next step.
BONUS EXTRA: Nir has an amazing blog at his site, NirAndFar.com that gives you a taste of of ways you can build an engaged, loyal and profitable following. I recommend you click on the Best Articles menu and focus on the Consumer Psychology articles. Pure Gold!
Favorite Quote:
“In order to win the loyalty of their users and create a product that’s regularly used, companies learn not only what compels users to click but also what makes them tick.”
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I get it. This isn’t a book. But when a casual visit to Derek’s YouTube Channel turned into an entire morning and then afternoon watching video after video, I had to ask myself, “How did that happen?”
The Key: Halpern is a Jedi when it comes to targeting problems you must solve, solutions you must have, and hook-laden video titles that tease the delivery of both. And almost dare you not to watch.
The gold mine (aside from his great content) is looking at:
Why are his topics and titles so irresistible?
How can I apply some of the lessons for instantly inciting attention to my own promotion and content?
You might want to pop on over and check them out for yourself.
I assure you: If you’re willing to apply yourself, you too can create contest for your tribe that is just as irresistible as what Derek has created for his.
It all comes down to a single truth. That’s becoming more true every single day:
The entrepreneurs that succeed are not necessarily the most talented. Or the ones with the most value.
They’re the ones that have been able to elicit a response of interest, intrigue and fascination from their market. And then back that up with products and services that deliver on the promise that generated the interest.
It’s not about manipulating your market. Or finding ways to hypnotize or addict them. (You wouldn’t do that anyway).
It’s about insuring your business gets the attention (and the revenue) you are worthy of.
Because the problem most entrepreneurs struggle with isn’t having something valuable to give. It’s framing the value so their ideal prospects see it, want it, yearn for it, and buy.
When you don’t know these powerful ideas, you are at the mercy of a competitive marketplace in which many of your competitors do.
But when you tap into what makes people not just notice your value, but desire, fall in love with and buy your products, you can use it to make the money you want and create the change in the world you want.
What one thing could you do to excite more interest and desire for your offers? Let me know in the comments!
