The Power of "Implied Endorsement"

[Don Alm]

I learned early on in my Advertising Career that.....if I was going to get businesses to join in my AD-Ventures (Most had to do with needing 6 or more advertisers) I had to show a Mock-Up that ALREADY had participants.

My very first AD-Venture was printing Placemats for Restaurants. I had space for 12 Ads around the edges. I got a restaurant owner to agree to use MY Placemats. When I went out to sell spaces to local biz.....after getting "NOs" from 3 biz......I thought, "There's something wrong here!"

Then it hit me, "Nobody wants to be First!"

So.....I took 3 biz cards off a wall display in a grocery store and stuck them in 3 spaces on my Mockup. This made it appear that I had 3 local biz owners participating.

After that, sales jumped. When I had filled 9 spaces I then went to the 3 biz I had placed on my mockup and NOW I had NINE participants with 3 empty spaces.

I did NOT tell anyone that the 3 initial Ads were NOT paid for. Other biz "inferred" they had paid and joined in.

SO....with every AD Project I've done since.....I place 2 or 3 Ads on the mockup. NO one asks if these initial Ads were actually paid for. It's assumed they are.

So.....by showing participants ALREADY participating .......this makes for an "Implied Endorsement"!

However.....with my "Video Lead-Gen" projects, I put up a Video.....get it Ranking for a KeyWord.....then, when calls begin coming in.....I phone biz in that niche and simply ask if they'd like some "Leads".

No "wondering" whether I can produce Leads.....I've already got Leads coming in.

Don Alm