WOW!

Gordon,

All I can say is WOW!

(Me clicks print to get that post on paper)

I've read Ben's book in the past and I did find it a little tough to get through. It certainly is packed with information (I enjoyed the cartoons myself).

I will definitely read it again following your road map.

Hmmm, looks like I'll have to break out 7 Steps this weekend.

Thanks again for a great post.

Have a happy 4th!

Clark

> Hi Clark,

> Thanks for the RI mention. The ONE book I
> tell people to start with (and this should
> come as NO surprise to those that have known
> me for awhile) is

> 7 Steps to Freedom II by Benjamin D.
> Suarez .

> The reason I have them start with just this
> ONE book is:

> It really is 5 books in one. Let me explain
> and I'll do it as if I'm addressing any
> student...

> You start with the chapter that is called
> Bringing it All Together...and in a few
> short pages Ben tells you what he would
> do...

> KNOWING what he knows today (after selling
> over a billion dollars worth of products
> over the years)...he tells you exactly where
> he would start and how YOU can do.

> Then, you go to the beginning of the book
> and QUICKLY go through the cartoons about
> the bird house. (If anyone is a comic book
> illustrator, I think you could create a
> "best-seller" on marketing if you
> created a comic book)...anyhow,

> these cartoons illustrate what Remote Direct
> Marketing is all about...and how to start
> with a single product, how to sell it and
> how to expand it.

> Then, you read the MEMOIRS section, and you
> get the completed story of SCI, how it began
> with an idea on a driveway and went to a
> small business run from a basement to how it
> became a major player with a now 175,000
> square foot state of the art facility that
> does 100 million dollars a year in business.

> There are very few examples available like
> this. It not only is inspiring, but you can
> see some of the troubles you may encounter.

> Then, you go back to the beginning and read
> and underline and take notes from the first
> section of the book, which is a complete A
> to Z course in Remote Direct Marketing.

> THEN, you get into the FUN stuff...the NPGS
> formula and all the math and the nitty
> gritty of business that 97 out of 100 people
> find extremely boring and unnecessary.

> I ask people to create their OWN little
> cartoons (and if you're like me, that means
> stick figures) on a type of product that YOU
> think you would like to market.

> Here's where the SQ1 and Remote Influence
> come in...rather than me lecturing, teaching
> or showing, it is better for YOU to do it
> yourself.

> So right after reading the first chapter, on
> what Ben would do today starting from
> scratch, a trip to the library (or they
> borrow mine) to the SRDS book of lists to
> look for MARKETS for their first product.

> While at the library, you go through all the
> magazines and look for publications that you
> have an interest in, say Golf. Then you get
> the current copy, and the one from a year
> ago, and a couple in between, and look for
> ads that have been run for a year (giving
> you a FAIR indication that this is what
> people WANT)...

> So, armed with "Ben's Knowledge",
> your own research sparked by your own
> interests, you're ready to JUST DO IT, while
> you continue to study.

> The first product you do in Ben's opinion
> would be an INFORMATION product. Follow the
> NPGS (Net Profit Generation System) and try
> to produce some results.

> Early success USUALLY is determined by the
> PRODUCT you choose. Spend enough time
> locating the so called starving market, the
> people who spend money:

> 1)Recently
> 2)Frequently
> 3)Multiple Buys

> And create your product for them. One of the
> best lessons Ben gives in the book is how
> his first product, which he LOVED and
> thought that everyone would want, was a
> total bust and bomb.

> He reluctantly took Gary Halbert's advice
> and created an "astrology"
> product, which he hated, but it was that
> product to an already existing market that
> launched his company. The rest as they say
> is history.

> So that ONE book is more than most people
> need to get started, and as I mentioned it
> is 5 books in one.

> 1) Cartoon learning
> 2) Memoirs
> 3) Basic How to Market
> 4) Textbook-in-depth advanced business book
> 5) Reference book...I still pick it up and
> learn from it almost every week.

> So Clark, and others, that is the starting
> point. I emphasize a lifetime of learning
> attitude about marketing and that is just
> the beginning. But for many people, that is
> all they needed to make it happen.

> Thanks for asking.

> Gordon Alexander

> PS. When I was a CMP (Creative Marketing
> Professional) at SCI one of my jobs was to
> sort and review the NPGS submissions, and I
> looked at several hundred and almost to a
> person, the problem was...

> PEOPLE FALL IN LOVE WITH THEIR
> IDEAS/PRODUCTS without first having a
> market for it.

> Out of several hundred submissions, I came
> across 2 that I passed on to the team for
> further review.

> And as follow-up, I spoke with scores of
> people on the phone, and most did NOT accept
> our evaluation and were determined to
> "show you guys" that we were
> wrong. I can't think of single one of those
> that have been successfully marketed.