The "winner" of the FBI Challenge was... Aristotle Onassis... Not for Everyone.

Hi Simon,

Thanks, those were two great (and illuminating) stories....

Regarding your first story....

> Story #1
> There were two "marketers".
> One was directly selling his widgets $5
> apiece to his lists.
> With mediocre results.

> The other was targeting INDIVIDUALS, seeking
> orders of 1,000,000 widgets.
> The higher he aimed, the lower were the
> chances to DIRECTLY make it through the
> door.
> So, the winner contacted the man who was
> responsible for huge orders through their
> mutual love - dogs.

As I recall, there are several stories like this in Thomas Stanley's books "Marketing to the Affluent" and "Selling to the Affluent." (He's also the author of "The Millionaire Next Door".)

What you said is the secret of many top notch salespeople, particularly those who sell big orders to the affluent.... That is, they only need to make a few sales to make a lot of money, so they can spend a lot of time on preparing to establish a good rapport with their prospect....

Another technique Thomas Stanley talks about is joining the right clubs and organizations. If you're in the same club as those you want to sell to, you have one more thing in common....

So, for example, if you want to sell items to wealthy fishermen and fisherwomen (fisherpeople?), then find out what organization they join, and join it too!

- Dien