Lesson #2: Use Subtle Marketing to Evoke a Strong Message
Lesson #2: Use Subtle Marketing to Evoke a Strong Message
First of all, Popeil knew the importance of timing. His infomercials only ever appeared late during the nights, on weekends, or in the early mornings. After much experience, he realized that these were the times when people were most relaxed and thus more willing to place an order. Especially when it came to more expensive items – $30 and up – Popeil wanted to reach people when they would be more easily willing to buy.
If Popeil thought viewers might reactive negatively to the high price of an item, he came up with the idea to divide the cost into multiple payments. For instance, his as-seen-on-TV Pasta Machine had a retail price of $159.80, but fearing that buyers would be scared off, he sold the product for “just four easy payments of $39.95”. His strategy worked; he sold over 250,000 units of the Pasta Machine, grossing $40 million in the process.
Popeil also understood how to time the actual taping of his infomercials. When he was just over halfway through the commercial, he would ask for the order at least two or three times. This allowed the viewer to get all the information and still have enough time to help make up their mind. He knew that asking for the sale too early on would backfire; viewers would not be ready to buy in the first half of the infomercial and asking them too soon would only turn them off. You had to demonstrate the product’s benefits over and over again to convince viewers of how it would improve their lives, and then go in for the kill.
Of course, there were also the very phrases Popeil coined that would help sell his products. There was always “one more thing” that Popeil just had to show viewers about why his product was so great. He would also always countdown to the actual price of the product, saying “You’d probably expect to spend,” starting at a much higher price, and then working his way down. As the price got lower and lower, the viewer’s perception of value went up, and in the end, the deal would seem too good to pass up.
Once a viewer had been hooked and decided to call in to place their order – with the strategic 1-800-43-RONCO toll free number – the pitch still was not over for Popeil. He used a number of back-end marketing strategies to increase his profits even further. For instance, as soon as the telephone operators got the buyer on the line, they would begin to tell them about all the available accessories for the product that were also available for sale. Why just buy the Pasta Machine, when you can also have the four-way ravioli maker and the video cookbook for just an additional $39.95?
To save when it came to his production costs, Popeil was often able to negotiate a deal with local broadcasters. In exchange for free air time, Popeil offered them a percentage of each sale he made. For his Pasta Machine infomercial, Popeil was also able to score a deal with General Mills to use their flour in his live demonstration. The company agreed and gave him $100,000 for the product placement. He reached a similar deal with Bertolli Olive Oil Company for simply having a bottle of their product on the screen.
Popeil knew he had to do whatever it took to lure the buyer in, but it had to be subtle. The more overt the strategy, the more viewers would be turned off. “After all,” he says, “those people were here for something else. They didn’t come to buy what I was selling.”
Lesson 2 Use Subtle Marketing to Evoke a Strong Message
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Popeil is one of the modern mavens of marketing. From his experience selling on the nitty-gritty streets of Chicago, to his more mainstream infomercials, Popeil came to understand just what would make people buy his products. It did not matter whether it was a can of spray-on hair or a food dehydrator, Popeil could sell it to. And, here is how.
First of all, Popeil knew the importance of timing. His infomercials only ever appeared late during the nights, on weekends, or in the early mornings. After much experience, he realized that these were the times when people were most relaxed and thus more willing to place an order. Especially when it came to more expensive items – $30 and up – Popeil wanted to reach people when they would be more easily willing to buy.
If Popeil thought viewers might reactive negatively to the high price of an item, he came up with the idea to divide the cost into multiple payments. For instance, his as-seen-on-TV Pasta Machine had a retail price of $159.80, but fearing that buyers would be scared off, he sold the product for “just four easy payments of $39.95”. His strategy worked; he sold over 250,000 units of the Pasta Machine, grossing $40 million in the process.
Popeil also understood how to time the actual taping of his infomercials. When he was just over halfway through the commercial, he would ask for the order at least two or three times. This allowed the viewer to get all the information and still have enough time to help make up their mind. He knew that asking for the sale too early on would backfire; viewers would not be ready to buy in the first half of the infomercial and asking them too soon would only turn them off. You had to demonstrate the product’s benefits over and over again to convince viewers of how it would improve their lives, and then go in for the kill.
Of course, there were also the very phrases Popeil coined that would help sell his products. There was always “one more thing” that Popeil just had to show viewers about why his product was so great. He would also always countdown to the actual price of the product, saying “You’d probably expect to spend,” starting at a much higher price, and then working his way down. As the price got lower and lower, the viewer’s perception of value went up, and in the end, the deal would seem too good to pass up.
Once a viewer had been hooked and decided to call in to place their order – with the strategic 1-800-43-RONCO toll free number – the pitch still was not over for Popeil. He used a number of back-end marketing strategies to increase his profits even further. For instance, as soon as the telephone operators got the buyer on the line, they would begin to tell them about all the available accessories for the product that were also available for sale. Why just buy the Pasta Machine, when you can also have the four-way ravioli maker and the video cookbook for just an additional $39.95?
To save when it came to his production costs, Popeil was often able to negotiate a deal with local broadcasters. In exchange for free air time, Popeil offered them a percentage of each sale he made. For his Pasta Machine infomercial, Popeil was also able to score a deal with General Mills to use their flour in his live demonstration. The company agreed and gave him $100,000 for the product placement. He reached a similar deal with Bertolli Olive Oil Company for simply having a bottle of their product on the screen.
Popeil knew he had to do whatever it took to lure the buyer in, but it had to be subtle. The more overt the strategy, the more viewers would be turned off. “After all,” he says, “those people were here for something else. They didn’t come to buy what I was selling.”
Lesson 2 Use Subtle Marketing to Evoke a Strong Message
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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