It's true. Roger Embury turned his little tiny company into a multi-multi million dollar operation.
In fact, his company is North America's largest supplier of reinforced concrete (GFRC) boulders, rock cliff panels and monuments used in the swimming pool and spa, water feature, landscape, general construction, design, home and garden, and death care industries.
In a nutshell, Roger sells fake rocks for landscaping.
Sounds like such a boring product...doesn't it.
Want to know how he did it?
He used Education-Based Marketing!
As many of you know, I'm a rock-solid proponent of using Education-Based Marketing systems and I believe there isn't a single company out there that cannot dramatically increase it's customer base using Education-Based Marketing.
NOTE: I'll get back to Roger's story in just a moment and I'll even show you exactly how he is achieving his success.
What is Education-Based Marketing?
Education-Based Marketing is simply a method of marketing that uses EDUCATION as the tool to get people to respond to your offers and sell your products and services.
You see...deep down inside most people have a few common traits.
1. People don't trust people.
2. People don't like to be "sold."
3. People want to know "insider information" (it gives them a sense of power).
4. People need to justify their purchase decisions based on some logical facts.
5. People will always take the "low-risk" route.
Education-Based Marketing takes these inner human traits and exploits them by using information and education to overcome these selling obstacles.
How Education-Based Marketing Works The number two marketing enemy is SKEPTICISM. (I'll tell you the number one marketing enemy at the end of this newsletter).
Education-Based Marketing overcomes skepticism.
But first you have to know how skeptical people make their purchase decisions...
1. Gather information.
2. Review their alternatives.
3. Select one alternative.
4. Review their choice after the fact.
Information overcomes skepticism, but the real trick is to be able to get the skeptical buyer to contact you to request information that will help them overcome their skepticism.
Here's how you do that...
Step 1. Gather information that you think your prospect would like to know, but probably doesn't.
Step 2. Create a low risk offer for your product or service.
Step 3. Write down each and every prospect touch point in your company. (ads, phone, website etc.)
Step 4. Develop unique and different ways to give away (or sell) your information at each prospect touch point. Include your low risk offer in your information.
Step 5. Step back and watch the phone ring.
Why Education-Based Marketing Works Education-Based Marketing is all about helping people make better decisions in a non-threatening way.
In essence, you're replacing the selling pitch with an education pitch. People respond to that because they are tired of worn-out old sales pitches.
If you provide people with hard-to-find, useful information they feel as though they are empowered to make decisions on their own (and they do).
Of course, most people make decisions based on emotion - - but don't forget the fact that they usually justify their decisions with logic and reason. And if you take logic and reason out of the sale, it becomes 10 times harder to close the deal.
Education-Based Marketing attracts people. Selling-Based Marketing repels people.
A SIDE NOTE: Trey Ryder, a friend and THE top law firm marketer in the nation, taught me about the value of Education-Based Marketing. In fact, you could say that Trey is the father of "Education-Based Marketing." He was the very first person to ever publish an article on the subject back in 1981 for the American Marketing Association.
Now Back to Roger Embury and His High-Growth Fake Boulder Company...
I've included this case study just to prove to you that Education-Based Marketing works in ANY industry.
Roger invented the fake boulder back in the 70's while he was installing "water features" part time (he was a full-time fireman).
He eventually quit his job at the fire station and started a full-time landscaping business. His fake rocks and boulders started catching on little by little.
But not until he started offering EDUCATIONAL CLASSES and SEMINARS about how to install the rocks, did the business really catch fire.
Today, Rock & Water Creations Inc. offers paid full-day classes to installers all around the country. His seminars are consistently SOLD OUT.
He runs great advertisements for the seminars (who ever developed these ads knew what they were doing!).
Click the link below and you can see one of their ads that runs in the spa and pool industry trade magazines.
url123.com
Once Roger started educating people, his business exploded!
Now that's the power of Education-Based Marketing
How Roger Embury Turned His Fledgling Company Into the Nations Largest Supplier of Fake Boulders - To learn more about this author, visit David Frey's Website.
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David Frey
(Visit David's Website)
David Frey is the author of the
best-selling manual, "The Small Business
Marketing Bible" and the Senior Editor of
the "Small Business Marketing Best
Practices Newsletter
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“As busy as I am wherever I am, I try to get out and walk the streets,” says Gardner, “to remember how far I’ve come and appreciate every baby step of the way.”
All hail Carleen Hawn because she has written a fabulously funny analysis of the management style of (Fake) Steve Jobs. It’s called the “Ten Commandments of Fake Steve Jobs”
