Some Wicked Thoughts On Creating Perceived Value For Your Products or Yourself. If This Article Doesn’t Help You Sell, Maybe It’ll Help Your Social Life! - Online and Info Product Marketing

Some Wicked Thoughts On Creating Perceived Value For Your Products or Yourself. If This Article Doesn’t Help You Sell, Maybe It’ll Help Your Social Life!

 

 

I like to keep things simple.

I think anyone can create complexity.  You know, take something simple and make it complex, so people will will deify your knowledge.

I think it's quite another thing to sort through complexity and find the inherent simplicity.  I've always felt all the great ideas were simple ones.

Alexander the Great conquered the world based on the short sword idea, a simple weapon.  I could go on and on. So let's get back to basics and the inherence simplicity of this business. Here are the important things:

1.  Targeting a group of people with common wants or needs.

2.  Finding out what they perceive as valuable.

3.  Offering that to them with a sales process that gets them to buy.

Step one is where most people falter traditionally. But what I've noticed more and more is that step two is a problem.  People sell their product, service or information too cheaply.

Why?  Because they don't know how to create perceived value for it.

It cracks me up sometimes.  So people wanna buy from the "guru" who gives them the whole ball of wax for next to nothing.  Can you see how absurd that is?  I don't mean to criticize the teachers. I understand they're lead generating and probably have back end products.  My point is that a lot of people really don't get it.  They think that the best "guru" to buy from is the one with the mostest for the cheapest!

If someone doesn't know how to create perceived value for their own products and services and get paid for that value, then HOW, pray tell, are they going to teach YOU to get paid a decent profit for what YOU are selling, pimping or marketing?

It mystifies me.

The question, then is, "How to you create perceived value?"  I'll tell you a story that illustrates it.

There's this show on TV in the U.S. called "The Pickup Artist."  It's about this guy named "Mystery" who teaches guys how to get dates, meet women, etc.  It's an evergreen topic.  Parts of the show are shown on vh1.com.  I don't know if it's must me being a middle-aged guy and all, or if the show is really as engrossing as I find it.

Normally, I don't watch reality TV.

Anyway, one of Mystery's big themes is that a guy (or girl) has to know how to project VALUE.  For example, Mystery says the #1 indicator of value for a guy is a big smile.  I'd never thought about it that way. But a smile projects confidence.

He goes on to talk about other indicators of value.  The show is kinda addictive to watch.  I'm really not into TV other than sports and anime.  But there are so many parallels to marketing, it's uncanny.  I NEVER thought about the points he makes about social value.  It really makes you think.

Basically, the same things that apply to marketing a product or service, apply to marketing a person.

So let's say you're starting out.  You're a newbie. And you have a product or service to sell.  You gotta create perceived value for what you sell.  Otherwise, you'll be selling $7.00 info products all your life.  Not that there's anything wrong with 7 bucks.  But you know, there isn't a lot of perceived value there.

You create value through packaging, appearance, presentation, the pitch.  And just by being convinced you really ARE offering something of value.

The other thing I'll say about the TV show is I never knew that guy Mystery from Adam.  But by virtue of the fact he's now on TV, you assume what?  The guy must know what he's talking about.

This is why books, publicity, writing articles, and speaking engagements are crucial parts of an info product business.  They all create the perception of value.

Opinion leaders read more than the average person. And they attend more social functions, seminars and networking events than others.  So by putting out articles, books, info products and then speaking at events, you're reaching the opinion leaders.

And those are the folks who influence the opinions of others. This is something few people understand about the info product business.  Now, you know.  Now, you're on the inside.

Speaking at seminars, having info products, books, articles — these all build SOCIAL VALUE and proof.  Mystery would be proud.  By the way, all of the above are great tools for recruiting affiliates.

Now, maybe you can't write or speak.  But when you understand the whole principle behind social value, you can find OTHER ways to build it that DO work for you.  If you haven't read the book Influence by Caldini, it's a must read.

And if you're in the U.S. and happen to be up late at night like I often am, then maybe watch that Mystery guy.  And you'll learn a thing or two about social dynamics, creating perceived value and packaging the offer.

I realize if you're a newbie or just getting into "the game", this may seem a little over your head.  Sometimes I have to talk about more advanced topics to give the people who aren't newbies something to chew on.

Marlon Sanders

  • […] marketers I admire a lot) wrote a thought provoking blog post recently. So if you are interested in Making a Powerful First Impression when you don’t have a pretty face, you should read Marlon’s […]

  • Varun Pratap says:

    Great stuff… I had a personal experience when I started out in Offline. Priced too low and loss of perceived value. But I think its more about confidence. Unless you are confident of yourself and believe you can provide value, you will not be able to charge high bucks. I think Fake it till You make it doesn't work in this kind of conditions. Going out, crashing and burning does lead you to confidence (it can also wreck your confidence, beware specially in case of picking up ;)). People can sense your confidence from the way you write or speak. Marlon, Thank you for your lessons. If anyone follows how you are creating products and creating value will learn a lot from your examples.

    [Varun, I agree that confidence is important and experience helps.  Good luck to you.]

  • Roy Carter says:

    Hey Marlon.

    Interesting stuff. I think we've all had personal experience of people in IM who "take something simple and make it complex".

    I love the way your products, cut to the chase and get people achieving what they want to achieve in a simple, easy to follow, step-by-step way.

    I've really tried hard to take that concept on board with my own products. People just want to get the job done as quickly and easily as possible, so if that's what they want, why not give it to them.

    regards

    Roy Carter

  • […] I think it’s quite another thing to sort through complexity and find the inherent simplicity”. Some Wicked Thoughts On Creating Perceived Value For Your Products or Yourself… […]

  • John Vincent says:

    Thank you Marlon. Your guidence and inspiration is a "lighthoues" to me . Thanks for being there! John Vincent

    [John, thanks for your kind words.]

  • Amen Marlon, Man! your always amaze me with your article… Thanks' Albert

    [Albert, I appreciate you.  Thanks for your AMEN!]

  • Rhen says:

    Hey Marlon. I've known about Mystery for some time now and the concepts of Social Value but I've never really thought of it that way for Marketing. Books, seminars, social proof, etc. do build social value in your customers eyes. I can see now how, why I regard some people higher than others in the marketing field… and they have ALL done one of those things to a high degree. It's a great macro concept to keep in mind and doing all of those things requires a certain set of skills (and balls) to do. For example speaking, writing a book, putting together a 12 DVD set of X… I think what this all comes down to is building value in yourself by investing and building valuable skill sets that can be used to create social value in the marketplace. For example in the meeting women, dating women arena, the process to that Mystery suggests is to go out and crash and burn, hit your head against the walls, a lot of which is extremely painful (until you get it). I think marketing is not that much different, once you can get over the fear of failing, failing fast leads to confidence of competency and results, which then breeds a positive cycle. And I just wanted to comment on what you said about people wanting to buy from the least expensive. This is something I've learned to do recently, and it is to observe more what people do than listen to what they have to say and It almost feels like an awakening. It feels like being Neo and being out of the matrix and seeing the game as it really is. I was listening to a Dan Kennedy tape and he said the exact same thing… something along the lines of, congruency is irrelevant in marketing. He'd been pitching on stage for years doing manual labor while preaching NOT to do manual labor. Anyways, good post Marlon keep 'em coming.

    [Mystery really has a lot of insight into social value and how to use demstrations of value to increase it.  Applies 100% to marketing.]

  • Lisa Lomas says:

    This reminds me of Starbucks, what do they sell………Coffee. But everyone buys there coffee because they make it convenient, attractive and there. They charge more than other coffees but all the Starbucks users enjoy drinking that coffee, its nearly a national symbol. They have perceived there coffee value quite highly in my view. Great topic Marlon.

    [Well, I do spend quite a bit at Starbucks!]

  • Cheers Marlon, You are really Amazing to me and I'm glad to be a Marketing Relationship via Your products and Marketing wake. It's Amazing, but I can honestly say that every product going back to over period of 5 years has been a treasure in Marketing for me one way or another. Yes I started learning from the Amazing Formula that Sells Products like Crazy and Gimme My Money Now. The Learning Curve for me was to get Focused on the EverGreen Your where and or teaching. Just our way of saying Thank You Marlon! In Hoping that we can help send Your message Viral, we have added Your Article Marketing Tips in Next Level Viral Marketing Illustrated using a Viralet for Presentation, Yes I Really do beleive that it rocks – You create value through packaging, appearance, presentation, the pitch. And just by being convinced you really ARE offering something of value. Marlon Sanders September 8, 2007 "How to Escape Your Day Job, Pay Your Bills, and Make Progress Toward The ideal Lifestyle" <a>Article Marketing Tips

    <a>[Jim, thanks so much for being a supporter and a promoter!  I appreciate that very much.]

  • Jack Q says:

    Bravo Marlon. I don't know if you'll get a lot of comments on this one. You realize that you just told everyone that work is required to succeed. And now people will be looking at what they buy with more reflection than they have done in the past. You really don't get something for nothing, which doesn't explain why most keep looking for it. (Lottery mentality, maybe?) Thanks for the tip on "The Pickup Artist". I've never watched it but it might be beneficial from a marketing standpoint. A good correlation!

    [Jack, I am so hooked on that show. I bought his ebook today too.  He teaches a method called "DOV" demonstration of value. I'm going to apply it better to marketing.]

  • Rod Beckwith says:

    Hi Marlon, You points are well taken. That is why Coke, Pepsi, Nike and other BIG players spend tens of millions of dollars to keep their brand in our minds eye. If you see it everywhere…it must be good. I know that if I don't hear about a product or company for a long time…I think something must be wrong with the company and then catch myself not buying that brand anymore because of the perception of it not being good anymore. Interesting…no? Cialdini is right!

    Rod

    [Hey Rod!  Nice to hear from you.  Hope I run into yoo at a seminar soon.  Marlon]

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