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satisfaction-guaranteed
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Here’s an idea: if you sell something, think about why people don’t buy from you.

I don’t mean the unqualified people – there are always good reasons why people should not give you money.

But for the qualified prospects — people for whom your product or service is a good fit — why don’t they buy?

Maybe you haven’t done a good job with the sales copy, maybe they’re not in the right place at the right time, or something else. But at the heart of the matter, people are afraid, skeptical, or just plain not convinced.

To help prospects come over to your side of the fence, you need an incredibly convincing guarantee. This guarantee has to go far beyond an offer to get your money back.

The basic, “money back within 30 days” guarantee is no longer very convincing. It’s expected. It is the norm.

For Example

I haven’t eaten at Taco Bell in a long time, but ten years ago when I didn’t care about my health, I used to spend quite a lot of time and money over there.

Back in the day (and maybe now still, I have no idea), they came out with what they positioned as an amazing guarantee: “If you don’t like it, we’ll eat it.”

In other words, if you weren’t happy with your cinnamon crisps, they would refund your 59, 79, or 99 cents. I was new to marketing at the time, but I still remember feeling skeptical about this offer. If I hadn’t already been a Taco Bell customer, did they think this offer would bring me in the door?

I mean, my average bill for a full meal was about $2.70, so the risk was very low. They were promising to give me $3 back? Not convincing.

This is why you need to go above and beyond to convince skeptical prospects.

Not many businesses get this, but some do. Look at Zappos, which has done very well selling shoes and service. At Zappos, they actually encourage you to order multiple pairs of shoes and send back the ones you don’t want. They pay the shipping both ways, so you have effectively no risk. That’s incredibly convincing, since the idea of buying shoes online used to be considered strange and unmarketable.

For another good example, look at Kiva, provider of economic empowerment from Afghanistan to Zambia. Kiva facilitates loans between rich people (like you and me) and motivated entrepreneurs in poorer countries. They currently have a 98.6% repayment rate, which is good because the first objection most people have when they hear about loaning money to a farmer in Uganda is, “Does that work? How will I get my money back?”

98.6% is pretty convincing, I think, especially when our own banks in New York and Frankfurt aren’t doing so great these days.

As for me, you may have noticed that I will be releasing my second information product on Wednesday.

It’s called the Unconventional Guide to Working for Yourself: Creating Freedom through a Very Small Business.

I’m excited about it, and I know it will help many people. Since I’ve previously explained who it won’t help, I thought it would be fair to explain who it will.

Here is the goal:

  • In the short-term, the guide will help a lot of people start very small businesses which earn at least $200 a month.
  • In the long-term, some of those people will build out a series of very small businesses to escape the tyranny of traditional employment.

That’s pretty much it in a nutshell.

I don’t want to guarantee too much, because as I’ve said before, self-employment is not for everyone and it takes a lot of work. But I also don’t want to guarantee too little, so that’s why we’re doing something unique.

The 60-Day, $2,400 Guarantee

First, the typical satisfaction guarantee applies. If it doesn’t rock your world, you get your money back. No problem.

But here is the second part.

In the first section of the new guide, I will be asking everyone to take the time to set a couple of goals for the new business they are going to start.

My second guarantee is that I will refuse to accept your money if it doesn’t work for you, according to these specific metrics:

Satisfaction Effectiveness Guaranteed

If, after 60 days, someone has read the guide, listened to the audio files, and put in a fair effort on their part (they will be the sole judge) but has not been able to start a project that earns at least $200 a month, then they get their money back even if they like the guide.

In other words, the burden is on me to deliver, or I don’t get paid a dime.

A minimum of $200 a month x 12 months = $2,400 minimum. There are no geographic restrictions or other fine print.

See, I want my products to actually help people. I’m interested in mass accountability, and this is the latest experiment.

What You’ll Get

The Unconventional Guide to Working for Yourself consists of an online guide and downloadable MP3 files:

  • 55-pages of strategic and tactical info in a professionally designed report
  • 3 25-minute MP3 audio downloads
  • 1 Special Bonus (it’s not from me, so I’m not allowed to say more yet)
  • Free Updates for 6 Months

There are no shipping charges and everything will be delivered through instant download right after purchase.

As for the cost, in the future I will probably price the guide in the $50-79 range, but we’ll kick it off this week for less than that – probably around $45 or so, with a small discount for everyone on the newsletter list.

And in the end, the people who buy it will succeed at a measurable rate far greater than the purchase price, or I will insist that they keep their money. No exceptions.

Fair enough?

Oh, and one more thing: since I know this won’t be for everyone, to make it fun for the whole group we’ll be posting a few specific case studies beginning 45 days after the launch. The goal is to feature real-life stories showing exactly what kinds of “very small businesses” have been created as a result of this project.

Since I don’t know exactly what will happen, this should be interesting… but my hope is that we’ll get some people willing to show actual web sites and sales figures.

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What do you think? Am I crazy to offer this kind of guarantee?

AND… if you already have a business, what kind of Incredibly Convincing Guarantee can you offer your customers? Is there a way you can rock their world so they keep coming back to you?

See you all on Wednesday morning…

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