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Secrets of the Velvet Cord revealed
publication date: Mar 7, 2008
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"I don't care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members." Grouch Marx ****************************** Hi I'm very excited . . . I have just sent off my application for a private members club in London. I won't mention the name just in case is ruins my chances of getting in. You see, it's all very exclusive and you have to jump through hoops to gain entry. First I had to get someone who was already a member to propose me. Then a seconder. Then I had to fill out a detailed application form that asked me everything from my favourite bar/hotel/restaurant to what makes me laugh and to how my friends would describe me! I spent hours trying to figure out the kind of answers they were looking for. And it isn't cheap. There's a £150 registration fee plus a £900 annual subscription. But I really - I mean REALLY - want to be a member. And what makes it even more nail biting is that there is no guarantee I'll actually get in! My application has to go before an admissions board. So I have spent hours carefully assessing the right way to complete the application. I want to make sure I make the right impression so the membership committee waves me through! It's ridiculous really - I mean I'm paying good money to join and yet I'm worried about getting in! There are plenty of other bars and restaurants I could go to and never worry about gaining entry. So why am I so anxious to be a member? I think it's partly the mystique of gaining entry into something which is (relatively) exclusive. Because they do not let 'anyone' in as a member, gives it at least the perception that it must bestow some kind of prestige and 'coolness' to being one of the insiders. I know deep down if I am totally honest there's a spark of pride in being able to tell business contacts or friends that they can come and meet me at 'The Club'. And this opens up an interesting point - the velvet cord. At nightclubs, you often see the bouncers standing by the entrance with a heavy rope or cord strung between low chrome poles. Now this isn't put there to control the crowds - I suspect a large cat could knock them over. No, this is all about managing expectations. Even if the club is empty inside, if you see a queue of people waiting for the doorman to lift the cord and admit a few people at a time, then you think that it must be the place to be. I can assure you from my days when I used to go clubbing that the queue outside has absolutely no guarantee that it's any good inside! Add a beautiful woman with a clipboard containing the 'gust list' and you can practically insure a buzz of interest. So what's this got to do with making money? Well a lot actually. The velvet cord technique is a secret used by marketers to raise the excitement and interest in an offer and can often help to charge a premium. Now this was traditionally used in club-type publications such as investment and wealth clubs. But this can also be easily translated to any sales proposition by focusing on the few key elements. I am sure you will recognise many if not all of the following: - Limit numbers/Limited editions: the rarity value of a product or service can help to add urgency to the sale. How many times have you seen offers where there are only '49' units left? Notice the specificity of that number? Would it be as powerful if you said there were 50 left or would it look like it was just made up? - Deadline date: what better way to get a prospect motivated than putting a specific date and time to respond by. This is already inbuilt in eBay and offline auctions and often results in a bidding frenzy as the end of the auction draws near. - Appeal to exclusivity: the product/service "isn't for everyone", but for the "select few" who are savvy, sophisticated and understand the value. - Appeal to jealousy: many people like to keep up with their peers, or even better be one step ahead. - An emphasis the cost of missing out - by not buying/joining, how will the prospect lose? By restating the benefits in any sales message and then stressing that inaction will forfeit them, you can increase interest. - Flatter the prospect - by adapting your sales message to compliment and flatter your prospect they will feel 'special'. - Audacious pricing: the theory goes that the higher the price, the higher the perceived value of the product or service. Seminars use this a lot. If I were to offer you 2 identical seminars - one at £997 and another at £4,997, which one do you think would have greater value? Notice how all of the above are playing with emotions rather than any rational argument? And that's the whole point! The velvet cord is all about psychology and very little to do with the reality of the product or service. Of course those who use this approach AND have a great product are those who will enjoy a far more loyal customer base and long- term profitability. Now whether you are running a domestic cleaning agency, selling collectibles on eBay or info products online or whatever, have a think about what I've just said and try out one or more of those key velvet cord techniques and see what a difference it makes. *** How to turn £1,000 in £65,000 in just 7 months! I thought there must be a mistake! You probably know by now that I am co-publisher of a financial trading programme called Don't Tell The Professionals. I've been very excited by the feedback from students, but the one that dropped in my inbox yesterday was better than I could have ever imagined. In fact the results of this one student's trading were so amazing, we had to go back to him several times to make sure he hadn't added a couple of zeros to the profits! Take a look: "I have been meaning to write to you for some time now, as a student who purchased your DTTP course towards the end of June last year. I carried out very limited trading to start with (lack of funds) but decided to take it more seriously in August and deposited £1,000 in my trading account. I had to augment this with a couple of temporary £1,000 loans until, before the end of 2007, all my deposits were withdrawn and I was trading with my profits. As of today my account stands at approximately £65,000 and I would like to thank you very much for the help your system has given me. I had flirted with trading previously but had been unable to give it the time and attention it needed. I also manage my pension in a SIPP and was comfortable buying and selling shares, but your software has been very helpful in finding shares to trade. However, it has been the recent commodity boom that has significantly beefed up my account. Although I am past the complete novice stage I must say that I find your morning market commentaries absolutely invaluable. They help me get or maintain a sense of perspective, and I never stop learning. It has truly been one of the most enjoyable experiences I have had, even if my wife wonders what I am up to when I work on my PC for hours on end building up my knowledge of trading. I am sure you get lots of letters thanking you for your course, so please add this to your list." Now I need to clarify something here. If you take a look at the DTTP details on the website - http://www.canonburypublishing notice that we have focused on the profit potential of trading FTSE 100 shares. We did this because we know that most people are familiar with this market. However, the wonderful thing about the DTTP strategy is that it can be adapted very easily to almost ANY market and because commodities (wheat, oil, gold and many others) are all experiencing huge demand right now, the opportunities to trade and profit are increasing. So if you haven't already, take a look at the website and bear in mind that you could just as easily be spread betting commodity markets as shares. http://www.canonburypublishing And with that, I'll bid you a good weekend! I, of course, will be on tenterhooks waiting to hear if I've got beyond the velvet cord! ;-) Regards Nick |
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