When I was 13 years old I was hot, hot, hot in pursuit of a good stereo system. I would go to all the different shops in town and salivate.

I was at this one store and the guy said, “Have you decided what speakers you want yet?”

I said, “There are some speakers by Boston Acoustics that I really like a lot.”

He said, “BUY THEM.”

His store did not sell them. Another store did.

INSTANT credibility boost for him. I instantly knew I was talking to an honest guy who was more interested in me as a shopper, making a good purchase, than him getting a commission.

A practical application of the Golden Rule: “Do unto others…”

(He was right, too. This was the early 80’s and at that time most speakers were CRAP. Boston Acoustics was an up-and-coming company that delivered a superior product. They still do and they’ve become one of the most successful companies in the audio business. Take it from me, an engineer who designed speakers for a living. Inside the business, Boston gets respect.)

I intentionally do the same thing, quite often. For example I’ve got an email in my Autoresponder Sequence called “When Google is NOT the best way to get a customer” and I speak at length about all the other kinds of advertising media and how they can be far more effective than AdWords for many products.

What that says to people is: “If Perry will steer me in totally different directions with advertising in general, he probably won’t screw me over when he’s giving me AdWords advice.”

Everyone loves a true customer advocate. And you know what? There’s enough money in the world to go around. You don’t need everyone’s business. You just need to be very, very clear about who SHOULD do business with you.

Your ability and willingness to turn down one person’s money gives you that much more power when it’s time to say, “THIS is where spending money with me would do you a great deal of good.”

If that guy at the stereo shop had said, “Here’s why you should buy THIS stereo receiver instead of any others, and we’re the only ones that sell it” I would have had good reason to believe him.

On my Autoresponder Boot Camp sales letter I have 21 teaser bullets of techniques you’ll learn for persuasion. Today’s email was a giveaway of #2. There’s 20 more though and some of ’em are gems.

http://www.perrymarshall.com/autoresponder-bootcamp/

Perry Marshall

About the Author

Perry Marshall has launched two revolutions in sales and marketing. In Pay-Per-Click advertising, he pioneered best practices and wrote the world's best selling book on Google advertising. And he's driven the 80/20 Principle deeper than any other author, creating a new movement in business.

He is referenced across the Internet and by Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, INC and Forbes Magazine.