How John Carlton *looted* my bank account (part 3)

Josh Earl
Josh Earl
Jul 27, 2017 · 3 min read

One of my favorite truisms about marketing is one I first heard from Perry Marshall:

“Sales isn’t a ‘convincing’ process. It’s a disqualification process.”

In other words, not everyone is your customer.

In fact, most people are NOT a good fit for your product or service. And the quicker you can sort through people and find the ones who are a good fit, the easier and more prosperous your life will be.

Perry often presents “5 Power Disqualifiers” that help you decide whether someone is a good fit for you. (These are the brainchild of sales guru John Paul Mendocha — credit where credit is due.)

Here they are:

* Do they have money?
* Do they have a “bleeding neck” (an urgent problem)?
* Do they have the ability to say yes?
* Do they buy into your USP or value statement?
* Does what you’re selling fit into their overall plans?

If the answer is “yes” to all five, making the sale is like shooting fish in a barrel.

And I felt exactly like a fish in a barrel the time that John Carlton pried $2,026 out of my wallet even though I had no intention of spending that kind of money on a copywriting course anytime soon.

Here’s how I stacked up on these 5 questions:

* I had the money in savings, although I really didn’t want to part with it. At the time I was trying to be conservative on my spending right since I’d recently left my Dilbert cube job.
* I definitely had a bleeding neck. It’s the natural sense of insecurity that goes along with being a writer. Copywriters have it even worse, because you’re not just trying to write something that people will subjectively enjoy reading. It also has to SELL. There’s an objective measure of success and failure, and even the best writers strike out regularly.
* As a “one man band” (aka freelancer), I had the ability to say “yes” when a purchase like this seemed like a good investment. I don’t have to seek approval from a manager or purchasing agent.
* I was *definitely* sold on John’s qualifications. He’s one of the best copywriters in history and a highly respected teacher as well. I had no doubt that he could deliver on his promises.
* This course most certainly fit into my overall plans.

More on point #5…

A LOT of people get hung up here. I could be a great fit for your product, but if I don’t have any plans to head in your particular direction, then your best efforts will fall on deaf ears.

For example, if I was dirt poor and you had an ebook about how I could find a better job and grow my income, but I had no desire to apply myself and work…

Well, good luck getting me to fork over my $7.

No thank you, I think I’ll go buy that lottery ticket instead.

In this same time period, I’d successfully resisted sales pitches for products that I *really* wanted (I’m a marketing junkie, remember), including one where the seller (someone I have tremendous respect for) personally emailed me and urged me to buy what he was pitching.

Why?

Because the product (which was legit and amazing) didn’t help me achieve my specific goal, which was leveling up my copywriting skills and gaining confidence as quickly as possible.

I knew that doing this would allow me to get better and better clients and raise my rates so I could earn more while also spending more time with my family.

That’s what I ultimately want.

John’s copywriting course promised exactly that — it fit perfectly with my plans, not just my “interests.”

And it was pretty much game over at that point.

Notice how I bought Carlton’s programme during a transition period in my life — it’s a classic technique businesses use. Here’s another example of this in practice.

Josh Earl

Written by

Josh Earl

I’m a copywriter and email marketing expert. I show entrepreneurs how to tell stories that sell in my daily newsletter: https://joshuaearl.com/newsletter

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