Every Monday I meet with a small group of entrepreneurs in a “mastermind.” We’ve been meeting since last September and have pooled our resources to study some of the best internet information marketers out there like Frank Kern, Eban Pagan, Jeff Walker, Rich Schefren, Jeff Johnson and others.
On more than one occasion this group has helped me keep my stuff together in the midst of stress, uncertainty and the inevitable roller coaster ride that is part of being an entrepreneur. We support each other, educate each other, hold each other accountable, and…
challenge each other…
So last Monday as I was wrapping up my registration for the Modern Jedi NLP Training, Rob Bronson, who we fondly call our “chief technology officer” got really passionate about sending out a challenging e-mail to wrap things up…
Rob can be extremely blunt. But I would rather have in my face honesty than a bunch of “yes” men. He’s been studying a course by uber copy writer John Carlton and frankly he’s been in so deep that he’s been a little bit hard to live with….
He was passionate, almost ranting, about how “you have to light a fire under people to get them to take action.”
Now, I normally take a much kinder, gentler approach to persuasion. I live by the NLP presupposition that “the meaning of your communication is the response you get”. I also live by the NLP presuppositions that “there is no failure, only feedback” and “the most flexible communicator controls the communication.”
So I took Rob’s letter (I actually toned it down a lot) and I sent it out to my e-mail list to see what would happen. Registration was pretty much closed anyway so I didn’t feel there was much to lose and at the very least we’d have a test of whether his ideas were valid or my preferred method was better…
So here is the e-mail:
(Warning this ticked off a lot my readers so as you read it now please keep a little emotional distance from it so you don’t get all offended and huffy okay? :o)
===========================
Subject Line: Bad things are about to happen…
Dear ________________
Rob Bronson is one of my NLP students. He’s also my technology
coach and the main force behind my ability to do video and audio
on line. As part of my weekly master mind group he knows where
my heart is and my passion about this NLP stuff. He insisted on
writing this letter…Parts of it are a little blunt but I
think he makes a powerful point…read on“Hi %$firstname$%, this is Rob Bronson, and I have a few
things on my mind that I can’t hold in anymore…================================================
If you’ve already registered for the NLP training,
don’t read this.If you have no interest in the NLP training,
don’t read this.
================================================I know for a fact that you want what the Modern Jedi NLP
Training offers…But if you are sitting there thinking about it.
Then this message is for you.
===============================================
Bad things are about to happen…
===============================================What scares you the most?
$5 per gallon gas
War in the middle east
Economic uncertainty
Inflation
The mortgage crisis
Crime
Drugs
Healthcare crisisAre you really prepared to deal with all that’s coming your
way? You’ve got problems you didn’t even know aboutThe point is what are you doing? Right now? This minute.
You have two choices.
1. Do nothing, and get what you’ve always gotten.
* You can continue to suffer.
* Your struggle will not end,
* You’re probably freaking out [right now],
* feeling sorry for your self.
* Being depressd.You can try to ignore it, and sit there being afraid.
If you decide not to take action and learn NLP, are you sure you
can live with the consequences?Are you able to accept that not taking action now is what
you’ve always done…Ask yourself this:
what would your spouse or parents think about you sitting there
doing nothing?what would your friends think about you sitting there afraid to
make a decision and move forward?How are you going to explain to your children that you could
have made a better life for them if only you had made the choice
to take action now… or maybe you can’t afford kids yet?So what are you going to do about it?
You have a second choice!
2. Take action now.
* Get the right tools, not walmart tools… samurai tools.
* Get help that no one has been offering before now…
* Get support where no one else would support you.
* Take back the power to call the shots in your life.
* Get the power to create your own economic destiny.
NOT the one everybody else is losing sleep over.Do you want to have that power?
Do you want to be in control regardless of the outcome?
how would it feel to know that you could change anything…In the end you really have only one choice.
You have until midnight to Take action put your money
down towards something that will change your life.click here to take action now:
http://www.modernjedi.com/register.htm============================================
If that’s not enough to jump at this opportunity,
then keep reading.============================================
After midnight it’s over and there will never again be such a
generous offer.There will be no bonuses… no private coaching…
No chance to take control..
Unless you Act on this One-Time-Only Offer.
If you buy this training before midnight, you will get:
* 2 hours one on one with Mark Shepard. People routinely
pay $500 per hour to get that (there are only a few of
these left).You will also get:
* New Multi-Media Online NLP Training Module that
teaches you everything you need so that after you
come to the live training you have all the resources
you need to put it into practice and MASTER the material.
($4,764 value)* 40 CD NLP Study Set
containing the entire 2007 NLP training for easy
reference at any time. (Value $1,500)* Ongoing Coaching and Support Program to help you
with implement all you’ve learned there will be regular
“mastermind” sessions and practice sessions by phone as
well as in person. ($5,999 value)* $1,000 Discount Coupon off of the NLP Master Practitioner
program should you decide to take the next level.
($1,000 value)click here to take action now:
http://www.modernjedi.com/register.htmSee you in July!
Yours truly,
Rob Bronson”
==================================
Rob lays it out straight huh?
Mark
p.s. As an added Bonus,
Rob has offered a full 30 day free membership
to his “Point and Click Faster” program which is a
guide for the “non technology” professional to stop
wasting time with computer frustration.
I immediately got a very upset e-mail and so I figured I better check in and see what was going on. Here’s my next e-mail:
Dear _______________,
I’ve been getting a lot of mail about last night’s
“Bad things are about to happen” message.A lot of response was positive. Some wasn’t…
I’d love YOUR opinion. at any point just hit reply
and let me know what you think…here’s one passionate reaction and my response.
Oh! and there’s a secret at the end…
=======================================================
Dear Mark,I’m glad I got this on Tuesday because that crap
is not how you would convince me to try to come [to the
NLP training].That is too bad that a scare tactic was thought to
have been the way to get to me and maybe others.
Maybe it should have been considered that some of
the recipients would have had anxiety and phobias.That e-mail was done in a tone that might freak them
and I am sure that is not what we all want for
them. Maybe it is just me seeing it that way but
regardless of my decision that was not what I would
want or need to hear from someone. By being negative
that only feeds into the worlds issues and you
are playing their game. One needs to look at the
positive and focus there and you will get more of
that in life.I thought that is what we were all going for here.
I hope your day is filled with
POSITIVE things coming your way.—Scott===================================
here’s my response:
===================================
Hey Scott
thanks for your feedback I really appreciate it.I totally appreciate your reaction….
That’s why I normally take a much gentler approach…However, NLP is all about being willing to test ideas…
there is no failure, only feedback….
My friend Rob insisted I was being too soft and that’s why
some people weren’t taking action….so I was willing to test
his theory to get feedback…I agree with you that taking a strong approach like that
might stir some people up….But I would rather get a reaction,
any reaction than bland indifference…I have to be honest with you Scott….
I have totally put my heart on the line and done
everything short of coming to your house and the
homes of the other folks who are on the fence about the
NLP training….So I need to know what’s going on in YOUR head.
the people that come either to work with me 1:1 or to my
trainings and workshops get real results. It is typical
for them to totally transform their lives… massively
increase their incomes…improve every area…But getting them in the door…overcoming their fears, and…
their excuses….getting their butts in the seats is
frustrating…this NLP stuff is so good, I wonder why
it isn’t a no brainer for folks…what CAN I do to grab peoples attention and get them to
realize this program can make their dreams possible?If I have to push in order to get people over the edge
of their inertia and doubts…I’m willing to take a chance
and try it….I’ve got nothing to lose.…by pushing the boundaries…
What do you think? I need your input on this
What would make it so safe for you (moving towards)
that you and others like you would commit to being
at the training?or what would confront you with the pain of staying the
way you are so much (moving away from) that you would
take a deep breath and say “yes! I’m there”?I want to know this Scott.
What is the cost in YOUR life of NOT taking action?
How can I confront people with the COST of not changing in a
way that is gentle enough to not scare them but firm enough
to lead them in…Can you tell me that? I need to know.
I can’t help anybody unless they take the next step
and register and then show up to the class….I can’t help the millions of people out there who NEED
what I have to offer unless I can figure out how to
either pull them in with love or scare them in with the
consequences of not taking action……so I can greet them at the door with love and reassurance
and hand them the proper tools and support so I can prove
the FEAR and LACK is a total illusion….So talk to me about this.
What would make it possible for you to be with us in July?
What would make it impossible for you to say no?just hit reply and let me know…
==========================================so that’s basically my response….
what do YOU think? was yesterday’s e-mail too harsh? or
too restrained? What would cause YOU to absolutely “be
there or be square” in July?just hit reply and let me know
So that’s what I sent out…all the response is in a separate post labeled “the Big Response”
One thing I noticed in the responses is that while everybody told me whether they liked the e-mail or not (most didn’t) nobody told me the answers to my questions about “what would make you want to come to the training?”
Personally, I’m definitely over the old fears I used to have about offending people or being criticized… :o)
thanks for reading. Please feel free to put your two cents in by clicking the comments link below.
Mark Shepard, NLPT