For the record these are the responses I received to my request for feedback. I had sent out an e-mail blast with a letter from my friend Rob Bronson urging (okay more like “haranguing) my list to get off their “buts” and sign up for the NLP training.
I’ll talk about my reasons for doing so in a separate post. The most important thing to remember as you scan through these is that I actually received a HUGE amount of very valuable information about my list. I had always taken a very gentle approach because I instinctively prefer it. Rob’s insistence was that it’s always good to stir up the pot a bit and provoke people to react…
Well people certainly reacted!
-Mark
here’s the buzz: (you can add your two cents in the comments section at the bottom)
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I think this is EXCELLENT – very provocative writing.- Kathy
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It is not blunt… we are in very serious times as you know. – Martha
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I must admit it freaked me out since I just heard about some medical
issues my partner will have to deal with!!!! – k.
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I was turned off by the whole negative theme. – Marie
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I didn’t like that email, as both a marketer and as someone in your circle of followers. It did feel a little too negative, too “salesy”… – Michelle
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Too negative…I deleted it half way through. – Ellen
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did have a negative reaction to the Bad Things subject line; it seemed to run counter to what you teach. – Beverly
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WOW, the content in that email is so negative and depressing. Totally the opposite of your NLP teachings. I actually felt turned off and disturbed — not with the world, but rather with (I’m sorry for saying this) where it came from. I guess the question is “why did you feel compelled to try THAT way?” – Teresa
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Rob’s letter was blunt, to the point, and direct. It probably got a ton of attention! For some, it would be a complete turn off. If you think it was effective, then it worked. You won’t make everyone happy so keep that in mind.
-Julie
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It’s funny that I didn’t see the message before looking at your music.
Here’s my initial response:
I love your voice.
I love that you are going forward with your music.
Too often we stuff the good things about us somewhere else while we are out in the world as spiritual helpers. – Melissa
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I appreciate you asking my opinion on the matter. Actually I have 2 thoughts on the letter:
1. From the ole’ presuppositions of NLP…”the meaning of a communication is the response that you get.” Some people will respond negatively to that email, especially if that isn’t their motivational strategy. However,
2. For those that have an AWAY metaprogram your letter hit on Modal Operators of both Necessity and Possibility. It could be highly effective.
Will it be popular? Probably not. I might have issued a letter with that content using Softeners and Modal operators of possibility. Again. I don’t have all the training to analyze all of the content the way that I would like to but I think you are going to get a response.
I was once told that any response is a good response. Any publicity can be good publicity.
Personally, I don’t think that I would have sent that letter. I think there are more positive ways to present the same information and after all; Who knows? You may get more enrollment from those who respond to that type of motivational stimulai. You may have touched on a few heart strings.
I personally was not offended by it. I thought you had some valid points and think it could be very effective. I have learned that any thought,word or action will have an effect and that effect can be either positive or negative depending on your frame size. Let me know how things work out. – Tim
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By and large these emails don’t impact me because the industry is filled with them. Every chance is always the last chance… There is also an assessment made that people are either signing up for the course or doing nothing. This bifurcated approach only highlights the lack of perspective of the writer.
Stepping back from the hard assessment, it is clear your friend believes in you and your program and is trying to move the fence sitters off their positions. It may work with some and won’t work with others. The problem with this type of approach, as I see it, is that it will attract a certain type of individual and I would think that have a diverse crowd of individuals is always better to a room full of nodding heads. – Michael
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So will, some won’t, so what.
If you are fine with what Rob said and you thought it was a good idea then stay with it. After hearing the responses you change your mind, then you learned something about yourself and about your business.
My response to the email….I hope Rob is taking his own advice….LOL -Kim
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I thought the email made an assumption that i was not taking steps to change my life. my immediate reaction was, ‘that’s rather presumptuous’. However, my reasons for not signing up are the following:
-I’m not interested in becoming certified
-it’s way out of my price range – even the creative financing
options. too expensive for something i really don’t want to be certified in.
I’m a life learner but not at the level to preach/teach etc…
-the product and service may be overkill for the audience you are speaking to?
or split it up into a certification program vs. modules where people can
learn and grow but they don’t have to go and get certified to teach it.
hope this helps. good luck. i’ll still listen to ya’…:) ~Liz
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I am more in agreement with Scott than you. If that is the way something needs marketing, then it should remain unsold is my view. Replying with more marketing hype than one can shake a stick at is just rubbing salt into the wound, and actually serves to prove Scott’s point (to some extent) and certainly mine.
Regards,
Ian
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When I read the beginning of that email, I immediately said to myself :scare tactic. I filter everything that I read or see
because I don’t operate from a point of fear and guilt; I operate from a point of confident awareness. Since I have chosen to separate myself and am not part of the fear and guilt culture that permeates our society these days, and since I do NOT consider this the Jedi-way of training, I find that your resorting to this tactic may be your part of your Journey; however, it is not part of mine. I don’t purchase or buy or believe in something because I am coerced or manipulated by the
fear and guilt we have been conditioned to respond to by today’s media and popular Christian views.
I am requesting that you remove me from your mailing list. Thank you. Kim H.
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Nah, I don’t think you were too harsh at all your just getting you point across, and if I didn’t live in the UK I would be there! cheers Daniel
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Since you asking for more feedback: Frankly, I found your headline last night so off-putting in its tone I threw the email away w/o reading it. -GW
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My reaction was also negative. My reaction is tempered by having met you a couple of times, understanding the heart that you put into this and recognizing your authenticity. Still, the volume of emails, the length of some of them, and the tone of that last one can come across as harder core marketing even though that may not be where you’re coming from.
I commiserate with your position. It’s a difficult balance trying to get the message out, stoke people into action, and yet coming across as your genuine self. I fail on the side of not getting started on e-marketing despite my IT background and might do well to take some lessons from your concerted effort. I applaud you for your thoughtfulness, your energy and stick-to-it-iveness! – Jeff
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With all due respect, I too thought it was in poor taste, and not a marketing technique I would recommend to you or anyone else I care about. I wasn’t going to say anything, but since you explicitly asked for feedback, there you have it!
Chalk this one up to a “life lesson”!
– Tom
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As far as the tone of the email… I agree with Scott but I don’t take it as a threat or even freaky, I see it more like a ploy and a possible indication that you may be having difficulty filling the class. Marketing can be a tricky business so it’s important to be true to yourself and it will shine through to your audience
– Len
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I agree with Scott.
Chris
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I hadn’t read you “bad things about to happen” email until I got this one. But I would have to agree that it is motivation by fear and shame/guilt. It is inconsistent with most of the stuff you put out. I didn’t have any problem with grabbing our attention by framing the “itch.” This section….
>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?
… is really bogus and make you sound desperate for clients (which I doubt is the case). It smacks of a religious fervor with NLP as the source of salvation.
However, you got me to respond for the first time to one of your emails. Maybe some paradoxical intent?
You can and have done better with your invitations.
peace,
Greg C.
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Mark,
I must admit I didn’t even read that email you referred to, until I received this email today. The other one was still in my “delete” box so I looked at parts of it. It did not impress me much at all. Whatever impact it did have on me was not positive–it made me even less interested in reading further.
I am not interested in the training to begin with, and the whole “Jedi” theme is a major turn-off to me. I pretty much stopped reading the emails that have anything to do with that whole gimmick in their subject line. It’s too gimmicky for my taste. If your own stuff is good enough, why do you need to take someone else’s idea and use their material to sell yours? It makes me feel like you are grabbing at straws. While I am interested in learning more about EFT and related topics, I am not interested in spending a ton of money on any of it right now.
Sorry.
Peggy
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I read the latest exchanges about the NLP Prac Training with a good deal of interest. For my two cents, I think you did an excellent job with the whole situation. – BC
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I have to say that I agree with Scott that this type of message, with all its’ good intentions and support of your work, is not something I respond to favorably.
I believe that I, as business person, I can put out what I have to offer and then take the spiritual approach to the responses. As long as I know I have been clear and in my truth about what I have to offer, the right people will connect with it.
-Rosemary
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I must say that i would never really join if got that mail.
but it does sound interesting it’s just so sad that I’m not as old so I’m still in school. Anyway, I’d prefer a milder way to tell that it’ll change my or someone elses life 🙂
keep up the good work 😉
Hanne
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It just reads like the pitch at one of those “free” or nearly free seminars where they push their package of books and tapes.
“How much are you worth to yourself?” “I only charge because nobody takes anything seriously unless they have a financial commitment to it.” “I just want to give back..” (this one’s usually accompanied by slides of kids and vacations) “Imagine having more time for your family.”
It’s just marketing, I’m numb to it.
What would cause me to sign up? Pretty much nothing. Couldn’t afford the airfare or time off. I work and go to school full time, but I work for nearly nothing for a school district that had huge financial problems up until just this year. It’s time for better job, but school’s gotta be first since I put it off for 20 years mostly for other peoples’ priorities.
I don’t know any special marketing approach, I do everything online these days. A DVD package or webcast might be more appealing, but whether it’d be of as much value would obviously depend on how well the material works with that delivery method.
Then again, I have a pile of DVD’s I’ve purchased but not taken the time to view yet.
-Patrick
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You guys are good. Keep it up! – Andy
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silly letter. Although I did read the whole thing. Still…….silly
letter – Jon
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I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments just click the little “comments” link below and express yourself! -Mark