written by john c ashworth
Click here for part 1 in this series - the fastest way to multiply cash flow?
Click here for part 2 of this series - do you have an irrisitible offer?
OK, remember, in this cash flow series we are talking about Bob Stupak, his original world famous Vegas World Casino & the Stratosphere into which his business evolved. All in the spirit of the national funeral directors association conference this week in Las Vegas.
Today, the focus is on list-building.
As we discussed in part 2, there is always an opportunity lying hidden somewhere inside your enterprise that will allow you to transform your business with an irrisitible offer that drives interest, leads, prospects and customers to you like a casino in the middle of the desert. But no opportunity exists if you have no one to sell it to.
Bob Stupak did many things to advertise his hotel and casino. One of the most powerful strategies he implemented was his ruthless list-building strategy. Full of guile and fortitude and fortified with a pure and lasting understanding of just how significantly you can drive leads and sales when you have all the chips in place, Stupak used this strategy for years and took advantage of one of the most fundamental truths in business and direct-response marketing. That a good list is one of the most valuable things in your business.
Bob Stupak made $6.5 million a year using this strategy! And he did all of this before even selling his first vacation.
How can that possibly be?
Because it would have cost him at least that much to produce the leads by any other means with a direct out-of-pocket expense.
NEVER forget the business truth that lists EQUAL capital.
Lists contain hidden capital. And since I'm here in the Nevada desert, let's say your house lists contain invisible money and opportunity like cactuses conceal hidden water. If and when you are willing to embrace this indisputable business truth...a true understanding, you will gain enormous advantage over all others who lack this knowledge.
Unfortunately, most business owners will still make wide detours to avoid this idea.
They don't undersstand it.
So they fear it.
Hence, they convince themselves it's not a means of helping them grow their business.
BIG mistake. Because very likely, you have a competitor who does understand this and they are already stealing market share from you, quietly. Secretly...one list member at a time.
What will you choose to do about it?
Because even though the investment in direct-mail is significant, it doesn't matter. If it produces more in sales than you had to spend to create it, you have a winner and you need to invest as much as you can in that asset. When done right, direct mail can do wonders for you and your business. Even in today's marketplace where you think no one is paying attention.
I believe you can literally gain control over someone's mailbox, legally by becoming a master of direct-mail. I'll get into this in upcoming posts. If you're interested in hearing more about it, reach out to me and let's start a conversation.
The good news for you is that this amazing list-building strategy almost went to the grave with Bob Stupak. I've resurrected it here for your advantage. It is my sincere hope that you will decide to do something meaningful with this information. Connect with me and I can help.
For now, let's stay focused on this powerful list-building strategy...
The little white piece of paper - here's the Bob Stupak list-building strategy...
The little white piece of paper was actually a neat and tidy wrapper placed around five picture postcards. The 27 words of copy (make this another story too - the power of copy - and make this and the one above, bonuses that you need to opt-in somehow for maybe...) on it were worth many millions of dollars. Be sure to click that link and read that story because it's a quick education on direct-mail that almost no one truly understands and learning it could be the most profitable thing you do inside your small business and your funeral home, EVER!!
Here are those 27 words...
We pay postage for these Vegas World postcards only. Just put them in the special mail box located at the Vacation Club Counter, on the main floor.
Of course, as people took advantage of this offer and filled out those postcards, Bob's staff dutifully recorded those new contacts into their database and used this system to build an incredibly powerful list.
What will you choose?
Now, if you've read this far, I believe one of three things will happen...
- you'll simply do nothing
- you'll object on principle: especially if you're a funeral home, but most business owners will make the same choice, the idea of scraping contact information in this manner makes your skin crawl or somehow offends you or you fear you will offend others by operating in this fashion. I can assure you that this is certainly true in a very small number of instances. As I said in part 1, don't let the loud voices of the majority, steer you in unfortunate directions that lead to dead-ends and no sales. When done properly, like Bob Stupak did (I'll share his sales letter if you reach out to me here.) this kind of strategy is not only a legitimate pursuit, but as I said earlier in this post, it could very likely transform your pre-need sales system. You just need to start building your list. And you already have one, it just needs to be organized. Just the kind of thing I can help you do inside your funeral business.
- you will dismiss the idea entirely: certainly your choice, but if this intrigues you in any way, let's have a conversation, shall we? who knows what hidden doors to cash flow, wealth and opportunity we might unlock... 🤓
Hope to hear from you soon.
And thanks for being here.
I appreciate you as a reader of my work and hope it helps you in some way regardless of whether or not we ever connect.
-John
