Copyright © Randy Berg 2018 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or

transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher,

except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Copyright © Randy Berg 2018

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 3

........................................................................................................................ 4

............................................................................................ 10

................................................................... 18

..................................................................................... 22

................................................................. 23

.......................................................... 25

.............................................................. 28

.......................................................... 30

............................................................... 34

........................................................................................................................ 39

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 4

Please take the time to read this… it is important.

I did not originally include many personal details in this book as I wanted to keep

the focus on Trust issue rather than me.

But now… I think they are and I do you a disservice if I do not include them and they are a huge part of the solutions that you are going to read.

My name is Randy Berg and I am 71 years old. I have had success and I have had failure and my daughter says that I should write a book so she can show my granddaughter if I don’t get the chance to tell her. Half of what I tell her she doesn’t believe as most of my life has been “one adventure after the other.”

This adventure follows my “last great adventure” which took place in Costa Rica after my retirement … 15 years ago.

When I started my “new business” in Costa Rica it was totally a lark… a way to keep busy. I really never expected to earn money from it.

I often compared our success in Costa Rica to winning the lottery as it just seemed to “happen” without any plan or effort on my part.

And honestly, I had no game plan, no business plan and nothing beyond “putting one foot in front of the other.”

I would like to say that I am an extremely intelligent guy and that I have an IQ of 160 and I planned it all… every step of the way.

But that would be a lie.

My wife and I moved to Costa Rica to retire, relax and to enjoy life. We honestly did not plan on working ever again.

Everything for almost the first 6 or 7 years went like absolute silk. Smooth. And we became one of the top real estate firms in the country, despite zero experience.

Very little went wrong.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 5

And in retrospect too, I did do a lot of things right. At the end of this book, you will read about some of them and how I gained the trust of a huge number of people. And I really didn’t think anything was unusual about that either. I was just being myself… writing, sharing myself…and simply being me.

I didn’t talk much about raising investment capital. I did and thought it was prudent and the only way to move forward as we didn’t have enough on our own to do what we wanted.

And that went smoothly as well in the beginning…

But then everything began to turn the other way… from 100 year floods to drug dealers threatening us to officials demanding payoffs

We did not stay with strictly real estate sales.

We decided (or rather, I decided) that it made more sense to design smaller developments which were tailored to our marketplace and construct the homes ourselves.

My errors?

I neglected to factor in all of the unknowns and events that would be “beyond our control” and I assumed that cultures were the same.

They weren’t … not even remotely.

And the penalties for being wrong kept coming…

From a 100 year flood that wiped out one of our first developments… to attorneys and local municipalities with their hands out…

The worst part?

We were losing money… a lot of money.

And we also had to content with the worst economy since the Great Depression in the States.

We kept plugging away at each development and taking the steps we had to.

But suddenly it seemed as if absolutely everything was stalled…

In all candor, I thought it would turn around.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 6

I failed to take into account that we were in a different world… a different country where laws and customs were totally different… and we “gringos” were targeted.

By now we were hemorrhaging money …

We mortgaged our home … and suddenly our bank account was dangerously low.

And even the inheritance from my parents, who had passed away three years before this time… was gone… and that was fairly sizeable.

By now, I was taking it hard… really hard.

After all, I had raised the money and yes, I had done it the legal and right way… but investors still didn’t know the extent of our problems.

But then, the proverbial “straw that broke the camel’s back” hit us…

Our attorney had drained our last remaining bank account… and when we confronted him, he just laughed and said “My family has been here a century… you are a gringo… who do you think they’re going to believe?”

It felt like the end of my life. I wanted to die.

After all, I was the face of the company and the one responsible for it all.

And something else surfaced… Costa Rica was NOT a democracy like the U.S. or Canada. They were based on Napoleonic law … a single complaint could put me in prison indefinitely without even the opportunity to defend myself. Yes, it has happened.

In other words, their laws were different than ours.

And I could be thrown in jail even though I had done nothing wrong. In Costa Rica the accused is NOT innocent until proven guilty.

At that point, we had to talk about leaving the country…

We decided to return home and leave all of our assets to the investors.

And both of us felt like it was the end of the world.

This was our home… we loved it…

And I knew it was my fault.

Investors were not happy… to say the least.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 7

It did not matter that we had actually lost more money in total ourselves than all of the investors put together.

They called us names… said we were “running away” and that we had lied to them.

They threatened lawsuits.

I know that I should have the attitude that most entrepreneurs have and that is the simple fact that “investors make money and they lose money”. While we did everything legally and spelled out the risks, I still feel responsible.

In retrospect I would have done it differently but… obviously that doesn’t matter now.

When we arrived back in Minnesota… it was the middle of winter and we were staying in my sister in law’s basement.

Damn near flat broke.

For a long time I wanted to kill myself.

I blamed myself for everything that had gone wrong.

Our retirement home and savings… totally gone.

Virtually nothing left at all.

Except a social security check.

I didn’t know what the hell to do with myself.

My ears had gotten so bad over the past few years that my hearing had declined to 10% of normal.

And of course, my nerves were still shot… I could barely eat and I had developed neuropathy.

And I tried to figure out what had “really” happened.

What had I done that was RIGHT?

I sure as hell knew everything I did wrong and all of the bad decisions I made.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 8

But I had also come from almost nowhere and was, for years, regarded as one of the top realtors and authorities on baby boomers and real estate investment.

And I knew that … at least in the beginning… everyone trusted me.

Let me rephrase that…

Many of my investors didn’t trust me at the end… but everyone who ever purchased real estate still remembered me and still… even today… trust me.

But I didn’t know the “WHY” of “why they trusted me.”

So I broke everything down and did an autopsy on “the good, the bad, and the ugly.”

And I talked to a lot of people about what had happened…

Smart people that I could get honest feedback from.

And I gradually begun to realize that I had done a lot of things right too.

And I had really developed … without even knowing it… a “system” (for lack of a better word) that engendered trust in almost any marketplace.

Virtually no one was doing that.

People are dying for someone to trust… they are desperate.

But almost no one steps up… because almost no one knows how.

Now you can.

This is my legacy…

It took a long time to untangle my life in Costa Rica… but it was worth it in the end.

This is my promise to you…

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 9

If you use what I outline in this book, you will establish trust with your market. And when that happens, the sky is the limit and you will be astounded at how fast you reach your goals and you will surpass even your most ambitious dreams.

And please… put what you read here in this book… to use.

It works like nothing else.

And, I promise you… it is easy and simple to use.

Thank you for reading.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 10

Nearly all of us believe that our country is more divisive and

more “unhappy” than it has been in decades.

My daughter calls me, in tears and says that she doesn’t want to raise her son in an atmosphere where mass shootings are becoming almost a weekly occurrence.

My sister, who taught school for 40 years, took early retirement because she couldn’t sleep at night any longer because of her students’ lack of respect … “the students used to respect the teachers and I felt like I was making a difference… it’s just not the same.”

One of my other daughters … of millennial age…says that all of her friends are on antidepressants. ALL of them.

Bullying in our schools has reached epidemic proportions and suicides are becoming almost commonplace rather than a rarity.

Students throughout the country march in protest that their parents, their teachers and their legislators do nothing to correct an “ongoing problem” with violence and death in our schools.

We have “fake news”… our elected officials are seemingly powerless to

accomplish anything despite protestations to the contrary… racial discrimination and violence is escalating as is crime… and our prison population is approaching all-time highs. Opioids and drugs continue to be a huge problem and yet nothing is even

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 11

attempted to combat the problems. Suicides among our farmers over the past two decades exceed 250,000 and yet it is barely mentioned in the news.

Everywhere we turn, hatred, name calling, and profanity are the norm… rather than yesterday’s standbys of discussion, compromise, concession and arbitration.

Decades ago, agreements were made after arguments, and then … both sides shook hands and were satisfied… and both kept their word.

Today, trust has all but disappeared

And we are left with an emptiness inside. A feeling that “something” is missing.

Trust is a word that we remember when we talk about “the good old days.”

Because nearly all of us don’t trust “anyone or anything” any longer.

We’re afraid of the consequences.

We’ve been hurt and disappointed too many times.

Of course, most of us trust the people we are close to… our wives, our husbands,

our children, and most of our friends and relatives.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 12

But it is our institutions… the bedrocks of our society…where our trust has been trampled.

And writers and pundits will point to almost endless explanations of why our society is in “disarray.”

It could be political… global… financial… monetary… fear of war… the growing disparity of wealth between the wealthy and the poor… race… the advent of computers and the internet…

The list goes on and on.

And of course, everyone has their own ideas and opinions about how these “disagreements” can be “fixed”.

But the problems are not that simple.

“Will the problems be solved if the Democrats and Republicans compromise or if one party defeats the other?”

“Will the problems with gun violence disappear if guns are banned or new restrictions are enacted?”

“Will racial problems improve if…..?”

Or… “will our economy improve if we balance the budget?” or… “will there be peace if we ban nuclear weapons?”

… The real question is this: “Are we too far gone? … Is trust a word that we think of ONLY when

we talk about “the good old days”? …

Now… before you click off… you need to know that I am getting to the point:

Why is trust so important?

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 13

It is important… because without trust, our promises and everything we have believed turn to ashes.

If we cannot trust people to keep their promises, then society will completely disintegrate… along with everything in it.

Trust is the foundation of our society and everything it is built on.

And it is not just OUR country… it is nations and people everywhere.

And all of the things that nearly all of us believed were “here to stay” …aren’t here any longer…

They are a distant memory.

And we all ask ourselves “what can we do?”

And we try to fix the problems with “band aids” and glib words which do nothing.

And that hurts.

All of us.

This is not meant to be a diatribe or a rant about all that is wrong in today’s world.

It is being written to show that problems exist AND that something can be done.

It is to demonstrate how crucial trust is in our lives.

And what we as individuals can do to instill trust in others

We cannot legislate trust… we can only do our part.

But virtually no one knows how.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 14

We all want to trust… but we’re afraid of the consequences

We’re afraid of trusting because we have been hurt before… many times. And we are afraid of taking the risk again.

And most of us are disgusted that our nation cannot come to agreements and compromise … of almost any kind.

We all want it…

But almost no one knows how to take the first step.

This book is going to show you how simple it is…and how to take that first step

It is going to show you how you CAN instill trust in others when almost everything else has failed.

It is going to show you what you can expect when you take one small action that almost no one expects.

It is going to demonstrate how desperately almost all of us WANT to trust… to believe… and

yes, even to buy…

But we are afraid.

And we all want an alternative… an option… but most of us cannot even articulate what we want.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 15

I want to solve those problems for you

I want to show you how, by taking a series of small simple steps… you can instill trust in your markets, your prospects … your potential buyers.

Entrepreneurs, business owners, even the salesman who faces massive rejection almost daily…

I want to show you how you can get all of these people… the ones you depend on… to trust you.

Not through tricks, sleaze and shady techniques that are there “only to get the order”…

But through being

REAL and GENUINE

Now… you may have had contact with someone who practices what you are about to read … and you’ve probably asked yourself “why is the person so successful? What is he doing that I’m not?”

And in truth… most of these so called “successful people” don’t realize what they are doing either. It just happens. And most of us don’t ask why this person has such an influence… it is just accepted.

“they are just exceptional…” people say. Or they say “I feel like I can trust this person.”

But what they are doing is being real and genuine… and their audience knows it.

And they trust what they see and hear.

Sounds like hocus pocus?

Well, given the fact that almost all of you WANT to believe in what you are about to read… but that you are predisposed not to believe…

It’s not surprising that you think that this is just another “shiny object” or a way to con you out of your money.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 16

I cannot prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that what you are about to read is going to change society and turn a nation of people that don’t trust…and don’t believe… into a society that believes again in trust and handshakes.

But what I can do is show you what worked for me… how it changed my life… then tell you why

it all works and how

It can’t change everyone and it can’t change society as a whole … but we have to start somewhere.

I can tell you how it changed my business.

And I can tell you how it would affect you and how simple it all is.

And that is how we start. Only you can effect change and make a difference

None of us can change things as a whole… ALL of society.

None of us can change our government or our media to what we want it to be.

But it is a start.

What I want to show you has the potential to change your life

And it has the potential to change others as well…

But it starts with you ... and with me.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 17

And it’s all about trust.

Because that is what society and all of us are missing.

And that is what all of us want…more than anything else.

We want to be able to trust again … And we want people to trust us

That is what this is all about.

If you can instill trust in your prospects and markets through a specific set of actions…you

will have HORDES of RAVING fans. I want show you exactly how to do it

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 18

The story and the basis for this book began in the jungles of Costa Rica and is reprinted from “Trust, Handshakes, and the American Dream” by Randy Berg.

My name is Randy Berg. I’m 71 years old and I have been “rich” several times and I have also been broke several times. But in my last adventure… which happened AFTER I retired, shortly after 9/11… I built one of the largest real estate and development firms in Costa Rica without having any real estate experience, no startup capital and zero connections in the country. And this was in a country which had virtually no real estate laws and a shaky banking system. Candidly, it never should have happened. But this isn’t about me… it is about what I learned… by accident… and how it can help you completely change your business even if you are almost on your “last legs” now…or you are just plain “stalled.” Please understand that this short book does not contain every avenue or every action and method that I used …

But it is about the most important… because without it… you will almost certainly close your doors. And it doesn’t have to happen.

I want to show you EXACTLY the steps you need to take to get your present and

potential clients and buyers to TRUST you

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 19

Follow these simple steps and you WILL be shocked at how easily people will follow you, buy from you, give you referrals…and become your loyal customers and clients for as long as you want them. My wife and I retired to Costa Rica after running a printing company … and computers and technology was decimating the industry. It was a struggle… my wife had run the company after she purchased it from her father who started it and grown it into 7 locations and a major player in the Twin Cities (Minnesota) marketplace. I met my wife about a decade before 9/11 and after a short courtship I merged a copy center I had invested in with her printing locations. The merger was successful almost from the beginning but it was a struggle just to stay even as technology was continuing to steal our clients from us (remember, business cards and letterheads, and even brochures could now be printed with a computer and printer). And it became even more of a struggle as the years went by and shortly after 9/11 we decided to sell everything… …and retire. Even though our retirement would not be lavish… we opted to enjoy what we had saved and what we had worked for. And we sold absolutely everything we owned, packed everything else into two suitcases apiece… and took off for Costa Rica with only each other and our two dogs, Tubby and Beano. And we loved it.

But after six months I grew bored. But I was in a foreign country… I knew absolutely no one, spoke no Spanish and wore two hearing aids.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 20

What the hell could I do? Oh, I also had zero technical experience and could barely send an email. So I started a real estate company … because candidly, I couldn’t think of anything else to do. And I had nothing to lose.

And in the next 18 months… I made more money than I had in the previous ten years

of owning a printing company

I had been written up in Newsweek, Investors’ Business Daily, and other local and national publications and various books about Costa Rica. BUT here are just a few of the things that happened that are the most remarkable…and that YOU should care about:

• About 1/3 of all of my clients purchased their properties WITHOUT EVEN SEEING THEM. They bought strictly on my recommendation and paid via wire transfer SOLELY BECAUSE THEY TRUSTED ME.

• My clients overwhelmingly TOLD ME that they actually considered my wife and I “part of the family.”

• If I advertised a property for sale on what I called a “digital postcard” it was ALWAYS sold within 20 minutes (AND paid for!) … and invariably it could have been sold at least five times over.

• At least once a month a visitor from the States would stop in and ask if they could sell for me and work for nothing…just for the “experience”.

• Potential clients that purchased property from another realtor… at LEAST half of the time… would email me (or stop in my office) and apologize for not buying from me.

• If I was raising money for a new development, in almost every instance… within two weeks after a prospectus went out, the money was committed. And wired… again, all sight unseen and in increments ranging from $5K to $100K.

But enough of the positives… …and you may be saying to yourself

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 21

“why should I care what happened to a guy in Costa Rica? … that has

nothing to do with me.”

I want to tell you WHY you need to be concerned about your potential buyers and clients trusting you…

WHY it is important. And I will tell you point blank…

“if you do not have the trust of your own marketplace…you will

ultimately fail.”

* * *

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 22

The single most important idea to remember in this reading … is

simply that TRUST can be instilled… it can be given and accepted.

For most of us and for most of the people in our society… we simply accept that “the world is what it is”… in other words, people lie… they are dishonest… and they only look after themselves… they cannot be trusted.

We have been living with those facts for decades … and far too long.

And yes, it has been worsening… to the point where it is simply accepted … almost without argument.

The results of such poison have been discussed… “fake media”, the almost total mistrust of the government and law enforcement… and almost every other institution in our country.

The people that we elected to service us … BASED ON THEIR PROMISES … have broken their promises … according to most of the voters and the vast majority of our nation. And this disappearance of that trust has affected us much more than we think or will admit.

It leaves us with an empty feeling in the pit of our stomachs and a feeling of utter hopelessness

We look at our nation today and shake our heads.

All of this is more depressing than we want to think, simply because it is easier to put it out of our thoughts rather than deal with a reality that most feel they can do nothing about.

BUT… the important thing here, in this book, is that people ARE looking for answers. They are looking for something and someone to trust…

And you will see how you can become that person.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 23

“Why has no one talked about this before… if it is so simple to implement… or works so well?”

… primarily because, in large part, marketers, pundits, “gurus” and even the media have tended to look for “quick fixes” that appeal to those looking for answers. Sadly, we all want instant results, massive returns and overnight profits. And even though we don’t believe it will happen… we still hope that it will… like the gambler playing the proverbial longshot at the races.

Remember, we are living in an age where almost no one trusts the written or spoken word, or anything being offered for sale.

Today’s marketers not only bend and break the rules… they do “whatever it takes” to make the sale.

And it is easier just to pretend that the status quo is still “just like it was yesterday” instead of admitting that it may be gone forever.

Yesterday, offers were basically straight forward and the gimmicks and trickery

that we see today… did not exist.

And our institutions were exactly what they represented themselves to be.

“Fake news” did not exist. Newspapers and agencies prided themselves on uncovering the truth and reported it as it was.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 24

Our legislators and elected officials prided themselves on doing exactly what they promised. Those that did not were forced to leave office or were voted out.

People insisted on hearing the truth and lies were punished.

Dishonesty and deceit were exposed.

“Back then” peoples’ promises were exactly that… and that was what was expected.

Remember when people demonstrated against a war which was never declared… and mothers and daughters and “hippies” marched in protest?

The war was eventually halted.

And eventually, the elected officials listened.

Today?

They say the words… then they do what they want.

And no one believes… or trusts.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 25

Let’s take a look at the effect that the internet has on our society and our businesses…because the internet has such a huge effect on our lives and our businesses:

Today, business is a minefield

More businesses failed last year than started… for the first time in modern history.

And everywhere we go we see “going out of business” signs and more “For

Lease” notices than ever. How can this happen when the media tells us about companies like Uber and

AirBnB where billions of dollars were made literally out of thin air? And we read about investors making millions in “cryptocurrencies” and teenagers

inventing “platforms” and “apps” and literally making millions of dollars almost overnight.

And we know that the internet has taken the business world and rocked it like nothing else ever has.

And we know that wars are fought using computers, the internet, and software. And buttons can be pushed with computers running on software that wasn’t even invented ten years ago… and that have the potential to destroy entire civilizations.

We know, too, that nearly everyone in the world is now linked together…and literally in the blink of an eye…we can now correspond with each other… know happenings in faraway lands and even other planets.

The science fiction we used to read has come true

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 26

And the biggest changes are yet to come. But the question then becomes…

“If the internet is such a wonderful thing… why are so many companies going bankrupt?

Companies with millions and sometimes billions of dollars… and if they can’t adapt… how can

we?”

And the five biggest companies in the U.S. today are not companies like Standard Oil, General Motors, and U.S. Steel…. They are Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and Apple.

All companies with the feet solidly grounded on the internet and computers. Yet… over half of all companies in the U.S. have no internet presence.

WHY?

And even if we do have it,

CAN WE EVEN SURVIVE?

To answer that question… we have to look backwards. …to “pre-internet” and to a time when computers themselves were just a glimmer

in an inventor’s eye.

Because things were simpler then

Almost all business was done with people we knew… and trusted. We bought our cars from Eldon down the street … we grew up with him and we

knew we could trust him.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 27

And our clothes from Tom… our groceries from Phil Hovander… and bought our house from a realtor that lived on our block and we knew that he would “treat us right”.

It was simple and business was done with people we trusted and it was often done on a handshake.

Now?

We don’t trust anyone any longer

And the casualties in today’s world include almost all of us. And the frustrations, unhappiness and depression are giving way to even worse

reactions. Is it any wonder that many of us long for “the good old days?” … and cannot even see an alternative?

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 28

A huge part of the problem of the “lack” of trust is that many of us have simply given up

“It is too big… what can one person do?”

“I don’t trust anyone at all… I feel totally powerless.”

And it becomes almost a “self-fulfilling prophecy

BUT… and here is where it starts…

This is a huge, huge opportunity for those who can capitalize on it

Remember, people are starving and hungry for people they can trust.

And if you can give that to them…

You are not only a hero… and you will be regarded as “almost a member of the family”.

Think about it for a minute…

Your buyers, your audience, your marketplace… none of them trust any longer…

They have been taken advantage of too long… along with almost every other aspect of their lives.

They are depressed and unhappy and they are still looking for answers because

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 29

they not only WANT them, but they NEED them

But over and over… their trust is broken.

Remember the paradox… “People want to buy but they are afraid of the consequences.”

I am going to show you how to gain their trust.

And believe me… the rewards are more monumental and mind bending than you can even imagine.

Stick with me… the best is yet to come.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 30

We all know that our world of commerce is changing faster than ever.

The internet has made access and speed household words for everyone and we have seen thousands become rich almost overnight because of its power and reach.

Yet… hundreds of thousands of companies have closed their doors because they couldn’t adapt.

And the internet with its speed and power has forced all of its users to “adapt or die”.

Information overload affects everyone… and almost all marketers have had to figure out how to adapt and continue to grow… or suffer the consequences.

Phrases like “service with a smile” and “sealed with a handshake” are almost laughable today.

The norm now?

Disruption… “the quick fix”… “the shiny object”… anything that can fix a problem quickly, efficiently, AND profitably will succeed.

Even if it won’t last.

We don’t believe most of it… we don’t trust any of it… but we buy, hoping against hope, that “this time will be different.”

But it never is.

And the few methods, systems, and tactics that do work?

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 31

Well, they don’t last long… and within a VERY short time, we are looking for the next “fix.”

This is “the way marketing is today.”

People are tired of it.

And like almost everything else, they don’t trust it all either.

Many marketers, most of the good ones on and offline, know that in order to “capture” new clients they must Know, Like and Trust their sellers.

But that’s not easy to do.

And now… the tactics that many have taken to “satisfy” the Know, Like and Trust… have fallen by the wayside.

“Give me an example!”

Honestly, providing potential buyers with anything that satisfies the “know, like and trust” is not easy.

Most marketers would provide value and content. If they provide something that “helps” the reader, then it is valuable. Examples might be an article from a local dentist that talked about the extra needs that children have vs. adults. Or a realtor might talk about a particular area in town that appeared to be a “real bargain” might be underpriced for the reason that there is a problem with the water in the area.

Great ideas, right?

Yes, BUT…

Marketers started to take the easy way out and started diluting any value that many marketers were providing. Generic articles were rewritten ( called “private label rights”) that anyone could buy … and thousands did. Templates began to be offered … and gradually much of the content lost its value because of “the quick fix” attitude that marketers often took. And now, we have software that can virtually write for you … AI… or artificial intelligence or bots. It changes almost daily.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 32

And the trust that was built… was lost again… in many cases.

Buyers don’t want fake… they don’t want something that isn’t real. They absolutely don’t want to feel like they are taken for granted.

So… poof… the trust is gone again.

Buyers want real and they want genuine…

and they can smell fake, fraud and dishonest a mile away.

Then… in a book titled Influence: Science and Practice (2009) , Robert Cialdini describes the Rule of Reciprocity. This rule represents one of the most fundamental and influential dynamics of human behavior…

The rule the essentially states that if someone gives something to us, we feel obligated to repay

that debt

He further goes on to quote the work of the famous anthropologist Richard

Leakey, who states that the rule of reciprocity is a defining factor of what it means to be human.

Marketers seized the “new information” and… even though it was as old as man himself… it was immediately adapted to the internet and to sales and advertising.

Marketers and sales people began offering products of exceptional value or even free, in order to create a debt of obligation.

At first, it was phenomenal and worked like nothing ever before.

To get something for nothing?

Of course, it worked.

But not for long.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 33

Because soon, marketers were seeking the “lazy way out” and diluting reciprocation’s effectiveness by diluting its value.

And soon, the end users… the buyers, began to see the offers as having almost no value.

The intent was good… the end result was lack of trust … again.

NOW?

Almost everyone sees something that is inexpensive or free… that has been offered, ostensibly, as something valuable to create a “debt”… as being almost worthless.

“If it is free, then it is worth nothing…because it cost nothing.”

“If it was good, it would be selling for a lot more money.”

REAL and GENUINE is what buyers want. And remember, they WANT to buy and trust, but

they are afraid of the consequences

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 34

Back to the beginning… and for me it was Costa Rica.

I was inspiring trust in my marketplace… and I could list a lot of the specific actions that I was using… like Newsletters, videos, emails, etc…

…but I couldn’t explain WHY it all worked like it did

I could look back and see that people would buy from me, completely sight unseen, and send money to me solely based on their trust in me.

But why?

I said to myself, “I would never, EVER do anything like that.”

And I took myself back in time.

And I reread many of the newsletters and emails, and even the Ebooks that I wrote.

And I remembered many of the instances that I talked and wrote about…

And I remembered the responses that I got from my readers… and gradually, from them in person when they visited.

And for a very long time, I couldn’t see what was different.

But now I do

I remembered and reread about things that were important to me… things that I worried about, things that bothered me… things that I did that meant something to me… I wrote about my parents growing old, my hearing deteriorating, my wife in the hospital…

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 35

And I still couldn’t see what I was doing differently.

I wrote about The Seinfeld Show and why it was so popular… emotions and little “foibles”… little habits and common traits that we all had that made us human. And I knew then I was utilizing the “Seinfeld Moments” to establish emotional reciprocity…without even realizing it.

Then last night my wife and I watched two episodes of the series “Friends” from well over 20 years ago.

And it hit me… I was talking about all of these things because of my past. I was sharing my “foibles”, emotions, pain, happiness, frustration… because of what I had been through.

I write extensively for a few publications and forums. And in one, I tell people that, if they are depressed or suicidal, or simply confused… to find a group of people like Alcoholics Anonymous or call a suicide “hotline” and find out where there is a group that accepts walk ins that need help immediately. In other words, none of us have to be alone… and just talking to others will make us realize that we don’t have to go through our pain ourselves. In other words “others are in the same boat as I am and have the same problems.”

And suddenly the problems don’t seem quite so unique and so unsolvable because others have them too.

Most others don’t have these experiences.

But when I shared mine… I was overwhelmed.

And it was exactly as Cialdini had described.

I was doing nothing different, in my experience.

But to others… it was new.

And I was sharing a piece of myself…

And they reciprocated.

That is when I knew exactly WHY my readers, subscribers, visitors acted as they did. The Law of Reciprocity… the “human

connection”

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 36

If we give pieces of ourselves to strangers… many of them will respond back.

I talked about things like my wife being in the hospital and how worried I was… I wrote about how I often lost my temper … and I wrote about my aging parents and how hard it was to be half a world away… and I wrote to about how I hated to get old…

In other words… everyday emotions and feelings.

If you want more business… you want to create trust in your prospects… give pieces of yourself.

It seems as if such small, seemingly inconsequential things couldn’t possibly have such an effect on the actions of others.

BUT THEY DO

I remember when I first started doing consulting for small businesses when I returned to the States.

My first client appreciated my experiences but getting him to change was like pulling teeth.

I had even set up a system which would market to his present customers on a regular basis (mainly newsletters and email) and his business increased by over 20%, with very little effort.

He didn’t say much. But when I wrote him a letter talking about another strategy I

wanted him to try and I mentioned about the time I ended up in a foreign country when I was in a blackout (during the worst years of my drinking) , the embarrassment, and the result (I got fired!).… I swear, the guy couldn’t stop talking about the incident and his attitude toward me completely changed.

I should have known better.

Be real, be genuine… if you have a product or service and are frustrated that no one is recognizing the value of what you do and offer…

Remember the law of reciprocity… and then remember “Friends”, “The Seinfeld Show” and human connections.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 37

They make us smile, they make us feel good… and most of us… they make us trust again.

And, by the way, just as an aside… I just read an article recently that said that Jerry Seinfeld is THE wealthiest actor and director in our country… having amassed almost a billion dollars over the years. That’s as pretty close to proof as you get that what he represents and we see in his writings and directing… works like almost nothing else.

And that is how it all starts.

Thanks for reading and I sincerely hope that what you have read has made you think… and even more… I hope that you act on what you read…

Because I promise you, it will change your life.

Randy B.

www.keepitsimplestupidmarketing.com www.reinventionprotocol.com randy@keepitsimplestupidmarketing.com or… mwqp1165@aol.com

Skype: randyberg2

Cell: 612 562 3341

Links:

Newsletters:

Number one… Number two… Number three… My Library, to download copies of my books

p.s. I have also attached a book that I wrote when I first returned to the States from Costa Rica. It is the Seinfeld book that I referred to - The Seinfeld Moments.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 38

It will give you a little more background than I went into here and it will also give you some suggestions about your own “Seinfeld Moments”.

I have also included some newsletters and Ebooks that I wrote which may give you ideas for your own communications with your clients, prospects, and readers.

And remember, trust always starts with you sharing something

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 39

The complete book of “Seinfeld Moments”:

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 40

Seinfeld Moments

By Randy Berg

Copyright © Randy Berg 2014 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or

other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the

publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other

noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. Copyright © Randy Berg 2014

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 41

We all know the statistics about succeeding on the internet… less than 5%.

Pretty lousy, right?

But somehow, it doesn’t faze too many people… they just keep buying more junk and wasting more time.

Hope springs eternal.

Every day we are inundated with more shiny objects, more pushbutton systems that promise the moon, and promises of “an easy $10K a month.”

And we keep hoping that “one of these” will work. And solve our problems.

But most of us know what works… and what doesn’t.

I’m going to give you something today that will work for you… if you use it.

Yes, I said “give”. Totally free of charge.

This is such a simple thing that I honestly would feel guilty selling the advice… Yes, it is that easy and simple… but…

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 42

A lot of you won’t use it and a lot of you will not believe that it works.

Now…we all know that bonding with your list works… and we all know how important creating trust is.

But what I am about to share with you goes beyond that… way beyond.

And I can tell you that IF you use this with your list you will absolutely, positively increase your ROI and your revenues by huge amounts. And yes, I mean HUGE.

I literally had people throwing money at me…

Honest…

Keep reading, because you don’t want to miss this… you really don’t.

In order to be successful in the marketing world… no matter what you choice of product is… you need:

1. A product or service that is in demand.

2. Traffic.

3. A way to convert the traffic to a sale (or rather, ENOUGH sales to ensure that you stay in business and keep the wolves at bay).

No matter what you are selling or “trying to sell” you need the above… whether it be Kindle books, niche marketing of any kind, success coaching, website design, offsite marketing, traffic generation products, list building… you name it…

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 43

“There is one thing that everyone needs IF they want to rise above the rest of the crowd… and yeah, it’s a big crowd out there with a lot of competition.”

“So… is it the product that makes you successful?”

Sometimes.

“Is it the amount of traffic that does it?”

Well, sure helps and if there is enough AND you are good at it driving it … you will make money.

Same thing if you can convert traffic to sales… you will make money… probably a lot of money. If you keep your nose to the grindstone and don’t lose focus.

But there is one thing that will always keep you “head and shoulders” above the rest… assuming the rest are followed even to an average degree.

It is HOW YOU RELATE TO YOUR CLIENTS AND POTENTIAL CLIENTS.

Oh sure, everyone admits how important copywriting is… but I’m not talking copywriting. And everyone talks about gaining trust… and giving away “free stuff” so that people LIKE you.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 44

I am talking about relationships… and how your clients see you…and how they feel about you.

When I look at the “big names” in the business, everyone pretty much knows the same people… because their names and sometimes their products are everywhere.

But do you know anything about them?

Probably not much.

Sure, you may have picked up a few tidbits from webinars, seminars even gossip online… but it’s really not much is it?

I want to share with you how I used a “form of copywriting” to build relationships with my clients, email list, and potential clients that enabled me to sell well over $25,000,000 worth of real estate in a foreign country… when I had no experience whatsoever… and it even allowed me to get my face on Newsweek magazine.

… AND what it did for the rest of my business.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 45

My name is Randy Berg and I’d like to give you a little background…

My wife and I ran a commercial print shop and a couple of retail copy shops during most of the 90s. And, if you have your own business (especially if it’s “brick and mortar”) then you know about long hours and frustration. It was a rare day that we worked less than 10-12 hours.

We had taken one of our rare vacations in the winter just before the start of the new millennium… to Costa Rica. And we fell in love.

And I immediately started talking to Rhonda about “retiring” there. Of course, we KNEW it was a fantasy but we all have our dreams… after all, sometimes dreams are all we have.

And then 9/11 hit. And we both looked at each other and said “it’s time.”

And we sold literally everything we had… the business, the house, everything else went to the kids or in the dumpster. And after a year… we landed in Costa Rica with two suitcases apiece and our two dogs, Tubby and Beano.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 46

It was gorgeous and we loved it… despite nearly everything being completely different than I had read on the internet and in print.

How could a little frustration stop us? This was our “great adventure!”

We built our first house… and again, it was nothing like what was written or portrayed on the internet.

But it was worth it. This was now our new home.

I grew bored.

And… remembering all of the troubles we encountered buying property and building, my wife and I started a real estate company. And we quickly grew.

I started writing about our “adventures” and what we encountered in Costa Rica as an expat. Never mind that I had no experience writing or in real estate… no one else did either! We were instant experts!

We grew quickly… and branched out into construction and development. And as a result received a ton of publicity… starting with Newsweek magazine, and then into Investors Business Daily and others.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 47

We did a lot of things wrong … and a lot of things right. We have no experience with real estate, construction … or any of it. We learned as we grew.

It was a heady experience for two “middle aged” gringos from Minnesota… publicity, money rolling in… and regarded as being among the top real estate experts in the country.

I had never written before and was suddenly being asked to contribute to different local and national newspapers as well as being asked to contribute chapters and more to books on real estate and construction. We did … and our reputation continued to grow.

In retrospect… we didn’t really know what we were doing… we did the best we could with our limited experience. And given the circumstances it was going pretty well.

Then the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression hit the markets. It wasn’t bad for a while, then it slowed. And slowed

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 48

some more.

And suddenly, even with the markets slowing, EVERYTHING went wrong.

One of our developments on the beach with an estuary behind was flooded and a third of the property was totally gone… underwater. Another, in a very prestigious beach location AFTER jumping through hoops to get permitting and building three homes and taking orders for more… was shut down… no reason given except “we know we gave you permission but we want to do more studies”… the first one cost us $250K, the second $500K.

And it didn’t stop there… we were threatened by one of my clients, that I later found out was the biggest synthetic drug dealer in the States (I had to hire an armed guard)… another development changed zoning on us despite us being given permission to build ten homes and a pool… kaput!, no more building. “oh well” the municipality said, “try again next year.” Hinting for a payoff.

And the crowning blow… we went into the bank to get cash for payroll and the bank manager came over and said “sorry, but your account has no funds available.”

WHAT?

Yes, we checked the balance the night before. And low six figures.

Yup, our attorney, who we had given power to sign… had drained our account.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 49

He laughed at us.

I almost totally lost it but we went to the equivalent of the FBI as well as seeking out other attorneys. Turns out we had a case… IF we took it to court and probably would get a judgment within ten years… probably no money though.

That was it. No money left.

We met with our investors and worked out a settlement which left us damn near penniless.

And we went back to Minnesota.

We had a home in my sister in law’s basement and my social security check.

After a month or two of feeling sorry for myself… I wondered what the hell I would do next. To say I was depressed was a gross understatement.

I started re-engineering everything we had done that made us a success.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 50

And I started… slowly at first, to see that we had done a lot of things right.

In fact, it became apparent that … almost totally by accident… we were doing a lot of the things that top internet marketers in the States were doing.

We were collecting names, using autoresponders, sending out emails and newsletters… sounds like email marketing doesn’t it?

It was… if you reduce it to basics, that is exactly what it was.

Of course, there were differences… there always are.

So I started over again.

And after a while I saw more exactly what made us a success… and that is what this PDF is all about.

We have been back in Minnesota for a few months now and the “new” business is doing well… getting off the ground, but making enough so that we aren’t dependent upon my Social Security check any longer. And we’ve even managed to move out of my sister in law’s basement!

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 51

When some marketers talk about “If I lost everything, what would I do to start over?”… most say email marketing. Everything that is for sale… every product and every service has its own idiosyncrasies… but the basic structure of email marketing… with a few minor twists naturally… is timeless.

I didn’t realize that the format email marketing was what I was doing. But now I do.

And it is one major thing that I realized… that really had a major impact upon my success in Costa Rica. And that’s why I’m writing this.

I have to be honest… my newsletter was a whim. I had just returned from a day trip to a nearby town which really struck a chord with me. I had MAYBE 30 or 40 potential clients and people I was corresponding with that I wanted to share the information with… so I wrote a brief description of where I had been and what I saw… and of course, I put in a few photographs.

At least 50% wrote back and thanked me and all were extremely complimentary.

Now, I also have to say that I never was much of a writer. Odds and ends but never thought I could do a first rate job.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 52

I also will fully agree with most of you who say “Costa Rica? … sure, anyone can write about a country like Costa Rica…. But what about Podunk, Iowa or Grundle, Montana… or Fleabite, Pennsylvania?”

I don’t disagree but that is not my point here.

What I am leading into is disclosure and talking about the things and everyday occurrences that make us HUMAN. These are the things that people can relate to.

Remember how popular the Jerry Seinfeld show was?

Most of us remember specific episodes.

My favorite was the Soup Nazi.

But we ALL remember the show and most of us loved it.

What was it about?

Little things… the things that irritate us, make us happy, make us cry… you get the picture.

The Seinfeld show made us smile.

It was about life.

I didn’t start writing about the “little things of life” (or at least I didn’t realize I was doing it) until my wife came up to me and said “did you tell anyone I was in the hospital?”

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 53

I did and didn’t think twice about it… until my wife asked me… but yes, I did because I was just relating instances in my life IN MY NEWSLETTER. And I remember saying how upset I was and how worried I was because my wife was an important part of my life.

When was the last time any of you related even something that mundane in a post, blog or newsletter?

I know some of you do, but frankly, not too many.

I don’t remember when I “officially” started talking about my Seinfeld moments, my foibles, my faults, and the “good, bad, and ugly” in my life. It just kind of happened.

And I didn’t realize how much of an effect it had on my business for a long time.

I know that one of the “big things” in copywriting is telling stories. That reaps huge rewards. And the “stories” don’t have to be about major events, catastrophes, or huge parties.

They can be about the Seinfeld moments.

You see, everyone got to know me through my newsletters. They knew my wife, my kids (all grown and some with grandkids)…

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 54

they all knew that I had two hearing aids, was typically “old man crabby” and liked to watch specific kinds of television shows. I also copped to hating to sell, being a Type A in a laid back country, and having a temper that often got the best of me.

I also remember telling people that I had a lot of years without drinking and relating a few episodes of the difficulties of finding an Alcoholics Anonymous group in a Spanish-speaking country. That got a lot of response. Virtually no one talks about having a drinking problem… and worse yet… waking up in a foreign country without knowing how you got there. And I also talked about “screwing up” and making mistakes. I had to really think about these disclosures because I wasn’t sure if it would drive people away. It didn’t… in fact, it had the opposite effect.

Take a look at this newsletter… yes, it’s a true story. But events like this happen all the time. I got a LOT of emails in response to this one.

http://keepitsimplestupidmarketing.com/newsletters/20130426/

I remember one of the first times that someone mentioned my writings… he came ostensibly to see a property that was in one of our developments and one that wasn’t. He came to the office and carried in a huge briefcase and informed me that he had printed out everything that I had written! All of the newsletters and all of the Ebooks, particularly the ones related to buying land and building.

I was dumbfounded.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 55

Of course, suddenly I realized that, by writing, I was THE authority on building, construction and real estate in Costa Rica.

So… are you seeing now that publishing or even simply having an Ebook available on a specific subject that you know something about (even if it is a PLR… “private label rights” that you have purchased and put your own name on it) it really does make you an authority.

This was, of course, what the intent was when writing about various subjects in Costa Rica that most people knew very little about. But it is always a shock when you get the payoff… in terms of compliments, which usually translate into dollars.

But we all know about what authority means to marketers… it is gold.

And we all know people who have written books and what has happened to them. They are the icons in our business.

When these people walk into a room, it gets quiet.

But I’m talking about something different.

Let me tell you a story.

After I had been in business a few years and had a fairly decent following on the internet and subscribers to my newsletter I found that sales and investments were like the proverbial “falling off a log”.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 56

I could do a mailing of a specially priced beach home and have someone call within literally minutes, ask a few questions and then say, “I’ll take it.”

And I would say “but don’t you want to see it?”

The answer was always “no, if you say it is exactly like you described, I’ll take it”.

And then “oh, by the way, tell me where to send the money”.

Honest to god, sight unseen, hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Personally I would never do that.

And if I was raising money for a development… investment money… I would send a prospectus describing in great detail exactly what it was… and I would get call saying “I’m in for $50K… or $10K… or even $100K… where do I send the money?”

I swear.

And I would say “what questions do you have? And when are you coming down to look over the property?”

And the answer was almost always the same… “I don’t need to see it.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 57

I trust you.”

WHY?

And eventually I would hear “I’ve been reading your newsletters for a year or two and I can tell what type of person you are and I know I can trust you”.

Honest.

OK, to the bottom line.

What kind of stuff am I telling these people to inspire that kind of trust?

If I could get that kind of money sight unseen can you imagine what you could do with your own client base or email list… with lower priced stuff?

Now I’m not going to pretend that all people are going to be mesmerized by your writing… not even close. Demographics are different for products and not everyone will respond to the writings of a 60 year old vs. the writings of a 30 year old. But I would be willing to bet that the increased ROI you will get will totally astound you.

Face it, we all market products that interest us (most of the time, anyway) and those products are going to appeal to a pretty large segment of our list. That’s how it was built.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 58

Now... you know the demographics of your own list and what you can expect for conversions… building this type of trust with your list and the results will blow you away.

Here are a few more samples of my newsletters…

http://keepitsimplestupidmarketing.com/newsletters/20120516/

http://keepitsimplestupidmarketing.com/newsletters/20121221/

Don’t think you can do it?

Can’t write about embarrassing moments? Or deep dark secrets? Or things that maybe make you cry (or at least make you THINK about crying) … or what about the time you made a drunken fool of yourself at the in-laws’ anniversary party?

Yeah, some of these are tough.

Can you write about the good times?

The graduation of your son… the one you would have bet heavy money wouldn’t make it?

Or even the time your daughter’s softball team finally won a

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 59

game?

Or … the time you got shut out ice fishing, but had the best time because your best friend was with you.

These are the things I’m talking about. The things that make us human. The special moments in our lives… even the littlest moments… the things that have meaning to our lives.

Putting it bluntly… if you want to relate to your clients… increase your take home and conversions and MAKE MORE MONEY… can you write with your heart and your emotions?

I guarantee your clients and your list will love you. And they will be yours for life.

Don’t think you can do it?

Yeah, you can.

If you want to … because it is a business decision. But if you honestly don’t think that you can put those kinds of emotions on paper… find someone who can help you. Go to Elance or oDesk or one of the outsourcers that you use and find one.

It may not be the ideal solution, but it’s not expensive and it WILL pay off.

Another thing… don’t be phony. If you need to outsource, ask someone who is close to you if what you had done is “too far out in left field” or simply “phony.” Your list will be able to sniff out phony. Honest. They will.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 60

If you want the type of business that I had in Costa Rica… and have again… (starting over) you’ll do your damnedest to put your “Seinfeld” moments down on paper. Communicate them… even the ones you are embarrassed about… not just your happy or sad moments. The ones that you will remember for probably the rest of your life. These kind of moments.

They make you human and they make you different than all of the others out there who just want to “sell something.”

People know it and people feel it.

And they respond… just like you always hoped they would.

Because you aren’t afraid to talk about yourself and be human… they will trust you 100%.

Oh, one last thing that I have found. It is definitely more personal and more meaningful if the emotions are conveyed in a newsletter, “postcard” or even a personalized email. A blog, at least to me, is pretty impersonal.

My subscribers always told me that they appreciated the newsletters that I sent them. Of course, everyone got the same one… but the emotions and sentiments conveyed made it seem

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 61

that I was writing to them alone. It built trust and confidence.

Do you have to do this type of communication every single time?

No, of course not… that would be overkill. But you need to do it often enough so that your readers and subscribers can relate to you and distinguish you from the hundreds and thousands of others who are “just trying to sell something”.

One last thing (yeah, I know I said that before … so this is the “very last thing”)… I know that a lot of you will pooh pooh these suggestions but I challenge you to try for at least a couple of months. You will be absolutely astounded at the difference that it makes in your business. And that is really what this is all about. Standing apart from the crowd.

And of course, making more money.

Good luck and thanks for reading.

Randy B.

Being human and communicating it… for dummies.

For those of you that may need help, I have listed several topics which may give you a jump start in figuring out your own “Seinfeld moments”…

• A death of a family member or friend.

• Making your first sale online.

• Completing something (anything) for the very first time… how it

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 62

felt and why it is important to you.

• The birth of your first son or daughter.

• Something your father or mother told you that you will remember for the rest of your life.

• Why my divorce was the best (or worst) thing that ever happened to you.

• One of the best days of my life was….fill in the blank…

• One of the worst days of my life was when… fill in the blank.

• I’ll never forget the day that… fill in the blank.

• I’ll never forget Mr. (or Mrs. X), one of my favorite teachers and what she said to me….

• One of the most embarrassing moments of my life was when…. And why I still remember it…

• My best friend’s name was Joe Blow and I’ll never forget the time…

It is important to remember that your stories, remembrances or recollections should have a meaning. To just relate a “Seinfeld moment” out of the blue with no relevance makes you look pretty silly.

Almost every important memory has relevance… use it appropriately and you will get response like you wouldn’t believe. If you are talking about niche marketing and you want to inject a little humor… try bringing up the time that Mrs. Johnson in first grade caught you not doing your homework for the fifth day in a row and made you stand in a corner. Relate that to a problem with niche marketing. Anything to make your point “come alive”.

“ I S T R U S T D E A D ? ” | 63

Remember, we’re all human… we have problems… we laugh, we cry… we celebrate and we mess up. When your readers see you as human AND you offer value (which you should be doing all the time anyway)… you become special and your readers look forward to hearing from you. And really paying attention to what you say.

And if you do the rest of your business like you know you can… and combine it with this form of communication… who knows?... you might just become one of the IM guys that people talk about 10 or 20 years from now.

It’s easier than you think.

And it works!!!