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Frank & Matt

Back in July 2011 myself and my friend (and business partner at
the time), Steve Gray, released a training product on how we build
tiny little businesses online.
We felt the timing was right. The market needed what we knew
we could teach well so that others could follow and execute on to
get predictable results.
We both had to �gure this stuff out the hard way — in the
trenches, learning by DOING — and we made a lot of mistakes
along the way.
Other than the mental scarring, the blunt force trauma had given
us DEEP insights and perspective on what worked and what
didn’t.
There was a signi�cant PROBLEM tho…
Back in 2011, the market was SWAMPED with hype-y loophole

(“hit that easy button baby!”) get-rich-while-you-sleep courses and
tools coming out the wazoo.
We had to try and get ATTENTION in that noise.

If you know me at all, you’ll also know I’m not a copywriter.
I don’t write “classic” sales copy like a hired gun.
I can’t.
So I wrote a story about these two �ctional people, Frank and

Matt.
Now although Frank and Matt were �ctional, they were based on
our real-life stories. Frank and Matt were personi�cations of our
journeys and our pupa-like transformations.
After writing this story, I delivered the narrative through email. I

later created a website for Frank and Matt (I’ll cover WHY I did
this deeper into SOI).
NOTE: At this point, I would recommend you read the Frank and
Matt story if you haven’t yet. It will help give you context for the rest
of this lesson.
The avatar of Frank represented the group of people which made

up the 99% segment of our market. I gave Frank a backstory,
psychographic traits, behavior, the whole nine yards.
Frank nailed the archetype of the 99% to a tee.
I knew how to describe Frank because I had been him for years. So
had Steve. And we had the mental scarring as a reminder of the
years we operated like a Frank.
Matt represented the other side of the coin.
The 1%.
The person who Frank WANTED to become, but just didn’t know
how to ultimately.
It wasn’t the easy button that a Frank wanted, per sé (although the
lure of the fast-and-easy ultimately kept him in perpetual
purgatory).
It was the money and FREEDOM that people like Matt had. Frank
longed to be Matt. It consumed his desires.
Both Steve and I had transformed from the Frank to the Matt
category, so we understood the “mental shift” that needed to
happen.
But like I said, we had both started operating and behaving within
the mental model of a Frank for years. For too damn long.
Steve’s journey was different to mine (acquired then lost millions).
Our mental scarring had created different fears and insecurities

in each of us. We were both very �awed, but this also made us
better Matts.
Here’s the ending snippet of an email I sent to our small waiting

list during this little internet launch:
SIDE NOTE: First and foremost, SOI is a presell framework for

getting attention, then leveraging that attention to channel desire in
our direction. There’s no “selling” early on. This naturally comes later.
The little launch I’m referring to here was deeper into our world,
beyond the presell. So I was leveraging our “sphere of in�uence” at the
point of sale. I cover this later in SOI.
The story of Frank & Matt that formed the BIG IDEA around our
sales message smashed our expectations.
Not only did we sell out the 200 spots to a tiny little waiting list,
something else VERY INTERESTING happened.
New customers were coming in and not just identifying

themselves as a Frank (and wanted to learn how to become a
Matt), many were CALLING themselves Frank.
Think about the dynamics of this for a second.
Let it sink into how powerful this is.
Here are a few I pulled from our Polldaddy account (I’m only
showing you these to demonstrate �rst hand how well this works
to “reframe” and reprogram some of the core operating beliefs
that power the behaviors of the people we cared about serving and
mattering to):
I believe this structure will help me focus instead of being a

“Frank”.
I used to be “Frank” but I realized it wasn’t sustainable. I bought

ARM 2.0 and NanoList which rock! I believe anything you say at
this point. You could sell me shit on a shingle and I would eat it (not
really).
I was Frank from Frank vs. Matt. Fast forward, I now know that
the foundation is the key to win in this space. Not jumping around
trying to buy and implement every new magic bullet released every
other day. Impossible.
Your Frank v Matt story �at out struck a chord with me, and
was perfect timing.
I have done the Frank guy role and now want a solid business.
In this order: (1) The Frank & Matt Story (very powerful!)
I don’t want to be a Frank anymore.
I have been kind of a ” Frank” lately, just because I wanted

desperately to �nd something worth it that I could rely on, that was
not just hype, that did not have upsell, downsell, endsell … whatever
else. So I guess it was pretty much everything you said! lol
I recognized myself as Frank.
The story resonated with me as most courses seem to promote the

‘Frank’ style of business. I’ve been working online full-time for about 3
years so know it works, but have been locked into the �awed
process diagram of Frank.
I’m an internet junky – I’m Frank. No money no income.
It had to do with the Frank and Matt comparison. I’ve had a

serious case of opportunity hopping ADD for years now and I’m
damned tired of always being in the buying and learning mode, but
not in the doing mode. I need to develop “opportunity blindness” or
maybe BSO blindness.
The comparison between Frank and Matt and the

fundamental di�erence. It is kind of derived from Rich Schefrens
approach of being a strategic entrepreneur rather than opportunity
seeker.
the core reason for deciding was based on a couple of things, namely
(1) I could de�nitely see myself in your Frank character and
what I want to aspire to is your Matt character and
I knew after reading your 3 part email series about frank and
matt.
When I read your “Frank & Matt” story that’s when it hit me. I
was in that phase when I was a “Frank” but I started changing to a
“Matt” after a while. I didn’t want to start building a list or an
internet business just for the sake of making money but I want to
start something that is long term. Something I can be proud of. So I
want to thank you guys for that.
Many things you said about chasing the dream through shiny objects
really rang true for me. I related in a big way. The frank vs. matt story
con�rmed again where I have been for years trying to make this
online thing work. I feel you folks are genuine and understand
where I am
It was the story about Matt and Frank. I am the guy that is doing
the stu� that isn’t working. I want to be the other guy. That’s why I’m
here.
So, yeah, I am like ‘Frank’ and would like to learn how to

become like Matt �
Saw something about Franks story mentioned so I searched that out

and read it. I could see myself right there.
You were talking sense in Matt vs Frank Story. I want to be a Matt
– and get that foundation and get to doing it … I’ve been a frank
for too long.
The case study (Frank and Matt) spoke DIRECTLY to me!
I must say you guys really got my attention with the business
competition with Matt vs Frank and talked about what Matt was
doing compared to Frank. Everything that was outlined was so
profound it really opened up my eyes to how you can win in this game
of IM.
It was the whole Frank vs Matt story. I used to be a Frank, but I

learned that the best way to become wealthy is by creating value for
others.
Frank and Matt story. I am Frank and want to be Matt and so I

was eagerly waiting for the buy link to appear in front of me. The
moment it came, it wasn’t hard decision to enroll in TLB.
the whole frank and matt scenario opened my eyes to how I’ve
been taught and I have been operating my business as a frank.
I’ll stop now. I have a spreadsheet of 781 rows of these.
That story gave them a PERSPECTIVE they had NEVER

articulated in that way before.
They knew they operated in a certain way (being attracted to

“opportunities” and not having the ability to stick to something
very long before dropping it and moving on to the next shiny
object)…
… but other than that, it was a mystery to them WHY they

struggled so much, while others got all the results and money and
freedom.
Taking all those traits, behaviors, and beliefs, and giving them a
NAME, was a MAJOR REVELATION for them (more about
“naming” in a bit).
And doing it in a way where they SELF-SELECTED THEMSELVES

AS BEING THAT NAME. Then �nally associating that NAME as
the REASON for their results.
Boom!
So f#cking powerful.
It hit them like a punch to the face.
I did the same with Matt.
Matt became the desired name (the “positive bucket”), the real
tangible thing that they self-selected themselves as wanting
and desiring.
Of course, we had also become their path-to-belief.
The only way to become a Matt was through us. We automatically

became their ONLY VIABLE CHOICE.
Our competition had essentially become entirely irrelevant.
Before I show you how to build out the system, I need to tell you
one �nal short story.
Instilling Your Chain of Beliefs

You should now have a sequence of beliefs:
Which means you have laid out what beliefs need to be instilled for
someone to accept the need for what you have (when presented
some time in the future).
Now let’s go a step deeper…
Pain > Symptom > Belief

As I mentioned, we will use inductive reasoning to take your
reader from their current state of beliefs to where they need to be.
We’ll do that by �rst �eshing out the SYMPTOMS of each belief

state (in the chain of beliefs you de�ned in the last lesson) on the
journey they need to make.
Think of each symptom as the signi�cant PAIN your reader feels,
based on their behaviors, which is a result of their beliefs (again,
think back to the Liminal Thinking pyramid video):
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Liminal thinking The pyramid of belief
The aim is to construct your story so that it walks your reader

through each step in your beliefs chain, by sequentially
introducing the symptom (pain) of each belief.
In my Frank & Matt story I painted the picture of how Frank

thinks and behaves to a tee.
It was painful for me to write because I used to be Frank, and it

was even more damn painful for a prospect to read, as they
suddenly IDENTIFIED THEMSELVES as Frank (“AHA” alarm
bells going off in their head).
For Frank, the symptom of his current belief was his tendency to
jump from opportunity to opportunity; never knuckling down
and focusing on one thing long-term.
The SYMPTOM of this behavior caused Frank to never get to the

point of building a business with leverage and traction, and
ultimately never attaining a stable and predictable revenue
stream (his pain).
You want to describe the PAIN your POP is going through really
clearly:
Doing this is essential because when you can describe their

problem (pain) better than they can, they’ll believe you also have
(and know) the solution.
This mental reframe is a crucial ingredient.
The Symptoms Bucket

Once you’ve distilled each belief from your chain of beliefs:
Belief -> Symptom -> Pain
The next step is to �gure out a NAME that you can give this
“bucket” that can HOLD ALL THE SYMPTOMS.
You give a name to the “symptoms bucket” that you’re calling

(framing as) the root cause of the PAIN (problem).
It should be a name that people will easily self-accept (as opposed

to calling it something that suggests they’re an idiot).
IMPORTANT: It needs to be something they can willingly self-

accept and identify with.
I named this “symptoms bucket,” Frank.
Frank represented all the PAINS that my audience was

experiencing, along with the root CAUSE of WHY.
In other words, merely being a Frank — which they had ALREADY
self-selected themselves as being — became the ROOT CAUSE of
their problem.
The REASON WHY they were stuck in “perpetual purgatory.”
Doing this causes some critical shifts for them:
▪ it results in a massive “AHA!” moment in their mind,
▪ they feel ABSOLVED for their lack of success (it’s not their
fault),
▪ and this gives them HOPE (very powerful emotion), “WOW,

THERE’S STILL HOPE FOR ME!”
And at this point, when done well, the competition becomes

completely IRRELEVANT.
Let’s quickly recap:
At this point, they know WHAT their problems are (you being the
one who created clarity by articulating their pain)…
They know WHY these problems are part of the deeper issue (the
SYMPTOMS)…
And �nally, they know the NAME of that problem bucket…

The Solution Bucket

At the right point in the sequence, revealing the “Solution Bucket”
creates the pivot point where the answer/solution hits them in the
face (the AHA moment!).
For me, I named this “solution bucket,” Matt.
Matt represented the 1%:
The smaller group of people who succeed because they operate

and BEHAVE very differently to how a Frank does.
And this creates CONTRAST which channels their DESIRE for the
solution, through you.
They realize that they are the negative bucket (the cause) — a
result of their behavior — and they’re absolved for their lack of
success.
And you’re positioned as the person with the answer that can help
them move from the negative cause-bucket to the positive
solution-bucket.
(From Frank to Matt in my case.)
This insight gives them HOPE (a very powerful emotion) that you
have the answer.
And believe me, at this point, you don’t have to do much “selling.”
For many, it’s simply a matter of, “Where the hell do I sign up or
purchases?”
(Remember: at this point nothing is for sale!)
NOTE: The “negative bucket” shouldn’t sound too negative. And the
“positive bucket” shouldn’t be too general.
You want to OWN the positive (success) bucket.

When you do this well, in their mind, they’ll FEEL that there is no
other way but through you.
That there is NO WAY FORWARD WITHOUT your positive

bucket solution.
Competitors become irrelevant because they’re lumped into the

problem bucket by de�nition (because they’re a SYMPTOM of the
bigger problem).
Consequently, this removes all other options/choices they have.

Because you become the ONLY VIABLE SOLUTION/OPTION
/CHOICE.
THIS IS HUGE!
Take a second to digest what I’ve said so far.
Extra: Other People’s Methods

Next, you’ll hear (and read) of how other in�uences in marketing
are using this methodology themselves.
In the following two lessons, Todd Brown was kind enough to

permit me to include his and Rich Schefren’s presentations from
his $10K Big Idea Bootcamp.
Watch these two videos carefully. We’ve included some notes for
you to help out, but you should add your own.
Before you move on here’s a framework example you could use to

drill down from belief to pain.
Agora (the BILLION dollar a year newsletter publisher) have an

interesting work�ow called Copy-Boarding.
Very brie�y, it goes like this:
�. Need a BIG IDEA (I cover this later),
�. Brainstorm all OBJECTIONS to that idea (in no order) using

sticky notes (left column in illustration below),
�. Organize the objections (what objection needs to be

overcome FIRST, before the next objection, then next, and so
on),
�. Write a sub-headline that sells the reader on overcoming

each objection (right column),
�. Fill in those sub-heads with sales copy,

Copy-Boarding is how Agora brainstorm, then map out the

framework for what their direct response copy needs to say (the
�ow).
Agora Financial: Copy Camp (Copy-Boarding)

Joseph (Joe) Schriefer is the head honcho over at Agora Financial (AF).
Agora are a BILLION dollar a year newsletter publisher. AF represents a
$200 million a year division of Agora.
Joe is a friend. So I asked him if I could share their process (they shot a
bunch of internal training videos for their copywriter with a GoPro, and
called it Copy Camp).
Joe was kind enough to give me permission to share some of the lessons
within Copy Camp for SOI (yay!). Later (in Module 3) I’ll share their
process for generating million dollar Big Ideas.
Session #9: The Secret of Copy-Boarding (Part 1)

2 Files
36:03
Session #9: The Secret of Copy-Boarding (Part 2)
2 Files
33:49
Transcript (PDF) »
This is not what you’re doing with SOI.
You’re not writing direct response copy.
You’re not directly selling anything.
That said, points 2 & 3 are a smart way to unpack all potential
objections quickly, then sequence them out in the logical order
that needs to play out (and be dealt with).
NOTE: Objections are NOT beliefs.
In a way, they can be thought of as “negative beliefs” (Jared &

Kenrick think of objections this way).
So if you decide to use this work�ow, be mindful that point #4

needs to be changed from sub-headline to BELIEF.
Also, know that it’s easy to make the mistake of chunking down
speci�c objections to a level that are not actual beliefs (I believe
Jared & Kenrick call these “supporting elements”).
So always ask yourself if what you have is an actual belief.
Okay, over to Todd and Rich.

The Big Marketing Idea (The

Hook)
THIS COMES FIRST.
It sets the stage.
It establishes the “frame” in which the presell will play out.
It’s what GETS ATTENTION.
The BIG IDEA is the most important single element of your

presells.
It will set you apart from the crowd.
Paul Hollingshead from AWAI says this:
What makes the prospect want to read your promotion?
The headline and lead? Yes … but most importantly, it’s the idea
behind the headline and the lead–the concept around which
you wrap the whole package–that gets a prospect interested in
your promotion.
And not just an idea, a BIG IDEA.
The Big Idea is the idea that drives the package and sets it apart from
all the clutter. It’s a new and interesting way to say what everyone else
is saying or has said many times before.
A promotion that contains a Big Idea will make your reader stop, take
notice and want to �nd out more. A promotion that fails to pique
your reader’s interest will most likely get thrown in the trash.
And these days your prospects have seen it all. They’re smart,
sophisticated and skeptical. Plus, in addition to what they get in the
mail, they’re now getting bombarded with sales messages on the
Internet.
You can no longer get away with simply stating a powerful bene�t in
the headline. Every good, experienced marketer does that.
No, if you want to get your promotion read, it needs to be anchored in

a strong, unique and compelling Big Idea. Keep those three
keywords in mind. Strong, unique and compelling.
A Big Idea has to give the reader something they don’t know. It has to
engage the reader and be intriguing enough to draw them into the
promotion, while making an implied promise.
And most importantly, it has to jar the reader out of

complacency–out of the sense that they’ve seen this all before.
… and here’s an interview between my friend, Craig

Ballantyne, and a friend of his, Dr John Berardi (founder of
Precision Nutrition).
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It’s a great interview, and worth a listen (but it’s not required
listening for SOI). That said, Dr John Berardi does mention
the power of the “big idea” three times:
▪ 43:38 — We were absolutely crushing the competition (lesson:

the QUALITY OF IDEAS is more important than this
relentless testing of metrics and numbers).
▪ 44:25 — What if you just came up with A and A+ ideas? (more

leverage coming up with BETTER QUALITY BIG IDEAS.)
▪ 45:48 — People who are the most successful have the best big
ideas (power of the big idea).
The company that’s probably the best in the world at coming up

with big ideas is Agora Financial (the BILLION dollar a year
newsletter publisher).
They brainstorm new BIG IDEAS every damn week. It’s their #1
focus. It’s the linchpin that holds together everything they do.
Different Ways to “Present” a Big

Idea
However…
There are, of course, different ways to “present” a big idea. It may

not surprise you that once again I approach this very differently
to everyone else who uses the “big idea” to gain attention.
Agora Financial is a company mostly made up of copywriters.
So they use a big headline to get that initial attention (which

evokes curiosity), then they follow it up with a VSL (and offer a
“text version” too if a prospect tries to leave early).
I hit up my buddy Joseph Schriefer who heads up Agora Financial

and asked him for some of their most successful big ideas. Here’s
what he shared with me:
▪ GMO (snippet) (full letter here)
▪ Kissinger’s Cross (snippet) (full letter here)
▪ IMPACT (snippet) (full letter here)
▪ Canadian Social Security (snippet) (full letter here)

▪ The Great Currency Shock of 2016 (snippet) (full letter here)
▪ America’s Spooky New Money (snippet) (full letter here)
▪ another variation
▪ and another
▪ and another
▪ and �nally another.

▪ James Altucher Cracks the “Crypto Code” (VSL and full letter
here)
(HINT: To get a real education of a great big idea, you want to really study
these.)
I also reached out to my other friend, Dan Ferrari, who used to
work as a copywriter at The Motley Fool, and asked him for some
of their most successful big ideas:
▪ Say Goodbye to ‘Made-In-China’ (snippet) (full letter here)
▪ The New Petroleum (snippet) (full letter here)
▪ Warren Buffett’s WORST NIGHTMARE Is About to Come

True (snippet) (full letter here)
Agora Financial: Copy Camp (The Big Idea)

Joseph (Joe) Schriefer is the head honcho over at Agora Financial (AF).
Agora are a BILLION dollar a year newsletter publisher. AF represents a
$200 million a year division of Agora.
I’ve hung out for Joe many times, and the thing they’re World Class at —
perhaps more than anything else — is coming up with Big Ideas for your
marketing angles into their core o�er; a yearly newsletter subscription.
Joe is a friend. So I asked him if I could share their process (they shot a
bunch of internal training videos for their copywriter with a GoPro, and
called it Copy Camp).
Joe was kind enough to give me permission to share some of the lessons
within Copy Camp for SOI (yay!).
Enjoy!
Session #2: The Big Idea Template — Part 1
40:42
Session #2: The Big Idea Template — Part 2
21:07
Session #2: Big Idea Template Assets

Big Idea Template Transcript »
The Big Idea (PDF) »
What Makes a Big Idea (Appeal-O-Meter) »
Secret To Unlocking Creativity »
Ryan’s Big Idea Template »
Big Idea Template Example »
NOT a Big Idea! »
Session #4: Technique For Producing Ideas — Part 1

3 Files
34:10
Session #4: Technique For Producing Ideas — Part 2
3 Files
28:49
Transcript »
Here’s How I Differ

I almost never use a “headline” to grab that initial attention.
One reason for that is because you need to be a VERY skilled

copywriter to nail a great headline (and a headline can also scream
“sales message follows next…”).
Having a great big idea helps, but there is still a signi�cant level of
skillful wordsmithing to nail it just right.
I’m not a copywriter, and perhaps you’re not either.
And I’m certainly not skilled at wordsmithing headlines.
So I (almost always) use an image instead.
The right image tells a story. Something that a headline just can’t
(at least not in the same visual cortex kind of way).
And when I say image, I DO NOT mean a stock image! Repeat, do

not use a f#cking stock image.
What I love to do is to take a “ghetto” photo from a magazine and

use that.
Print is perhaps best. But digital works great, too (just screenshot,
then open in Photoshop and add some �lters to give the images
some “age” and authenticity).
It’s VERY attention-grabbing.
NOTE ABOUT COPYRIGHT LAWS: It’s important to understand

that many images from magazines, and indeed on the inter-webs, are
copyrighted and protected under federal law (in the US) and
international law.
While US law establishes protections for copyright holders, it also

de�nes limitations to their rights. One such example is the doctrine of
fair use (Section 107).
Individuals using copyrighted works for “purposes such as criticism,

comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for
classroom use), scholarship or research” can weigh their use against
the four factors de�ned in Section 107 to determine if they need to seek
permission from the copyright holder.
Fair use is not the same as free use. Fair use is a legal exception to the
exclusive rights an owner has for his or her copyrighted work.
It has little to do with what we may think is fair, and everything to do

with keeping the balance tipped in favor of the public interest.
Be aware that if you use a copyrighted image, there is a good chance

you’re in violation of copyright laws, and potentially breaking the
law.
Do your due diligence. If you do decide to use an image, even
when citing the image source (image attribution), you do so
with eyes wide open.
Although I’m not a fan of most stock image websites (to be fair, over
the years I have spend a lot of money with iStockPhoto), the following
sites are very good royalty-free alternatives:
Unsplash (my favorite!), Pexels, Pixabay, Barnimages, Flickr.
Take the images below as an example. For the right audience

–someone seeking for a way out of the depressing 9-5 rat race —
these convey the full message instantly (WITHOUT the need to
use a headline).
▪ The images TALK TO people considering retirement…
▪ They TALK TO people who want to ESCAPE the ordinary

world (who feel there’s a better way to bring up a family)…
▪ They TALK TO professionals and execs who just want a

simpler more rewarding life, free from the stress of a life
that �ies by at a million miles a second.
… and all of these thoughts are instantly and emotionally

conveyed in just one image, powered by their own visual cortex.
An image evokes more visceral emotions than a headline ever

could.
A headline is explicit.
It’s direct.
It talks to a very speci�c audience interest.
And an image allows the reader to TELL THEIR OWN STORY and
“inject” THEMSELVES into the narrative in their head as the hero.
The impact of a well-used image happens almost instantly. The

reader will associate themselves with a FUTURE THEM. They can
see it vividly in their mind’s eye.
Just think about how powerful that is.
I’ve done this in a lot of different markets and niches, not just in
the internet marketing space.
I’ve successfully stress-tested my presell formula in niches like

penis enlargement (yeah, I’m not kidding; and don’t judge me),
male (and female) pattern baldness, weight loss (a variety of
POPs), dog training (gun dogs), World of Warcraft, satellite TV,
golf, baby modeling (back in the day Rich Schefren sold a baby
modeling ebook; so I built a presell site to promote his product),
cleaning business, relationship repair, home energy, bridal, beauty,
and shit I can’t even remember anymore.
I was a full-time af�liate for �ve years before I created my �rst

product in the marketing space about how I was using story-
driven email as a super-af�liate (ARM).
Here’s one �nal example that I used on Af�liateBully.com back in
2010:
The big idea I used was to demonstrate how it was possible to live
an insanely beautiful “island life” on Vanuatu in the South Paci�c
by building an online business that earns just $3,000/month.
And I attached the fact that it was voted the “happiest place in the
world.”
The point of this wasn’t to suggest to readers to quit their job and
move to an island in the South Paci�c. That’s not realistic.
Instead, I took the IDEA of earning just $100 per day and
REFRAMED what’s possible.
People have mistaken impressions that living in exotic places in
the sun is reserved for the super-rich.
We moved to the sun and started living a life some people only
dream of back in 2008. So, I more than most, know how possible
this is.
So I REFRAMED that perception and applied it to building an

income stream of just $100 per day.
The entire �rst page on Af�liateBully.com was to set up that

frame. Then only when I had their attention, did I lead them
deeper down the rabbit hole into my world.
The big idea on Af�liateBully.com worked so damn well I’ve left it

unchanged for almost seven years now (although I do plan on
creating a version 2.0 when I have some time).
Let’s move on.
Next is establishing authority.

Authority
AUTHORITY is a very powerful frame to establish early on. Some
“elements of authority” are very subtle and implied, and are
conveyed almost instantly.
When you are viewed as an expert (perceived authority), your

advice, suggestions, and recommendations are more likely to be
accepted (weighted higher).
“Follow an expert.” — Virgil
I establish authority mainly through the Strategy of Preeminence

(more about this next).
I position myself as someone worth paying attention to early on.

Worth listening to. Worth following deeper down the rabbit hole.
When you do this well, you get to differentiate (distance) yourself

from “the others” (your competitors) operating in your space.
Borrowed Credibility
The easiest and fastest way to start this process is using borrowed
credibility from other properties or people who are already
established with perceived authority.
For example, if J. K. Rowling or Stephen King said this about

me:
“Andre is probably the best unknown writer in the business. Read

everything he writes.”
… and then I put that as the FIRST THING people saw when they
landed on a website of mine, it would completely change the
FRAME of how people see me (and my writing). Instantly.
Sadly neither J.K. or Stephen have said that about yours truly. Hey
ho. I’ve got my �ngers crossed, tho. lol.
So instead, I leverage the fact that I’ve been featured and

published on various brand websites that people know and trust.
You’ll probably notice I use this image at the top of most of our
web properties:
And I keep adding to it. Like the latest addition for being a
featured guest expert for the Automation Conference by Drip:
It’s not too challenging to get an article featured on sites like Inc,
The Huf�ngton Post, Time, Business Insider, About, Forbs, Fox,
etc.
(It’s typically more about WHO you know, so strings get pulled, and backs
scratched and palms greased. Just saying.)
Start by listing websites that mean something to the audience

you’re trying to attract and in�uence.
For example, if it’s �tness, try to get featured in Men’s Health,

LIVESTRONG, and Bodybuilding.com. Just having accreditations
from these three brands would instantly boost your “reputation.”
All things considered, doing this is a pretty easy win, and worth
doing.
Perceived Authority
Many years ago I watched a video of Kevin Hogan (an expert in
the psychology of persuasion and in�uence) explaining how
PERCEIVED AUTHORITY can have a dramatic in�uence over the
SUGGESTIBILITY (and acceptance of a message) of a subject.
I’ve drawn this image to illustrate what Kevin explained in that
video.
The Y axis is PERCEIVED AUTHORITY; from high perceived

authority (top left) to low (bottom left).
For example, a TIME logo would have a high perceived authority;

whereas maybe NPR (yeah I know, like who are they?) would be
lower down.
And having a New York Times #1 Bestseller logo would

universally be considered HIGH on the perceived authority scale.
The X-axis is PERSONAL SUGGESTIBILITY.
And this is one of the reasons I work so hard to establish a level of

perceived authority as quickly as possible.
Let me try to explain how this works.
Have you ever seen a “celebrity” in our IM space comment on

Facebook (or wherever) — and even though it’s not all that
profound or anything — the crowd responds with praise and hi-
�ves?
I’ve seen this happen with Frank Kern and Jeff Walker (and many
other in�uencers).
Yet…
If anyone else had made THAT SAME COMMENT, it would have

had near zero impact. People wouldn’t have even battered an
eyelid.
“Go buy FB ads and drive them to a webinar.” — Frank Kern
“Go buy FB ads and drive them to a webinar.” — John Smith
There’s a difference.
This is because of perceived authority.

Frank is right up at the top of the Y axis (high perceived authority)
in the IM ecosystem. Which increases the SUGGESTIBILITY of
the subject (X-axis).
If you have no perceived authority, the subject (prospect) is

essentially NON-SUGGESTIBLE in terms of your ability to
persuade and in�uence them (far right).
Make sense?
Here’s a stupid far out example, but illustrates the point…
Let’s say Barack Obama was privately given hypnosis training to a

level of mastery where he could put a subject under hypnosis.
A random subject is called to the stage and asked to sit on a chair.
Then Barack Obama walks onto a stage (without his twenty secret
service agents) and tells the subject he is going to put him into a
hypnotic trance.
We all agree that Barack Obama probably has the highest level of
authority in the free world, right (or did when he was acting
President)?
Yet it’s highly unlikely — even with his newfound skill and ability —
that Obama would be able to get the subject into a trance.
Frustrated, Obama quits after 5 minutes.
Then on walks the infamous Derren Brown, who the subject KNOWS
well by REPUTATION.
Derren walks up to the subject and puts his hand on the subjects head,
and says, “When I reach the count of 3 you will go to sleep until I say
‘wake’. 1, 2, 3!”
… and BOOM! The subject instantly goes under.
Took all of 5 seconds.
See what has happened?
Although Barack Obama has higher absolute authority than

Derren Brown, Derren has in�nitely more perceived authority on
the subject of “mind control” and hypnosis. He’s a legend.
With me?
For this reason, establishing and earning perceived authority

on the subject (as quickly as possible) is VERY IMPORTANT.
Cialdini’s 6 Principles of In�uence

Dr. Robert Cialdini, in the prerequisite reading, In�uence: The
Psychology of Persuasion, lists authority as one of his 6 Principles
of In�uence.
Cialdini maps out authority like this:
Someone is considered an AUTHORITY because they’re

CREDIBLE, which is a result of KNOWLEDGE & EXPERTISE.
Which means, by deduction, demonstrating knowledge and

expertise create credibility, which then reinforces the principle of
authority.
To convey instant trustworthiness to an audience in which you

have NO HISTORY OR CONTEXT, Cialdini says to lead with a
drawback.
This establishes TRUST.

If you mention a drawback you’ve showed people you’re
knowledgeable about the cons, and that you’re trustworthy
enough to talk about the weaknesses up front.
When I do this, I like to tee up the negative to be a huge positive. I

get the kudos from leading with the negative, and it tees up the
positive to be even more favorable (compare and contrast).
(Extract from TLB 1.0: The Course.)
“Before you continue, I want to respect your time by coming clean

about what this isn’t and giving you the “bad news” �rst. What I’m
about to share with you won’t make you rich quickly. It’s not easy. And
most people will quit before making one dollar. Chances are you’ll
quit, too. That’s the bad news out of the way. Now here’s how to build
a business that is guaranteed to allow you to quit your 9-5 job within
12 months from now.”
(Extract from a golf presell.)
“This is not the typical golf swing instructional training. The truth is,
when you follow what I am about to teach you, you WILL LOSE 20%
o� your driving distance. That’s the bad news. The good news,
however, is that your drive accuracy will increase by 600%. And you
will drop 10 shots o� your average round.”
Three Factors That Trigger the

Authority Principle
Dr. Cialdini goes on to talk about three factors that trigger the
authority principle:
�. Titles — Dr., Prof., Ph.D., President, Chairman, Founder, CEO,

Industry experts,
�. Clothes — Uniforms, Suits, religious out�ts (worn by pastors,

monks, nuns, priests),
�. Trappings — Accessories that go along with certain

positions/roles (e.g., police badges, religious robes, rosaries,
expensive suits, nice cars, etc.)
I don’t use #1 all that much. If I had a Ph.D. I guess I would. But
I’m also not a doctor, so can’t leverage that either. And titles like
CEO and founder don’t carry much weight (even a one-man
operation can call themselves CEO).
If you’re a doctor or sport a Ph.D. then de�nitely leverage those

creds. I would.
For #2 I don’t leverage “clothes” per se. Instead I “dress” my sites

and presells in a way that stands out and looks awesome and
minimalist. I do this in a way that’s unique to our brand and me.
Mindvalley also builds beautiful looking websites. Design

matters.
As for #3, I leverage “trappings” from time to time. But I never do

it overtly. I don’t drive a Ferrari or a Lamborghini, and even if I did,
I wouldn’t take pictures of me in it.
Yes, it may impress some people. But I think, for the most part, it
just results in being labeled a “douchebag” or an a-hole.
I’m more subtle.
Now that I have established the easy credibility wins very quickly,
I move on to the Advanced Strategy of Preeminence.
This is where you get to demonstrate deep knowledge and

expertise through preeminence.
This is where the game changes.

Advanced "Strategy of Preeminence" Transcript

STRATEGIES FOR CREATING GREATER SUCCESS, INCOME AND WEALTH
I have a very simple philosophy on life. You shouldn’t steal from

yourself. If you’re going to commit your life to an enterprise, wealth
creation, the security and the financial well-being of your family… and if
other people your staff, your team, your employees, your vendors are
going to commit their lives to you, you owe it to yourself and to everyone
else to get the highest and best results. You should never accept a fraction
of the yield when with the same effort or less, the same people or fewer,
the same time or less, the same capital or less, the same opportunity cost
or less, can deliver so much more to you currently, and perpetually.
Jay L. Abraham
For more information about Jay’s future programs or products…

you may join his Info & Updates List by sending
a blank e-mail to: mailto:join-clients@list.abraham.com
http://www.abraham.com
Copyright © 2003 Abraham Publishing Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
1
I have a perpetual obsession, as opposed to a magnificent obsession, with learning

how other people see life, what their values are, what their mindsets are, what their
principles of operation are. Tony Robbins calls them “organizing principles.” And I
invest massively to do that.
There’s a gentleman who is the managing director, the president, of one of the
most successful entities of its kind in the United States. They are approximately 400%
larger than their closest competitor. They have grown 15 times in the last five years.
They are ten times more profitable, and they command an absolute, unequivocal
predominance in every area that they penetrate. They have more fun, and they’re more
formidable and more invincible than anybody I’ve ever met.
I did an exchange with him. I gave him about $200,000 of my consulting services
one time in exchange for picking his mind clean. It was a good trade, because he didn’t
want to pay me money and I wanted something far more valuable. I wanted to
understand what he understood that I didn’t so that I could add it to my knowledge base
and my focal perspective and my mind set. I wanted to travel to where he was living
because he was seeing things in a perspective I had not.
I asked him a lot of questions, and what ensued was about 400 pages of
transcribed notes. I’ve summarized what I think is his base formula for success, and I
submit to you that it has elements that should be integrated into your base formula, too.
I am a relatively competent interviewer, AKA interrogator. I know how to isolate

and rifle in on the key elements. So I asked him a lot of questions, but they were all
geared towards me getting a clarified answer to how his philosophy, his strategy, his
belief systems, his focus on customers, on marketing, and on business in general work. I
wanted answers that had universal translatability to anybody.
The first element he shared with me, which was a foundational pillar in their
success, was that they strove to have enormous empathy with their customer. They saw
their purpose as selling leadership, as opposed to just being a wet noodle and letting
people sort of do whatever they wanted. They saw their purpose and their role as being a
leader, an authoritative, consultative force in their marketplaces. They saw it as essential
that they telegraphed and communicated and conveyed to their customers and prospects
the essence of the fact that they felt they way did. In other words, “I feel the way you
feel. I understand what you’re problem is.”
They saw a distinct difference between giving information and giving advice.
They saw their role as telling people, “Here’s what you should do about a problem, or a
situation, or an opportunity,” and specifically supported it with a compelling, irrefutable
set of definitive facts. They saw their role as helping people focus on issues they’d never
fully verbalized.
There are so many of us struggling to get the picture of what it looks like -- the
picture of what we feel. We don’t even know definitively what we want because we’re
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struggling. We don’t even have phrases or clarity on what we feel. We don’t even know
definitively what we want because we’re struggling. People that help us understand, and
acknowledge, and articulate, and take action, and formulate a definitive, logical,
compelling strategy normally get our trust.
Ask yourself this: In your business, in your life, in your critical necessity-based
buying, in your indulgence-based buying, in your vanity buying…don’t you really
gravitate towards people who lead you? Towards people who are empathetically
authoritative? Big, big difference.
They felt like their critical purpose was to present views their customers could
trust. Again, leadership, leadership, leadership. They saw their role, their function, their
purpose, their advantage, their positioning as being a leadership authority, although a
benevolent, an impassive, a nurturing, and a loving one.
People inherently don’t trust the system. “The system” means different things in
different applications. It could mean the big competitor. It could mean the way the
government mandates. It could mean the way life has become. It could mean the fact
that everyone is relegating everyone into being a commodity. And that doesn’t limit
itself just to business. Human beings are felt to be commodities too.
Everyone feels like they’re a commodity. They’re not distinctive. They have no
purpose. They have no connectivity. This is a real big issue of opportunity.
They see themselves as representing a refreshing alternative to the mundanity and

the unfulfilling norm. They are the refreshing, distinctive alternative. They don’t take
the premise of wanting to be mainstream because they think that mainstream is
commodity. Mainstream is undistinctive. Mainstream has little value.
They believe that most people are inherently upset or mad because they don’t
trust the system and they need someone to confirm that their rules are right. However,
there’s positive, hopeful opportunity in this dilemma, and they see their role as
representing that.
They take the role of basically conveying to people that they’re not being told the
entire truth or all that there is to know about a subject. Then they take their role and say,
“Here’s the truth as we, or as I, see it.” Some of the programs are generic. Some of them
have a personality behind them. You’re not being told the truth. Here’s the truth as I see
it.
They believe that most people don’t know what focus is until they’ve had it made
for them. I think so many people in this world never understand the meaning of business
life. You take the same feelings, relatively speaking, that you’re embraced with and ask
yourself, how can you direct the same experience to your customers, or your employees,
or your vendors?
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They felt like a key element of their function was connectivity and to help people
take the next steps. It did no good to give them a data dump of information if they didn’t
know what to do with it, and why to do something.
Their role was to connect all the dots, give them a plan, help them take the next
step, protect them, make that step logical, appropriate, obvious and easy. They saw,
importantly, their role of their ability to put into words what people wanted but could not
articulate or put clarity on, and then build on that for them.
I submit to all of you that you’re missing an enormous opportunity if you don’t
take the role of verbalizing, and articulating, and feeling. You are human beings, and
human beings feel the same way in any environment. That the same dynamic I have just
exposed you to, you can expose your customers to over and over again, and you can
expose your staff, or your team members, or your vendors or your loved ones, and it’s
very powerful. Does that make sense?
They always saw themselves selling a point of view, never saying, “Do what you
want. Everything’s OK. What would you like?” They didn’t think that was their role,
and their purpose was not to let people just be rudderless.
How many of you have a very, very committed relationship to somebody in a

business, whether it’s for your business, or for your personal, or for your vanity, or for
your hobby -- that is so benevolently authoritative and leads you on a very viewpoint-
type of a journey? That’s the key advantage you can give. Those of you who don’t, it’s
probably because no one has ever embraced you in a way that you felt they were looking
out for your best interest.
Many people are very self-serving in their efforts to be selfless, and it clearly
comes through. Don’t you think? That’s understandable. Those of you who have never
embraced that, that’s because the people have never been able to articulate, or
demonstrate, or live it. If you can live it by a belief system that’s genuinely outwardly
focused…that genuinely sees your higher cause of purpose as being to enrich other
people’s lives…to bring greater benefits, greater protection, greater advantage, greater
financial benefit, greater savings, greater safety, greater productivity -- greater whatever.
It’s real easy to do. It’s really difficult to do if you do not believe and live what I’m
talking about. But if you do not believe and live what I’m talking about, business is
pretty unfulfilling anyhow.
So, it’s like the secret to making business really soar is to have a passionate
awareness and commitment to a higher purpose, and the higher purpose is not your own
enrichment. It’s different kinds of financial, or psychic, or transactional enrichment of
other people -- helping their lives be better, helping them be more fulfilled, helping them
get more out of the process, or out of life itself.
They saw their purpose of making you -- meaning their customer or client -- the
center of attention. They saw their purpose to bring people in sequentially as they found
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them on the continuum of life, and then keep bringing them along and advancing them.
Not just sort of coming in and out, but starting somewhere and progressing them. And
not starting everyone at the same point, because different people are at different points, as
you all are at different point of progression.
You are a human being. Human nature is immutable. It has been immutable
from the first time man found himself on this earth. Human nature will be the absolute
same until Armageddon or a nuclear holocaust. You are human, and the way you react to
me, or you react to each other, or you react to anything, is no different than any other
human being you are trying to deal with reacts. If you sell to corporations, corporations
have individuals, human beings making decisions. Corporations are composites of
human beings with hopes, desires, fears, and emotions, just like you.
They felt hopefully about their customers. They embraced their customers’
situation with hope and promise, just like my hope and wish for you is that you will get
so much more out of everything you do. That you will allow yourselves to get so much
more productivity, profitability, connectivity, and residual value out of every action,
every hour, every dialogue, every contact, every customer.
That same philosophical basis is what these people live and the way they
communicate with their clients and the way they look at their clients. They have hope.
When I look at an audience, I don’t see men and women 40, 50, 60, I don’t see
people who have been burned and have become bitter. I see a bunch of little innocent
children at the beginning process of their lives, without any bad habits, with a lot of trust,
with innocence and a sense of curiosity and discovery.
If you can look at your customers that way, it gives you an incredible context of
nurturous appreciation for them. You have a lot more fun with them. You have a lot
more understanding of them. You have a lot more respect for them. You have a lot more
envious admiration for where they are, and how much they can do, and how far they’ve
come. It’s just a fun way of looking at life.
They ask themselves continuously, “How can we do what we’re doing for others
better?” They never are content. It’s a very simple process. That’s the secret of what
Deming basically taught the Japanese. That’s the secret of optimization. It’s constant,
never-ending improvement.
It’s a simple philosophy to utter intellectually, but that’s an exhilarating

philosophy to live because it gives you confidence and mental gains. Confidence and
mental gains in all aspects of your being, but particularly in your connectivity and your
bond with the customer. What problems are we going to help our customers solve? How
can we have the most positive impact on the people we’re trying to sell to? To look at
them figuratively in their home and with them as friends, having a conversation with
them, dedicated to giving them information, dedicated to motivating and providing them
with the greatest benefit until we come into their home again.
5
They believe the message doesn’t have any value unless it makes an impact. I
would submit to you that the reason I do these programs this way is that I used to do them
in a lecture-based environment. I used to just deliver all kinds of profound and
provocative principles and techniques, and I would blow people’s minds for three days --
and they would go back and do nothing because it didn’t have an enduring impact.
People have to recognize your advice as a solution to a problem they feel

emotionally as well as rationally. Those of you who can’t understand how somebody
can’t see the “logic” of some proposition you’ve been trying to sell them on, probably are
grossly missing the boat and not approaching it from the emotional context.
You have to provide them with the reassurance and the motivation to use that
solution.
What we can be providing people can be either a result or a good or a better

feeling about what your client is already doing. Sometimes you miss the boat. Maybe
you don’t have a distinctive advantage on price or performance. Maybe you have a
massive advantage on the way you can get into their awareness, you can acknowledge
them, you can empathize with them, you can advise them. That is a unique selling
advantage. That is a distinguishing benefit that sets you apart.
People, clients, customers, who are individuals want very badly to feel good about
themselves and the way they conducted their decision. More people take less action
because they are afraid it won’t be right, they are going to look dumb, or they are going
to screw it up. You’ve got to understand, your job is to acknowledge that reality of
human nature and compensate around it. Reassure them, direct them.
People will do more things to curtail making gains, because they don’t want to
look foolish. They will work harder not to look foolish than they will work to gain an
advantage. It’s human nature. Don’t argue with it. Accept it and factor into your
strategies and your actions this reality.
Most people either understand on a higher level, but a lot of sales efforts don’t
give them credit for their knowledge, or they are too assumptive. We’ve gotten to the
point in a lot of issues that are so assumptive that we don’t describe them. We assume
and presume and nobody understands the implications. You do them a disservice, you
disacknowledge their intelligence, you disrespect them when you assume anything. You
lose advantage.
People want to feel good about themselves and about the role they conduct their
decisions. It’s very important for us to fell good about ourselves.
I encourage you to reflect on the sense that you have done a lot more for your
customers, that your business stands for a lot more. That your life’s investment, the body
of your work, has meant a lot more. It has enriched, protected, enhanced a lot of people’s
6
lives. And what you do for others, and for the lives of your staff, and the creation of
value, and livelihood, and contribution you have made, is and will be quite profound. It
makes you feel a lot better about what you do.
These people look fully at what their purpose is. I submit to you that until and
unless you understand higher purpose for your being in this business, you can’t begin to
take advantage of your potential. Your purpose cannot be to get rich, or you will never
get rich. The purpose has got to be seeing what you can do and what you’ve done for
others.
People who are important, valued friends deserve to have the best-reasoned, the
best-informed, the most objective and knowledgeable advice they possibly can get about
key emotional decisions they could make a mistake about if they got into somebody’s
unscrupulous clutches and be misguided and make a critical imprudent decision that
could screw up their life and their finances. Don’t you then owe it to your past
customers, who are your valued friends, to contact them and make it known to them that
you care deeply enough about them that if anybody in their lives are at these crossroads,
you encourage them to refer them to you, if nothing more than just to get your well
reasoned opinion, your best judgment on something? It matters not whether they avail
themselves of you. It just matters to you that they at least get the best take they can on a
situation before they make an ill, um, ill decided, um, decision? Does that make sense to
you?
If you fail to value, acknowledge and respect the worth of what you have done,
what you do, and how much more you will be doing for your clients… If you don’t
respect and revere that, it’s shameful. If you do respect and revere that, you have a causal
purpose to do it even more. And also help your client appreciate it so they can
understand the significance of what it means to their lives.
Look at your purpose. Ask yourself this question. If I were on the receiving end,
why would I want this? Why would I want to take advantage? What’s in it for me?
Ask yourself this question. So what? When you’re making a presentation or

you’re figuring out what your ad should be like, ask yourself this question. Demonstrate
to people that logic and emotion by acting is so much more preferable to them than
inaction, from their benefit standpoint, not yours.
Your promotion or your sales approach has to answer the question that’s already
on the customer’s mind. People need to be told what you’re going to do for them and
why. They don’t care how you’re going to do it, they want to know what’s in it for
them. Tell me why and how your process would better my life, my circumstances, my
situation, my security, my enrichment. And how well you do that is your credibility.
Most people fall in love with their product or their company instead of falling in
love with their client. If you have a higher cause or purpose, it has nothing to do with
7
your getting rich. It has nothing to do with you being technologically the most
sophisticated producer. It has everything to do with your bringing enhanced advantage,
protection, benefit, richness of life or business, to a client.
If you can’t, honest to God, fall in love with your client, you’re in the wrong
business, or you don’t appreciate your business, or you don’t appreciate your worth. If
you appreciate it, but your team doesn’t, you’ve got to fall in love with your team and
help them, lovingly but unflinchingly, and almost relentlessly see how to fall in love with
the clients with you. It’s got to be a combined love affair.
I’m not being metaphysical. I’m being so bottom-line serious, it’s unbelievable.
I’m giving you the secret to richness in life at a level your pocketbooks and your heart
will never imagine.
A massive change will occur in your whole mindset when you can see your
business as interacting and enhancing people and their lives. It’ll change totally the way
you see things.
Most people think, “What do I have to say to get people to buy?” Instead you
should say, “What do I have to give? What benefit do I have to render?” It’s nothing to
do with sales shenanigans or trickery or schemes. My purpose for all of you is to teach
you how to become value creators or value generators. The more value you render
others, the more value you generate, not for yourself, but for your clients, the more
contribution you make to the richness of their lives, the more successful you will become,
the more bonded you will be to them and they to you.
The focus of your concern should state to the customer, “You matter. Your well
being is important to me.” The worst thing anybody can be allowed to be is to feel out of
control, or confused, or unstructured in their thinking. You have the opportunity and the
right to show your clients and your team how they can have control, and liberate them,
give them their freedom. Because the more you give people the control the more they
appreciate the liberator.
See yourself as becoming an agent of change, a creator of value, a value

contributor. Most people don’t want to see things as a process. They’d rather see things
as a project with a beginning and an end. It’s easier for them to comprehend it. Brake
things down for people into simple steps. Little changes and shifts you give them make
big differences.
Decide you don’t want to be average. People don’t want to be average. You
know in the craw of your heart and soul there’s more purpose, more feeling, more
fulfillment to life. As soon as they don’t feel average, you’ve got them hooked for life.
People need solutions, not strategy. In business, politics, arts, and war
achievement, great achievement is made oftentimes by people who have less attributes
than the people they were vying against - David and Goliath, if you will. But they had a
8
better strategy. If you ask me, in life, what’s the most important, selling skills or
strategy, I will always take strategy.
It translates in a lesson in copywriting. If anybody says, “I need to know the

elements of writing a good ad,” I say, “Screw that.” You know the elements of
conceptualizing a good proposition, a good offer that’s externally focused and predicated
on the value and the benefit it has to others. If the concept is right, the copy can be
terrible and it will still sell. If the concept is wrong, the greatest copy in the world won’t
work.
If the strategy is right, you can mess it up, it will still work. If the strategy is
wrong, the most eloquent and well-conceived program won’t work. I strongly urge you
to be more strategy and concept oriented than technique oriented in your lives or in your
businesses.
People will always pursue their well-being in a logical, rational way, but they will
make their decisions on an emotional bent. You should always ask them and ask
yourself, “Isn’t there a better way they could be doing something?”
One of the pivotal, the integral, the critical, the central essences of what
distinguished them and made them so much more successful was that they understood
that “show me” is so much more powerful than “tell me.” By showing it to you as it was
alive, as it took form, as it rooted and worked in different people’s lives, it’s much more
dramatic, isn’t it? It’s much more real. It’s much more embraceable, and much more
practical for you and much more achievable.
Instead of making a conclusive statement, they felt they were much better off
giving their client the ammunition that allowed them to make the conclusion for
themselves. If I do my job correctly for anyone, they end up evolving to the decision
thinking that some conclusion is their own. That is my intended outcome because it’s
much more powerful if you own it rather than me.
If I own it and lend it to you, it’s never going to be yours. If you basically
gestated it, consummated it, gestated it, given birth to it, and raised it - it’s your own, it’s
your progeny, you have great pride and commitment to it and belief in it. It is a mere
extension of you. It’s part of you.
You never want to draw the conclusions. You want them to take an action that
makes a commitment. Your commitment to them will never be as strong as their
commitment to themselves.
If they don’t take action themselves, there’s no power in it. Empowerment is a

meaningless word unless you understand its implication. You empower them by turning
on the energy and the power of their awareness by making it real and making them take
ownership of it. “Show me, don’t tell me” is their whole model. They believe that the
client is silently uttering or thinking, “Show me, don’t tell me.”
9
Any claim you make your client must agree with or you lost them. Think about it.
It’s not an intellectual battle for factual superiority, is it? What do you win when you
lose? You may be so ardent, but you’re losing by trying to shove the fact down their
throat. Any claim you make, I must agree with or I’m going to discount or shut off. So it
doesn’t matter if you’re right if I refuse to acknowledge that you’re right.
People can’t agree with most claims unless they can think them through.
I had a client one time who was a brilliant thinker, but he didn’t understand any of
the elements I just shared with you. He had this hilarious constant battle and argument.
He was involved in the investment field at a very high level and very successful. He was
very well read and very esoteric in his understanding of the interventions of all kinds of
economic, financial, social, political economic issues and their implication to investment,
finance, monetary trends, commodity prices. He was a very bright man. However…
He was too hip. He thought people loved him and respected him so much that all
he had to do was utter his conclusions and they would just follow. He would sit down
and he would write to his clients and just say, “Do this, do that.” I’d say, “That’s wrong,
that’s wrong.” He’d say, “No, no, this is what they need. They don’t want to be
burdened with all the details. They just want the facts.” So he’d do it and he’d get a
modest or non-response. And I’d say, “Do you want me to try?”
And then I’d go through the process of letting them in on the conclusion, the
basis, the facts, what we thought that meant, why we thought that meant it. Because from
logical emotional standards this interpretation made better sense. And then, finally, after
I’d walk them through the whole process I took them to a conclusion.
Invariably, 99.9 times out of 100, my report outproduced his by quantum levels.
But he still kept doing it because he wanted to fight them, he wanted to show them. It is
the price you pay on indulging yourself. It’s lessened results, lessened connection,
lessened profitability, lessened success. If you’re willing to pay that price, more power to
you, as long as you identify and understand the cost that certain avenues of action impose
upon you.
People discount series of statements. They want to evolve a series of conclusions.

Just saying, “This is the way it is” does not help people. Again, I hope that I’ve gone to
such inordinate and almost protracted and caricaturized effort to make that point evident
to you by my own actions. If I just gave you definitive comments but didn’t give you the
richness of the parenthetical implications and the basis behind it, you think you’d
understand and embrace it at the level that you do at this moment?
These people that I interviewed felt that their job was always to advocate their
client’s perspective. So that every word said the client silently felt, “He understands me
and where I’m at or where I’m coming from.”
10
People feel, “I’m tired of being controlled.” Don’t you? Aren’t you tired of being
limited? Aren’t you tired of having ads that don’t work? Aren’t you tired of having
competition basically make you have to lower yourself to their level? Aren’t you tired of
customers relegating you to a commodity?
I would be if I were you. That’s why I wouldn’t do it. That’s why you don’t have
to do it, because you’re in control. You aren’t controlled - never have been. You just
abdicated control of yourselves and your business.
These people understood at the highest level possible that their job is to reduce the
hurdle, their equivalent of lowering the barrier of resistance.
People are quietly obsessed, sometimes even unconsciously obsessed with

whether or not they stand out, whether or not they’re unique, whether people will care
about them. Do you think you’re any different? Don’t you want people to care deeply
about you? I would like to hope, because it is the truth, I really care about your well
being. I’m not looking at you for your wallet.
Your clients want to feel like you worry about them and you care about them in a
dimension far more meaningful than just catering to their treasury, or their pocketbook,
or their bank card. And you should, because it makes doing business and transacting
your life about ten times more fulfilling and effective.
They felt that most of their competitors didn’t give their own customers a chance
to buy more. They felt like they limited their clients ability to understand the advantages
and to help connect with the client to the client to take fullest advantage of all the
opportunities that were there for them to make their lives and their businesses more
fulfilling, purposeful, rich, more productive. They felt that customers really were being
forced to buy less than they wanted to by the options of most of their competitors.
Many concepts can be too difficult for most people to buy into. I am a little - or a
lot - guilty of this. The more you can use a reference example everyone can relate to first
and then explain it, the easier it is for people.
I tend to be more intellectual, which is a disservice to you. I’ll talk about a

concept and then explain it or apply it. Instead, if I gave you a reference in your life of
something that was evident…if I said to you, “You know when you go to McDonalds and
you ask for a hamburger, they always say, ‘Would you also like fries and a Coke?’ Well
that’s upselling.” Then you’ve got a reference frame. I don’t always do that, and that’s a
disservice to you.
You should always try to use a reference frame metaphorically first before you try
to explain anything to your clients.
Most people don’t really know what to do. If they did, they’d be doing it. So
take the understanding they don’t know what to do, but they don’t even know they don’t
11
know, or if they do know, they are ashamed and afraid to reveal it. So benevolently, and
nurturously, and empathetically, and respectfully help them learn what is possible.
People are searching for ways to make the next investment decision, or the next
business decision, or the next life decision better. Solve their problem for them today.
For more information about Jay’s future programs or products…

you may join his Info & Updates List by sending
a blank e-mail to: mailto:join-clients@list.abraham.com
http://www.abraham.com
Copyright © 2003 Abraham Publishing Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
12

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www.imarketing.

Frank & Matt

There was a signi�cant PROBLEM tho…

Back in 2011, the market was SWAMPED with hype-y loophole

We had to try and get ATTENTION in that noise.

I don’t write “classic” sales copy like a hired gun.

So I wrote a story about these two �ctional people, Frank and

After writing this story, I delivered the narrative through email. I

The avatar of Frank represented the group of people which made

Frank nailed the archetype of the 99% to a tee.

Matt represented the other side of the coin.

Steve’s journey was different to mine (acquired then lost millions).

Our mental scarring had created different fears and insecurities

Here’s the ending snippet of an email I sent to our small waiting

SIDE NOTE: First and foremost, SOI is a presell framework for

New customers were coming in and not just identifying

Let it sink into how powerful this is.

I believe this structure will help me focus instead of being a

I used to be “Frank” but I realized it wasn’t sustainable. I bought

I don’t want to be a Frank anymore.

I have been kind of a ” Frank” lately, just because I wanted

I recognized myself as Frank.

The story resonated with me as most courses seem to promote the

It had to do with the Frank and Matt comparison. I’ve had a

The comparison between Frank and Matt and the

So, yeah, I am like ‘Frank’ and would like to learn how to

Saw something about Franks story mentioned so I searched that out

The case study (Frank and Matt) spoke DIRECTLY to me!

It was the whole Frank vs Matt story. I used to be a Frank, but I

Frank and Matt story. I am Frank and want to be Matt and so I

I’ll stop now. I have a spreadsheet of 781 rows of these.

That story gave them a PERSPECTIVE they had NEVER

They knew they operated in a certain way (being attracted to

… but other than that, it was a mystery to them WHY they

And doing it in a way where they SELF-SELECTED THEMSELVES

I did the same with Matt.

Of course, we had also become their path-to-belief.

The only way to become a Matt was through us. We automatically

Our competition had essentially become entirely irrelevant.

Instilling Your Chain of Beliefs

Now let’s go a step deeper…

Pain > Symptom > Belief

We’ll do that by �rst �eshing out the SYMPTOMS of each belief

Liminal thinking The pyramid of belief

The aim is to construct your story so that it walks your reader

In my Frank & Matt story I painted the picture of how Frank

It was painful for me to write because I used to be Frank, and it

The SYMPTOM of this behavior caused Frank to never get to the

Doing this is essential because when you can describe their

This mental reframe is a crucial ingredient.

The Symptoms Bucket

Belief -> Symptom -> Pain

You give a name to the “symptoms bucket” that you’re calling

It should be a name that people will easily self-accept (as opposed

IMPORTANT: It needs to be something they can willingly self-

I named this “symptoms bucket,” Frank.

Frank represented all the PAINS that my audience was

The REASON WHY they were stuck in “perpetual purgatory.”

Doing this causes some critical shifts for them: