GrowthANSWERS » 2008

Intrepid PURLs of Wisdom

by Todd Schnick / Intrepid LLC

If you pay even moderate attention to marketing journalism, you keep hearing about the amazing response rates of PURL direct response campaigns. If you aren’t familiar with them, a PURL, or personal URL, campaign is when an audience is first hit with a piece of direct mail and/or email.

The typical rules apply to these communications: One, you must provide a solution to a problem or fulfill a need. Two, you must target the right audience of likely prospects. And three, there has to be a strong call to action. But in this case, the call to action is to drive traffic to a website. And not just any website, a personalized one.

This is where you begin to see increased response rates. People are drawn to this personalized website for two reasons: One, they can’t help visiting a website that includes their name, as in TODDSCHNICK.intrepid.com. And two, your product or service does appear to have some benefit to the prospect.

Once they get to the PURL landing page, that’s where the real magic happens!

Stay tuned to this blog for the rest of the story on PURLs. We at Intrepid are conducting some live PURL campaigns as we speak. I look forward to sharing with you the lessons we learn from the campaigns! And I will include samples!

Email me at todd@intrepid-llc.com to learn how PURLs might benefit you!

Todd Schnick intrepid group, LLC

Intrepid Blog 404.931.0969 cell

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Scarcity vs. Abundance Mentality

Filed under: General —

by Tom Shivers, an SEO professional and president of Capture Commerce

Recently I met with some colleagues and discussed a topic that sometimes strikes business owners with fear: competitors and how to deal with them. We talked about the fear of losing business to a competitor who is not ethical, or cheap or bigger or who is perceived to be better but isn’t.

Afterward I remembered something from a book I read a few years ago:
“Abundance Mentality. Our thinking is that there is plenty out there for everybody…It flows out of a deep sense of personal worth and security. It results in sharing recognitions, profits, and responsibility. It opens up creative new options and alternatives. It turns personal joy and fulfillment outward. It recognizes unlimited possibilities for positive interaction, growth, and development.

Most people are deeply scripted in the scarcity mentality. They see life as a finite pie: if someone gets a big piece of the pie, it means less for everybody else.”
From Principle-Centered Leadership by Stephen Covey

In an article by Penny Tremblay, The Benefits of an Abundance Mentality, she outlines the characteristics of these two types of thinking:

Scarcity thinking:
1. Victory means success at the expense of someone else.
2. Difficulty showing happiness for the success of others including family, friends and business associates.
3. Difficulty sharing credit, recognition, power and profit.
4. Difficulty being a team player because differences in opinion are perceived as disloyalty.

Abundance thinking:
1. Victory means success that brings mutually beneficial results to all involved.
2. Recognizes unlimited opportunities for positive growth and development.
3. Realizes that there are three ways to do things, my way, your way and a better way.
4. Appreciates the uniqueness of others.

Yep, I have the scarcity mentality but sometimes I have the abundance mentality. It’s a constant battle I fight inside. I want to think abundance, but like Covey says, I’ve been deeply scripted with scarcity thinking. How do I turn my fear around until I fully adopt the abundance mentality?

One day a few years ago, I was invited to lunch by one of my big, ugly competitors to talk shop with a bunch of other competitors, some of whom are now famous in our industry. I discovered that many of these guys were lots of fun to be around, open to talk about common problems in our industry and learn about the differences in philosophy. I found that a few of these “competitors” could be assets for my business and began using them. Some of them found that they could use me as a resource as well.

Along my business growth journey I’m learning that it pays to take risks by facing my fears and doing the very thing I fear the most at times. Three of the guys in my group keep harping on these abundance ideas:

Always saying good things about everyone else and sometimes bragging about their on abilities.
These abundance thinker guys seem to turn the tables on negative thinking and speculations by sharing examples from their own experience, pointing out the obvious “elephant in the room” and encouraging rather than blaming people for short comings.
They foster an environment of collaboration to solve problems and build teams.

I still have a way to go on my journey to get where these guys are, but I wonder… a few years from now maybe I’ll be the new “rock star” in my industry.

What tips do you have about abundance thinking?

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Meet The Expert: Mark Walker

Filed under: sales team development, sales process optimization, General —

“You Can’t Teach People to Sell By Teaching People to Sell“

June 18, 2008 Atlanta (CLICK HERE for Details & Registration)

** The first seven people to register for this program will receive a FREE copy of

“You Can’t Teach People to Sell By Teaching People to Sell”.

Featuring Mark Walker of the JM Walker Group

As part of the GrowthANSWERS Live Learning Events, the Sunrise Series is a monthly Executive2Executive opportunity to learn, apply and grow responsibly.

Join us June 18, 2008 and Discover . . .

What causes a sales person’s success,
The significance of personal alignment or congruence,
How success traits in sales people are released, not taught,
How a selling process or program can resonate with sales peoples’ values,
Three important steps to effective sales person coaching

CLICK HERE for Details & Registration

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June 24, 2008

Intrepid PURLs of Wisdom

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