Debt Cures That I Want You to Know About

September 19, 2012 by

A few weeks ago, I wrote about Kevin Trudeau’s new book “Debt Cures they don’t want you to know about.” Of course, in the comments, there were a fair share of people who truly believe that Kevin Trudeau is the snake oil salesman he appears to be. Yet, I still hypothesized that he is the best salesman of our time. For the simple reason that he can sell his products and sell them well.

While I am not the salesman that Kevin is, I’d like to share with you a product that I truly believe in. I first read the book while I was still running my money blog “A Penny Saved” and have been following it’s program since March(2007). In that time, I have gained a confidence in my money that I’ve never had before. I finally feel like I am in control.

I won’t try and sell the product as a cure all program. It’s not a fast track program either. But what it can do for you, if you follow it, is get you out of debt. Completely. You’ll have to work hard and live a lot less “good” than you do now, but the reward is the reduction of debt and the control over your money. And after you’ve saved enough money, you can then start investing in Turnkey investment real estate properties.

The product in question is Dave Ramsey’s “Total Money Makeover.” Yes, that is a affiliate link. Just because I’m trying to help you out, doesn’t mean I can’t make a little money from it if you decide to follow my advice. I whole-heartedly endorse that book. It’s made some great changes in my money handling and for once I control my money instead of the other way around.

Please take the time to take a look at the book. I think you’ll be glad you did. And when it comes to business financial planning, Acclime’s business accounting services can help cut out unnecessary expenses that may be infringing on your progress.

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What Constitutes a Debt Cure?

April 26, 2009 by

If you ask Kevin Trudeau, a “Debt Cure” (especially a Debt Cure he wants you to know about), is merely a collection of information designed to help you rid yourself of debt.  Perhaps that is true.  But what information and at what pace?

Trudeau’s book talks about legalities and ways to get the companies to either completely write-off your debt, or significantly decrease the balance.  Sounds nice, and it might get rid of your debt faster, but in the end, it only leads to more debt.  Making those agreements with your creditors gets reported to the credit bureaus and can have a rather severe affect on your credit score.  And if you get the easy way out, your much more likely to get yourself right back in that problem.

So, what exactly is a debt cure then?  In a previous post, I suggest reading the book “Total Money Makeover” by Dave Ramsey.  I still suggest that, as it is still the foremost book in legally and responsibly getting yourself out of debt.  And I have to think that the odds of recurrence are much smaller after having gone through Dave’s TMMO than following the advice of  Kevin Trudeau.

The only way to truly cure debt is to properly educate yourself on the way that personal finance works and take positive action towards your personal finance goals.  Taking responsibility for the debt that you’ve incurred is a good step, but you also have to formulate a plan for paying it off and keeping it off.

If you’re interested in learning more about personal finance, I write at another site called Beating Broke and you’re welcome to stop by and read for a while.  I’ve also written a Free guide to your credit score and how it works that you can get at Beating Broke.  Please come take a look and begin your journey to being debt responsible.

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Sales Tactics: …and More!

February 12, 2008 by

Before you get ahead of yourself and think that you don’t need to know how to sell, remember that one of the biggest parts of affiliate and online work is visitors buying items. It’s how you make your money. A visitor comes to your site, clicks on a link, and then buys the item. You, in turn, get paid a percentage of that sale. It’s the lifeblood of being an affiliate.

A certain amount of your affiliate links are, to be certain, just links. They have no copy to accompany them and are just “there”. Most of the time those links will do you very little good. What you need to do is sell the product.

There are many, many ways to sell a product and there are plenty of sales tactics that you can employ. Today, lets talk about the sales tactic that I like to call the “and More!” tactic. The “and More!” tactic is one of the more popular ones being used today. Why? Because it works. Buyers are attracted to the “and More!” that it implies. From infomercials by Kevin Trudeau pushing Debt Cures they don’t want you to know about to the many useful products out there, the “and More!” brings them in by the dozen.

How do you employ the “and More!” tactic? Simple.  Give the customer some extras.  Whether it’s something as simple as a little extra info in the form of an ebook or a little extra trinket on the side. Selling a book?  Add a informational CD on the subject with further research.  Give the customer “bonus” books.  You see it all the time on the sales pages of the many ebooks touting instant wealth through adsense.  When you pay for the ebook, you get three other great reports and ebooks valued at $XXX.XX along with it!

Whatever it is that your selling, the “and More!” tactic dictates that you at least make it seem like the customer is getting a great value.  Even better, give them a great value.  Just make sure you tell them about it!

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5 Things You Can Learn From Infomercials

October 18, 2007 by

Kevin Trudeau on setWe’ve all seen them. Some of us have even tried a few of the products that they push. They’re infomercials. The most famous of the bunch are people like Kevin Trudeau and Matthew Lesko. Their products and name are synonymous with the infomercial industry. And their products are scams. We know it when we watch. Many know it even as they call and give out their credit card info to have the product sent out. So, if everyone knows that the product they are pushing is a scam, why do they still buy it? What do the likes of Kevin Trudeau and Matthew Lesko have that some of the less fortunate infomercial folks don’t? What can we learn from them to perform better at our own sales. (hopefully of a little less scam-like product)

  1. Pick your product wisely

    2. Kevin and Matthew didn’t just “pick” a product. They found a product that they knew was on the top of the minds of millions around the country. Kevin, the alternative medicine topic and Matthew, the get rich quick on other peoples money topic. Both are very popular topics. Just look at how many health related spams you get every day.

    Unless you plan on getting into a sub-niche of a sub-niche like 1947 mercury dimes, you need to pick a product that will be in a niche that you know something about. Knowing something about it is usually not enough. It also needs to be a niche that many people are interested in. The mating habits of the South African Gnat are probably not top of most peoples lists. But there are lots and lots of topics that are. You don’t need to, and probably shouldn’t, pick a niche that is extremely popular. Chances are there are affiliates and bloggers in that niche that are much better and more experienced at selling that niche than you are. Try to pick a product that has a fair amount of competition (shows it’s viability) but isn’t over used.

  2. Learn to sell

    3. It may sound simple, but selling can be one of the hardest things that you will ever do. Some people are born with a “gift of gab” and are able to talk people into buying things. Some people are naturally good at calling their customers to action. And some people would have a hard time selling food to a starving man. There is still a chance however. You can learn to sell. It won’t come easily and it won’t come quick, but you can do it. You simply have to put yourself to the task and dedicate a lot of time to getting it down. As you learn, you’ll notice that your sales will pick up. Eventually, your sales pitches will be glistening slick with that snake oil that Kevin Trudeau and Matthew Lesko sold you.

    Where do you learn to sell? That’s simple. You can take all the classes you want, but the most tried and true method is to observe your competitors (not copy) and learn by trial and error.

  3. Be convincing

    4. If you can’t convince people that what you’re selling is the be-all, end-all of widgets, you’re not going to sell it. You can have the best sales pitch and product in the world, but you won’t sell a one if you can’t convince your customers that they need that widget. Ever seen a kid with a Elmo? Take that Elmo away and see what happens. They need that Elmo. If they don’t get that Elmo, the world will end. Time will stand still and the sky will fall. You simply don’t understand how badly they need that Elmo.

    Your job as the salesman(person) for your product is to make your customers believe they need your widget. If you can do that, you’ll have success like the infomercial folks.

  4. Don’t back down

    5. If you buckle at the first sign of trouble, you’re not going to get anywhere. In fact, you’ll end up nowhere. That’s less than anywhere for those of you geographically challenged. And don’t bother looking up nowhere on Google maps. It’s like the black hole of wheres. If you’ve ever done a search on Kevin Trudeau, either researching one of his products or researching an article like the one I wrote earlier this month (Is Kevin Trudeau the Best Salesman of our Time?), one thing you’ll find is that Kevin has had more than his fair share of trouble. He’s been sued, banned, and slapped around by more acronyms than just about anyone else I know. He’s had the FCC, the FDA, and the DOC on him at one time or another. He’s had customers sue him. And guess what. You still see him on television doing infomercials. He doesn’t back down. And he’s a success because of it.

    When you run into a roadblock to your success, do what you have to to get by it. You may get some bumps and bruises, but that’s normal on the road to success.

  5. Build on a good thing

    6. If you have success, you cannot sit back and enjoy it. While you do, someone else will become better at selling a similar product and you will find yourself slipping. Kevin Trudeau had several products like the Mega Memory book/tapes, and some billiards thing, but the one that really did it for him was the “Natural Cures ‘They’ don’t want you to know about.” it went big. Bestseller big. Kevin knew he had something here. It was a huge success. And he built on it.

    Not only did Kevin build on it by releasing three more books in the “they don’t want you to know about” series (More Natural Cures, Weight Loss Cure, Debt Cures) but he also built a very profitable website around the health related ones and now has a newsletter for the debt cures book. He’s gone from a somewhat successful salesman selling memory books, to a mega salesman with a dynasty of products that will support him for the rest of his life.

    When you have a success, no matter how big or small, stop and find at least one way to build on it. Another way to get more traffic, another widget to sell with the first, an accessory for the widget, anything that will increase the profitability of your success.

You can apply those principles to just about anything. Affiliates, bloggers, auctioneers, and anyone else that has a product to sell. If you get good enough at them, you can become a top tier person in your field. Regardless of how good your product really is.

Kevin Trudeau found a product that was in a very “wanted” niche. He learned how to sell his product and became very good at convincing people that his product was the one they needed. When he ran into roadblocks in his way, he turned them into speed bumps. And when he found that product that was a success, he ran with it, making an empire out of it.

Not everyone will end up like Kevin Trudeau. Some of you will be liked. 😉 But everyone can be successful if they put the time and effort into learning how. Don’t go out and buy some silly book thinking that it will give you instant success. Only 1% of success is instant. Those are bad odds. Work for the other 99% of success that was worked for. It’ll feel better when you get there.

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