Why we don't
use manipulative, abusive Multi-part Autoresponders
by John Counsel
The simple idea behind most multi-part autoresponders sounds logical. But it's based on research that relates to OFF-line behaviour, not on-line, and it fails to take some critical differences into account.
That simple idea is that 80% of sales happen only after six or seven contacts. And, since 90% of sellers only make TWO follow-up contacts, 10% of sellers win 80% of the business.
That may be true off-line (up to a point — 80% of all sales are NOT made by only 10% of sellers). But off-line prospects don't walk around with a DELETE KEY or a REMOVE LINK they can click to get rid of a pesky sales person or phone call.
Too often, instead of getting a genuine "Yes" from an off-line prospect, the seller gets "Yes — meaning NO!"
This is when the prospect buys for a benefit — but the REAL benefit for them is to get rid of the seller!
And that's the real problem facing so-called "permission-based" e-mail marketing systems. More and more people are beginning to see them as an ABUSE of their consent. They click a link to get more information and, next thing they know, they're being bombarded by overblown, poorly written, emotionally manipulative, "personalised" messages, day after day after day.
Chances are that you've done exactly what YOUR prospects will do... click the "DELETE" key or the "REMOVE" or "UNSUBSCRIBE" link to get rid of YOU!
It's the worst possible response you can get in this business. It's even worse than "No" because it wastes your time, effort and money, and undermines your confidence and hope.
You get excited by the notification e-mail from your autoresponder system telling you that a new prospect has signed up for your message system. You can't wait for the system to take them to the point where they say "Yes!" and they join you in your business.
But, more often than not, the next message you're going to receive is NOT an excited "sign me up, I'm hot-to-trot!" It's going to be yet another disheartening notice that they've removed themselves.
Too many of these depressing messages and you'll begin to wonder if you shouldn't do the same, and stop sending good money after bad.
It's the same for your downline team!
Prospects on-line have non-confronting choices that off-line prospects don't. And that's the real challenge for the multi-part autoresponder system. It's not the system itself that's the problem. It's the flawed strategy behind it. People on-line — including you — are getting tired of other people abusing their permission.
They're sick to death of most of their latest batch of e-mails being spam. They're sick of asking for information, then being deluged by manipulative sellers trying to string out the contact by leading them on, day after day.
Do you REALLY want to be seen in this way by YOUR prospects?
I didn't think so.
So that's why, when we say our own systems are a TRUE permission-based approach, we mean it.
In the early days of the Internet explosion (1995 through 1998) a concept called "pull technology" was widely used. This was the forerunner to the multi-part autoresponder system. A person signed up to receive information as they needed it. Usually, they were sent a short e-mail containing links to more information sources. This soon became known as "opt-in" subscription.
But pushy, manipulative sellers decided that this didn't give them enough control over the prospect (an absurd fiction that continues to delude manipulative sellers, on- and off-line). So they created "PUSH technology".
This was where you got hold of the unsuspecting prospect's contact details, then pushed information at them, day after day, week after week, whether they wanted it or not.
Pretty soon there was a backlash, and the more professional sellers realised that they needed to give prospects the opportunity to opt out. So "opt-out" became the flavour of the day.
This quickly led to an avalanche of SPAM... with its own backlash.
Cunning and devious as ever, the pushy, manipulative sellers quickly grasped that this new environment — one that actually empowered the prospect — couldn't be abused for long in this kind of way.
So they invented a more devious, deceptive approach... offer prospects an "opt-in" system that was really "opt-out". Once they were IN the system, the prospect had to take action to get OUT. And the sellers knew very well that most prospects succumb to INERTIA... they prefer to AVOID any kind of action that brings them into confrontation with the seller.
So the prospects began by responding in the easiest way they could... they simply used their DELETE key to get rid of the messages.
Marketers of e-mail applications quickly saw a new opportunity. They began to offer FILTERS that prospects could set to automatically trash the follow-up messages and other forms of SPAM! (Because that's what so many automated follow-up systems quickly become in the eyes of prospects, like it or not.)
But as time passed, prospects began to realise that they had control. And we've now reached the stage where people are able AND WILLING to click the "unsubscribe" links that autoresponder marketers insist on inserting into ALL messages to protect their own businesses.
So we've come full circle in our own approach. We use TRUE permission based messages, where each contact is designed to promote the next contact, but NOT in a deceptive way. There's no "come-on" to sucker the prospect into requesting yet another batch of "all feathers, no meat" messages whose sole intention is to maintain the "relationship".
WHAT relationship?
Relationships are based on a simple principle: integrity creates trust, and trust creates consent. And that's the other main reason why the typical multi-part, automated approach ultimately fails for most people...
The relationship process CAN'T be automated.
Sorry, but if anyone tells you otherwise, they're trying to sell you something — and trying to fool you at the same time. So you know not to trust them. They value money and use people — not the other way around.
Don't fall for the same trap.
Our approach is based 100% on integrity... doing ONLY the right things, for ONLY the right reasons.
It respects and honours the prospect's initial permission, and seeks renewed permission at every stage. We refuse to abuse or manipulate our prospects, because we want them to genuinely trust us, so that they're happy to join us.
This way, we get constant feedback from our prospects. And it's all positive. We know exactly where they are in the relationship-building process. We're talking WITH them, not AT them. And we get almost NO "unsubscribe" messages!
We value people and use money... and it shows.
Anything less than this is a death wish for your business... and it WILL come true.
*Emotional
manipulation?
You bet!
How often do you sign up for more information and quickly find yourself being told that, if you don't act NOW, you'll miss out on some super-duper benefit that gives YOU an ubeatable advantage over others?
Or demands to know why, after four contacts, you haven't picked up the phone — or sent your phone number for them to contact you — so what's YOUR problem?
You're badgered and blackmailed by messages that alternate between "why haven't you acted yet?" and "where did I fail you?"
On top of this, they're no longer fooled by the fact that their first name is used in your automated messages. They've been getting letters off-line for years that use their name like that. From banks, insurance companies and other businesses wanting to sell them something. Their first response, these days, is likely to be "how did they get hold of my name and address?"
This is called manipulative
selling. It's classic 1970s and 1980s stuff dressed up in 21st century garb to
fool you. It worked then because the market wasn't educated. It still works on some
people. But do you REALLY want to recruit people who are so gullible, or so emotionally
weak, that they fall for this? (Because they're going to to succumb to the next manipulative
seller who comes along, so you won't keep them without more exploitation and abuse
on your part. Not a good basis for a secure, long-tem business!) [Back to the article.]
