The big news as I write this, is that John Prescott apparently suffered from bulimia for a number of years. At the risk of stating the obvious, there’s something that doesn’t feel quite right about this story…

It may be true, but if it is, he must have been suffering from amnesia at the same time – because he was obviously forgetting to be sick. If this continues, we can probably expect to hear of Sir Cliff’s booze, drug and sex addiction hell , any day now.

The real reason for the story appearing now of course, is publicity. The chubby member for Kingston Upon Hull East has a book out at the moment, and he’d quite like people to buy it so that he can invest the royalties in pies. There are a lot of books out at the moment (and indeed at every moment) so the competition for shelf space and sales, is fierce.

I spend quite a bit of money on advertisements in the national press, and so I know that the amount of publicity Prescott has generated over the past two days in the press alone, is worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. And that takes no account of the TV and internet coverage.

The key to securing all this coverage is that he’s revealed something negative about himself. I don’t know whether newspapers and news programmes focus on bad news because it’s what interests people, or whether it interests people because it’s what they focus on, but the end result is the same…

You have a much greater chance of getting something featured in a newspaper or on TV if it’s got a negative slant, than you have if it’s got a positive one. But from a business generating point of view, there’s a delicate balance to be struck here…

It’s okay for John Prescott, to do this because: 

  . He’s revealing an illness, and will therefore get some sympathy.

  . His only goal is to sell the book, and his poilitical career is all but finished.

  . Everyone knows he’s an incompetent buffoon anyway, so it can’t get any worse. 

But it’s not so easy for a company that is looking to build a long-term relationship with customers. Any revelation or negative information revealed mustn’t be so damaging as to put doubt in the customer’s mind as to their ability to fulfil their obligations.

Probably the best kind of ‘bad news’ to reveal, is something that isn’t really your fault. Prescott used an illness. If you or I revealed such a thing, nobody would be interested, but we might get some press interest if we’d been the victim of an accident, criminal activity, or if bizarre circumstances had conspired against us. None of these things would call our competence into question, but would meet the media’s bad news criteria.

I’m not suggesting for one moment that you should be actively looking to engineer such a thing, but am merely alerting you to the fact that there may even be opportunities to profit from free publicity, in the most unlikely of circumstances.

I’m sure when Mr Prescott was tickling his tonsils after a night on the spare ribs, he didn’t see it as a profit opportunity, but someone at his publishers thought differently. And it looks like they were right.

Kind Regards

John Harrison  

PUBLISHERS NOTICE

 Dear Streetwise Customer, 

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How do I know this is perfect for now?

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Kind Regards

P.S Uncertain and volatile times are precisely when this works best.
      What other opportunity can you say that about?

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I’ve never been particularly interested in clothes…

In days gone by, you may have called me a scruff or a tramp. But we’re in more politically correct times now, so I prefer to use the term ‘sartorially challenged’. I’m sure it’s a disability of some kind. Maybe I can get a grant?

Anyway, my idea of ‘designer’ is George at Asda, and I’m a little shame-faced to admit that many of my clothes date back to the last century – and not necessarily the last decade of it. Just yesterday, I was persuaded by my wife to part with a pair of boots that date back to a skiing holiday in 1986. I’d like to say they were the oldest item in my wardrobe, but it wouldn’t be true.

Occasionally I get the idea that I’m going to rectify this minor blot on, what is undoubtedly otherwise, a perfect visual package. But there’s a problem ~ a bit of a Catch 22 if you like…I never feel well-dressed enough to go in the shop. It’s a bit like turning up at the Ferrari dealership in a Lada. You just feel like you shouldn’t be there, and so does everybody else. When your entire ensemble cost less than the socks you’re looking at, you’re bound to feel a bit self-conscious – or at least I am.

A few weeks ago though, I had a bit of luck…

An upmarket men’s designer shop has opened up not far from where I live. I was walking past one day ~ thinking it might be nice to go in ~ but then looked down at what I was wearing (Russian meat queue ‘look’, circa 1978). I decided, perhaps not today…when I saw someone waving frantically at me from inside. I waved back, and then thought I’d better go in to see who it was.

It turned out to be a bloke called Pete who I’ve known forever. I was best mates with his brother, and I’ve known Pete since I was eight and he was three. Anyway, we got chatting and it turned out that it’s his shop. He’s just starting out in business with a partner after 20 odd years as an employee. And he seems to be making the transition reasonably well, judging by the wallet wound he managed to inflict on me before I left. But I’m not telling you this to announce the new improved me…

You see, while we were talking, I couldn’t help noticing that the door was open, and it was freezing outside. It was obviously deliberate, and so I asked him about it.

 “We have to do it,” he said, “otherwise people just won’t come in.”

Now I’m no psychologist, but when I looked at the position and characteristics of the shop, there were clues to the reasons why. It’s set back a few paces from the main pedestrian walkway, and the door is quite small. In addition, there are a couple of small steps up to the door. It seems to me, that the combination of these factors may cause a physical/psychological barrier which people are reluctant to cross ~ particularly if they just wish to browse.

Maybe it has something to do with appearing committed (you have to make a conscious decision to go through all these barriers to get into the shop) or maybe it’s some primeval response linked to ease of ‘escape’, but for whatever reason, people weren’t going into the shop until one of those barriers was removed.

What I find really interesting (and potentially business-transforming) about this is that most businesses simply aren’t in a position to easily identify ‘barriers to entry’ like this. Pete and his wife were physically standing there, watching people glance over and then elect not to cross the divide, but most of us aren’t in that position.

Either we don’t have businesses where people enter in such a tangible and identifiable way, or if we do, we’re not in a position to view the decision-making process.

I think this is something all business owners should look at, and it really isn’t confined to those where the entry point is a physical one – far from it. Every business has a point at which new potential customers show themselves. That could just as easily be making a phone call, writing a letter, sending an email or visiting a website, as turning up in person.

For each of those options, there are barriers which will turn people away, before they’ve even got ‘in through the door’. And the scary thing is that you’ll never find out about it, because you only know who turned up – not who didn’t, and why not.

I can’t go into all the possible barriers here, but if it’s your business you’re looking at, you’ll be able to figure them out for yourself. Having a phone system that keeps enquirers on hold isn’t going to help. Neither is a website that forces visitors to jump through hoops before getting access to any information.

Ever looked into a shop and seen a bunch of assistants, standing talking, and you feel like you’d be intruding by going in? Me too. Or how about over-eager assistants, poised to pounce the minute you put a toe over the threshold? That doesn’t help either. And of course, you’ll pay dearly for any physical barrier that makes things harder for your potential customers.

The bottom line is that anything that makes the experience of entering your business more difficult, more time-consuming, more irritating or more intimidating will be paid for in cash in the bank.

Make it easy, quick and non-threatening to find out what you have to offer, and while you’ll deal with a few more time-wasters, you’ll make a lot more money as well.

Kind Regards

John Harrison  

PUBLISHERS NOTICE

 Dear Streetwise Customer,

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And Then Over The Next Few Years It Brings In Over £5 Million.

Pure fantasy?

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But Even So, Many Of Them Landed Thousands Of Pounds In My Bank Account Within Days, and Hundreds of Thousands Within Weeks.

Like to learn how to do the same?

Well there has really Never Been A Better Time for three reasons… 

1. These letters bring in serious money when times are tough – and they don’t come much tougher than thet are right now.

2. These letters are even more powerful when the world is relying on the internet for its requirements, just like it is right now.

3. You probably have some free time available to learn how to do this at the moment.

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This is an exciting and realistic alternative to the gloom which is all around us today – an escape route. It’s an alternative that can quickly see you banking more than enough money to see yourself and your family right through this current crisis and then into uncharted financial success when all this is over.

This comes with a 100% cast iron 90 day money back guarantee. There is absolutely no risk to you to take a look.

Kind Regards

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