Let me ask you a question.
Have you ever dealt with someone you thought was honest, ethical
and an all around “straight shooter”…only to find he (or she)
fleeced you of something valuable—like your money, love, trust
or some kind of private information?
If not, then chances are you will.
This sort of thing happens to almost everyone at least once.
And in the world of direct marketing and copywriting (especially
online) it’s particularly common.
Why?
Because, although it may be hard to imagine, there are certain
people in the world who have a strange “disorder” where they have
no moral problem hurting, conning or financially ruining others.
In fact, to these people, doing bad things is as ordinary and
“routine” as ordering a hamburger at McDonalds.
Don’t bother trying to rationalize it, either.
You can’t.
These particular people—who are 4% of the population according
to one Harvard psychologist—don’t have any feelings of regret,
love, or compassion.
Their brains simply aren’t “wired” for it.
The idea of caring about someone else is as foreign to them as the
color “red” is to someone born blind.
And because of this, they have no problem lying through their
teeth, stealing your money or doing whatever it takes to get
what they want from you.
Even if it means ruining your life as you know it.
But here’s the chilling thing about this:
Since these people don’t have any natural reactions and moral
guidance, they watch the rest of us very carefully.
Especially how we respond and react to other peoples’ words and
actions. As a result, they become masters of persuasion and manipulation; as
well as at faking empathy, compassion, and concern for others.
It’s true.
In fact, some of them are almost supernaturally good at it.
Even to the point where they will have you believing they’re your
best friend within 5 minutes of meeting them.
Now, to be fair, not everyone with this condition does bad things.
But quite a few of them do.
And the bad ones are many times drawn to positions of power and
influence—like law, politics, religion, and especially direct
marketing.
Where their every word is quoted like “gospel.”
And where they are admired, encouraged, and practically worshipped
for their “extraordinary” persuasion abilities.
But you know what’s really freaky about this?
When you have something worth stealing—like your time, money,
talent, list, or some other asset—the bad ones will target you.
They will pick you out and “work” you for months to get your trust
and become your good buddy.
And while they’re acting like your new best friend, they’re
actually stalking you.
Just like a predator.
Waiting for the right time to strike and run away with “the loot.”
And to paraphrase the Mandarin in “Ironman 3”:
“You’ll never see it coming.”
One day they’re your best friend…the next they ripped off your
customer list and sold it to your competitor…or got you to write
an ad “on speck” only to copyright that ad and claim it for
themselves…or got you to pay them a fat fee for some service only
to skip town…etc.
Look, I know this sounds strange.
But this stuff does happen.
And if you are successful (or plan to be successful) then you
really should know about this.
Because one (or more) of these people will be coming for you.
It’s just a matter of time.
Maybe you’re thinking, “I’m great at ‘reading’ people. Nobody
will ever pull a fast one on me.”
That’s admirable, but foolish.
With these people, at least.
They are so good at deception, manipulation and lying…most
of us are flat out baffled when the hammer finally drops.
But here’s the good news:
If you know what to look for, you can actually see these people
coming a mile away—without needing any special discernment,
training, or “street smarts” whatsoever.
All you have to know are a few little “signs” they leave wherever
they go.
Signs that make it completely obvious who you are dealing with the
minute they start talking to you or sending you emails.
This kind of knowledge is vital when dealing with new joint venture
partners, clients, or even “gurus” in your field.
Especially in the Internet age—where you simply never know who
you’re really dealing with anymore.
But here’s the thing.
Nobody will touch this topic in their books, tapes or fancy
high-priced seminars.
It’s simply too controversial and will rub too many people the wrong
way. (Like I said, this problem ABOUNDS in direct marketing).
In fact, the only person I know of who teaches about this problem
(and how to protect yourself against it) is Ken McCarthy.
In his copywriting course he shows you exactly what these guys do, how they do it, and how to instantly (and easily) identify them.
It actually took a lot of guts for Ken to publicly teach this.
And you will likely never hear it anywhere else.
Especially since some so-called “gurus” would probably lose their
businesses in a heartbeat if everyone knew what Ken teaches.
Frankly, this email doesn’t even scratch the surface on just how
widespread and dangerous this problem is in our industry.
I remember my stomach dropping and thinking this information would
have saved me a lot of money and humiliation had I known
it before.
Even on the CD’s you can tell the room went cold during this
part of the seminar.
IMHO, this information alone is worth ten times the price of
the course.
And it’s yours at a $1,000 discount.
At least, until midnight tonight (EST).
After that, it goes full price.
Ben Settle
