Always Be Closing Is For Boilerroom Meatheads

I've worked a couple sales boilerrooms in my day. It was in this environment I was banged over the head with the mantra "ABC, Always Be Closing". If someone wanted to check with their wife before buying a stock you would say "I'm sure you make lots business decisions in your job without checking with your wife, this is no different, and we need to move now." Then, ABC, "Let me just get some info from you and we'll pick up 100 shares. Where can I send the account package?" BOOM, ring the bell, I just caught a fish.

Marketers operate this way too. Anytime they get your attention, they are trying to get you to spend your money or your time on THEM. The folks behind Dr. Horrible, don't operate this way and I love that.

My Twitter friend Dr. Horrible tweeted about this link this AM.

Maybe you hated this campy musical and you might have already seen this campy video about a kid dancing around the world. The important thing to recognize is that here's someone who's marketing without selling. Here's someone who's trying build real relationships. And I think it will pay off.

I know the skeptical view of this. With the limited amount of people's attention I invest in getting why drive people to a video that doesn't tell anyone anything about me (or my product)?

My answer. If you do it once, it doesn't do anything. But over time if you establish yourself as a valuable resource for your fans to find entertainment (and in Dr Horrible's case become a curator for all things campy and kitsch) then the next time you put something out you've got some chits in the bank with some very important people.

Not only will these fanboys buy the Dr. Horrible dolls, and signed posters but their passion will give other people permission to pay $40 for a family to go to a film, or buy a DVD. It will inspire the curiosity of everyone they expose to their fanaticism. And maybe when a TV commercial hits their DVR, an ad hits their magazine, or banner runs over their email, they might not completely ignore it, and they might be driven to theaters, TVs or bookstores.

Sure, the 7900 people that receive Dr Horrible's Twitter message could've been pointed to something more "promotional" but I don't want to be friends with someone who's constantly trying to sell me something. And I'd be less interested in their tweets as well. Thank goodness, the Dr. doesn't do that. I would've been out of the loop about how I can learn about the adventures and schemes of Fake Thomas Jefferson.

I'm already excited to buy it.