letting the cats outside, and watering my half-dead plants, I
had the TV on. Saturday morning TV is usually composed
of nothing but infomercials and today was no different.
One of the channels had this guy hawking a book on
natural cures. He claimed that no matter what kind of
disease you had, there was a natural or herbal cure for it --
and he had it in his book. No drugs, no surgery, no
traditional medicine needed at all. Now he wasn't claiming
that the information in his book would lessen your
symptoms or reduce your pain, no, he was claiming that
you would be absolutely, positively, money-back-
guaranteed CURED!!
My jaw dropped as I listened to this guy make all these
outlandish claims and I thought, how can people listen to
this kind of junk? Worse, how can people send this guy
their hard earned money?
The more I watched, the more it hit me that he was using a
very familiar sales formula. You hear others use this same
formula for a variety of products. This sales formula
contains the following elements:
Element Number 1. IT'S A MIRACLE!
This first element is insidious because it offers hope to
people that have little left. We've all heard the claims
before: lose weight while you sleep, cure cancer overnight,
stop pain without surgery.
You've also heard about other "miracles" I'm sure: double
your money in the stock market, become a real estate
millionaire, clean your bathroom with no scrubbing, and on
and on. Someone once said, "If it sounds too good to be
true, it probably is." Good advice.
This first element is the BAIT. It's used to create interest
and the more outlandish the claim, the more likely you're
going to stop and watch. And why is it that you've never
heard about this miracle before? Well, see item 2.
Element Number 2. THERE'S A CONSPIRACY!
The guy said that the reason no one had ever heard of any
of these "cures" before was because the __________ (insert
your favorite opposition group here) was trying to cover it
up and keep it off the market.
In his case, the FDA was against it. The drug companies
were against it. The medical community was against it.
You name it, he claimed they were against his information.
I thought, "hey, this sounds exactly like the claims that
there's a car that runs on water but GM and the oil
companies don't want the public to know."
So when you come across any kind of quack making any
kind of outrageous claim and you ask why hasn't this been
make public before, the answer you always get is that
there's a conspiracy against them.
The second element builds INTRIGUE and continues to
draw you in. They make you feel like you're part of some
deep, dark secret.
Element Number 3. A PROPHET CRYING IN THE
WILDERNESS.
These guys always portray themselves as a "prophet in the
wilderness" just trying to get the word of this miracle out to
the masses. They talk about all the problems they've had
getting anyone to listen (there's a conspiracy, you know).
They say that they do what they do because it's their
mission, their passion, it's the right thing to do. No, they're
not doing it for the money -- however they do accept MC
and VISA.
The third element builds EMPATHY or even sympathy for
the guy and his product. You think, "Poor guy. All he
wants to do is help people."
Element Number 4. TIME IS RUNNING OUT.
The clincher is that they're only offering this miracle for a
limited time so you have to act fast. Time is running out
and the "miracle" will only be offered for the next 3 minutes
(or 30 callers or whatever).
Here's where they play on your fear of missing out. You
begin to ask yourself, "What if it IS true? I don't want to
miss out." and you reach for the phone and your credit
card.
The forth element is designed to get you to take ACTION.
It's like putting a string in front of a cat and then jerking it
away. The cat chases it on instinct. Same principle.
They're going to dangle this miracle in front of you and
then start to take it away hoping you'll jump up and call the
operators who are standing by.
Element Number 5. YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE.
Of course, the product or book comes with a full 30-day
money back guarantee so you have "nothing to lose."
Excuse me, nothing to lose??? What about losing your
health by following some quack cure? What about making
your health situation worse by withholding or foregoing
medical treatment? I'd say you've got a LOT to lose and
you need to consider this very carefully.
The fifth element builds CONFIDENCE that you can always
get your money back so it's no big deal to go ahead and
order it. Well, I've already mentioned that you have a lot to
lose -- and getting your money back may not be all that
easy either.
CONCLUSION
So there you have it. The next time you watch or listen to
ANY kind of commercial that offers a "miracle cure" for only
$19.95, see if the sales pitch doesn't follow this same
formula. I'll bet it does.
Remember, there is no free lunch and there is no "miracle
cure." Getting and staying healthy takes work. No bottle of
snake oil is going to erase a lifetime of poor eating habits
and a lack of exercise.
You CAN improve your health but you've got to take a
balanced approach and consistently work at it. So turn off
the infomercials and I'll see you at the gym!