There’s a gigantic ecosystem of marketing with this specific motive in mind, a murky, gross swamp of the Internet called “pickup artistry.” Perhaps you remember the exceptionally dumb show ““The Pickup Artist,”which aired on VH-1 in 2008. In it, a behatted man with a soul patch who called himself “Mystery” tried to tell dudes how to get a date. Mystery was marketing a bad product: the idea that telling women negative things about themselves (“negging”) is a good strategy toward building a relationship.
Trump University Playbook: The University with the “Hard Sell”
Positioning: Positioning serves to ensure event success, translated into sales. You are representing the strongest brand in the industry; capitalize on the value and solutions. You can command attention and influence customers. o We have the value. We have the solutions. o We are the leaders. We decide what the training will be like. Customers are responding to us. We have control. o Time and experience are on our side.
We Have The Value. We Have The Solutions: Attendees are looking for solutions to solve their problem. An attendee’s problem represents a golden opportunity – a need you have a solution for.
Remember That They Are At The Preview Because They Want Something: Attendees want to be a part of Trump University and go to the three-Day Training. They only have fear or doubt they can do it stopping them from getting what they want. Money is never a reason for not enrolling in Trump University; if they really believe in you and your product, they will find the money. You are not doing any favor by letting someone use lack of money as an excuse.
Always Assume They Want To Go To The Workshop – Because Everyone Does: Understand that if someone says: “I don’t want to go to the training,” they are really saying: “I’m not used to dropping $995 on training and because it is new to me, I’m scared.”
Experience Is On Our Side: Because we decide what happens in the training, an attendee must react to what we say. They don’t have a choice. For example, we can spend hours and hours planning a question that they must deal with and give an answer to within seconds. We also have the advantage of testing the question out on hundreds of people and adjusting it to increase our chances for a desirable response. The attendee does not have the luxury of “practicing” his or her answer. However, we are losing this advantage if we don’t take time to develop what we say and consciously practice what we say.
Master The Art Of Persuasion: The most persuasive words in the English language according to a study by the Psychology Department of Yale University are: You, New, Money, Easy, Discovery, Free, Results, Health, Save, Proven, Guarantee, and Love. They share three characteristics: they are simple, familiar and dramatic.
.. Page 99
.. You don’t sell products, benefits or solutions–you sell feelings
.. When we make any decision, including the ‘buy’ decision, we do so by an emotional process. It may not seem that way, and there may be much logical processing, but the point of decision is always emotional, and usually subconscious.
.. Page 104
.. Collect personalized information that you can utilize during closing time. (For example: are they a single parent of three children that may need money for food? Or are they a middleaged commuter that is tired of traveling for 2 hours to work each day?)
.. Always Assume That Attendees Need Our Programs To Succeed, Regardless Of Expertise:
.. Don’t act impressed! When attendees see that we (the experts) are impressed by their accomplishments, they may easily leave thinking that they don’t need our help. Instead, acknowledge that they possess the proper mindset to be an investor. Let them know that they have come to the right place and that we possess the tools necessary to help and enhance their success.
.. What is your net profit every month? (Your response: That’s ok, but how would you like to triple the number of properties as well as triple your net cash flow? You need to attach yourself to our hips, [with a big smile]!)
.. Page 112
.. OBJECTION: I HAVE TO TALK TO MY SPOUSE FIRST I’m married/in a relationship too, and I’m so lucky to have a wife (or husband, girlfriend, boyfriend, partner) that believes in me and stands behind my decision to better our lives. If you do have to talk to your wife first can I give you a suggestion that has helped hundreds of couples in your position? If you’re really serious about becoming a real estate investor I would recommend taking advantage of our risk free guarantee.
.. OBJECTION: I DON’T LIKE USING MY CREDIT CARDS AND GOING INTO DEBT –OR- Private & Confidential • Page 113 I JUST PAID MY CREDIT CARDS OFF I see, do you like living paycheck to paycheck? Do you like just getting by in life? Do you enjoy seeing everyone else but yourself in their dream houses and driving their dreams cars with huge checking accounts? Those people saw an opportunity, and didn’t make excuses, like what you’re doing now. Most wealthy people made their money in real estate and it usually started with a decision to get the knowledge and skills to be successful. You need to look at what this small investment will fix in your life. You can stop living paycheck to paycheck, build your retirement account and pay cash for your dream
.. OBJECTION: I LIKE THIS BUT I’LL DO IT LATER I’m glad you’ve made it down here today and didn’t procrastinate like you’re doing now. Have you added up how much money you have lost by procrastinating in your life? It sounds like it’s a very bad habit for you. If I had $10,000 in my hand and said I’ll give it to you for $2,000.00, would you have to think about it or make a smart financial decision? People procrastinate because of fear. Our three-day training is designed to help people like you who let fear hold them back.
.. If You’re Still Getting Excuses: •Answer the first excuse and then ask for the sale. If you hear them start their second excuse, say “STOP!! It’s my job to get you to the next level. You will never get ahead in life with excuses. Mr. Trump won’t listen to excuses and neither will we. Excuses will never make you more money; they will just continue to cost you more missed opportunities in life.
.. Page 132
.. Objection: What’s The Success Rate? Let me give you an example of why that’s a hard question to answer. If you went to Harvard or Berkley and asked them the success rate of their graduates, how do you think they would answer that? Their answer is the same as ours. We give every student the knowledge and tools to go out there and be successful. Does every graduate receive the same knowledge? Yes they do, yet every graduate doesn’t make the same amount of money. That’s because it’s based off of applying that specialized knowledge. Their number one problem is procrastination and excuses. So the success rate is based off of one variable – YOU! I believe you’re here today because you’re ready. Average people get to a defining moment in life and think about it until it is too late. You didn’t make all these decisions to be here this weekend to be average. So come on, let’s get you a Mentor and get you to a whole new level of thinking and investing. If you implement the knowledge you will have the business you desire. Let’s get you a Mentor and get you to a whole new level of thinking and investing.
Tales from the Trump University legal vault
The book told employees to collect financial information from those who attended and rank them by their liquid assets to see who could afford more coursework.
.. Some of Trump’s lawyers have tried to distance him from Trump University, claiming that he had little to do with its daily operations. But in depositions, both Trump and Trump University President Michael Sexton indicated the real estate magnate was hands-on with at least one part of the business: marketing.
.. “We want to dictate what they do,” the playbook says. “Therefore, if you move quickly and give students a sense of urgency to register, they will move quickly.”
Donald Trump and the Judge
One would think Mr. Trump, whose sister is a federal appellate judge, would know how self-destructive it is for any litigant anywhere to attack the judge hearing his or her case. But Mr. Trump is not any litigant; he is running to be president of the United States — a job that requires at least a glancing understanding of the American system of government, in particular a respect for the separation of powers. When Mr. Trump complains that he is “getting railroaded” by a “rigged” legal system, he is saying in effect that an entire branch of government is corrupt.
The special danger of comments like these — however off the cuff they may sound — is that they embolden Mr. Trump’s many followers to feel, and act, the same way.
.. So it is particularly important to note when Mr. Trump’s statements go beyond the merely provocative or absurd and instead represent a threat to America’s carefully balanced political system.