Don't let 
the kids see this
   
      "if James used the effort
toward his studies that he uses
   to be humorous, he'd be an A
student."
                        --from Jay Leno's
                fifth-grade report card,
           quoted in Time magazine.

 

 

From:
South of Jewfish Creek

Dear Friend & Subscriber,

Today, we're going to discuss the "Halbert Index."

The Halbert Index is a totally unique way of classifying people. To be at the top of the Index you must have the following:

  (1)      You must have a life, and

  (2)      You must have a sense of humor, and

  (3)      You must have intelligence and be an independent thinker, and

  (4)      You must be a generous and giving person but... at the same time...

  (5)      You must refuse to take shit from anyone who doesn't have a gun to your head, and

  (6)      You must be willing to take chances and cheerfully accept losses, and

  (7)       You must have the capacity and courage for true intimacy with your loved ones, friends... and sometimes... even your associates and strangers, and

  (8)      You must be wealthy always in your mind... and therefore... very often... in your pocket, and

  (9)      You must be honest and have integrity not defined by laws but rather, by the inner-core of your being, and finally

(10)      You must have a relationship with a higher power (nicknamed "God") that does not necessarily include and/or often transcends any association with an organized religion.

What have I described here? Simply this:

A Player!

Listen, I have found my newsletters, my speeches and my personality seem to be like a giant meat cleaver cutting through the sea of humanity... separating those who have any type of contact with me into two very distinct groups. One group is made up of zestful, hard-working, risk-taking, fun-loving Players. The other group consists of losers unable to laugh at themselves and who are scared witless at the idea of taking risks.

Losers (those poor souls at the bottom rungs of the Halbert Index) have a number of common characteristics:

  (1)      They are generally spectators instead of players, and

  (2)      They are usually critics who revel in grading people with whom they can't compete, and

  (3)      Sometimes, they have financial wealth (most often they don't) but they are always poor in their minds, and

  (4)      They get their pseudo self-esteem from the grades given to them by others and have no innate "sense of being" nor a core of natural integrity, and

  (5)      They think they have a sense of humor but they don't, since they can only laugh at jokes made at the expense of others and they always fail to see the ludicrousness of much of their own endeavors, and

  (6)      They often have intelligence in a technical way but almost no ability whatsoever for true independent and innovative thought, and

  (7)      They lack courage and will study and "rehearse" endlessly but, will avoid at all costs ever letting the curtain come up... unless... someone else has agreed to star in the play, and

  (8)      They don't understand true morality. Therefore, they are much more concerned with what's legal rather than with what's right, and

  (9)      They will be as obnoxious and abusive as possible to those under them but, will kiss ass like crazy to curry favor with their superiors, and finally

(10)      Many of them will have college degrees but will never recognize these degrees as the silly jokes they are... and... they are unable to grasp the vital fact all true education is self education.

Basically, what we have here is a group of losers who are permeated with a small-minded, mean-spiritedness that vacuums out the vitality and zest of those around them. You may be interested in knowing there is a scientific way of describing these people...

They Suck!

Well, so what? What does all this have to do with you, with marketing, and with making money?

A lot. You see, as a general rule, it is always easier to do business with and market stuff to people very high on the Halbert Index (Players) and this is especially true in an economic slump. Why? Simply because, no matter how bad the economy gets... these people will never succumb to a "depression mindset." A depression mindset is a sales killer. People who have it (more than 90% of our population) are running scared and have totally lost the belief (if they ever had it) they have the ability to fashion their own futures. They believe their fate is up to the economy... or... whatever politician gets elected... or... whether or not they can get a "good enough grade" from some employer or educational institution. Almost everyone high on the Halbert Index is a reader and virtually none of them are heavy TV viewers. You see, almost all real wisdom comes from printed material and the streets; practically never does even a smidgen of it come from TV broadcasts.

Want to know where else it doesn't come from? Schools! Basically, our school system teaches people to obey... not... to think. There are seven principal lessons taught by the school systems in the United States. They are confusion, class position, indifference, emotional dependency, intellectual dependency, provisional self-esteem, and that "no one can hide." This is a national tragedy. You see, genius is an exceedingly common human quality, probably natural to most of us... and...

Our School System Works To Inhibit
This Natural Genius Rather Than Release It!

School is jail for children. The school system doesn't need to be revamped, altered or tinkered with... it needs to be destroyed. Consider these facts: (A) Our nation ranks at the bottom of 19 industrial nations in reading, writing and arithmetic. (B) The world's narcotic economy is based on our consumption of this commodity. (C) Our teenage suicide rate is the highest in the world. The truth is, our schools don't really teach anything... except... how to live your life as a loser.

Doesn't that sound just like the rhetoric you'd expect from a maverick like me? Well, it's not from me. Everything you've just read about the school system in America comes from a new book titled, Dumbing Us Down written by John Taylor Gatto. Mr. Gatto is not only one of the most respected teachers in the world but, he has won numerous awards including the 1991 award of the New York State...

Teacher Of The Year!

If you've got kids, you'd better read this book. It'll open your eyes, make you want to puke and, for sure, if you're anywhere near the top of the Halbert Index, it'll cause you to immedi-ately consider pulling your kids out of school. Here is what kind of children, according to John Taylor Gatto, our school system is producing: (1) Children who are indifferent to the adult world. (2) Children who have almost no curiosity. (3) Children who are cruel to each other and lack compassion for the misfortunes of others. (4) Children who have a poor sense of the future. (5) Children who have no sense of, or interest in, the lessons of the past. (Basically, the exact moment these kids are in is the boundary of their conscienceness.) (6) Children who cannot deal with intimacy or candor.

Mr. Gatto has much more to say that I can summarize here but, there is one sentence in this book that virtually leapt off the page at me. He said,

"The Richer The Kid, The Less
Television He Or She Watches!"

Whatever. Whatever. Whatever. Where am I going with all this? Ok, listen: There are two basic types of businesses that do well in an economic slump. The first type of company would be a well-run giant conglomerate with monstrous purchasing power enabling it to buy and sell staples (and other commodities Americans feel they can't do without) at the lowest possible prices. The best example of this type of business would be Wal-Mart which, last year, during the most disastrous holiday retail season in 30-years, posted an enormous gain in gross sales and profits. You know, when a new Wal-Mart comes to town, the other retailers go into a panic. And rightly so. Because... no local retailer can hope to even come close to Wal-Mart's prices. Not only that, Wal-Mart is mostly employee-owned and thus offers superior, courteous and concerned service. Plus, they are hyped by none other than Paul Harvey who can arguably be considered the most-trusted product pitchman in America.

Is it any wonder Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the world?

All this has created a curious and profitable niche for one sharp guy who, when Wal-Mart announces it's coming to town, goes around and counsels the frightened local retailers. Basically, what he tells them is... don't even think about competing with Wal-Mart on a head-to-head basis founded on price. Instead, he tells them, they must start offering unique customized products along with unique customized services. I go along with this advice. However, for you, dear reader, I want to illuminate another idea that can make the above advice perhaps 1,000% even more profitable!

What I want to impress upon you is... if possible... you should endeavor to confine your selling efforts to...

Players With Money!

Why? First of all, it is easier to sell something to someone with money. It's an obvious fact that person has the money to buy what you're selling. If you've got a $500,000 house for sale, it doesn't matter how appealing the house is if the family you're pitching it to has a pitifully low total income.

But there's another fact you mustn't overlook. People with money usually means they also have an important character trait most of the "sheep" out there don't possess. Namely...

They Have The Ability
To Make A Decision!

And... without talking it over with their spouse, their lawyer, their CPA, or their mommy. Usually, people with money got their loot because their lives are filled with independent thought and movement. These people with a high Halbert Index also possess another rare commodity. Namely... the ability to recognize true value. In other words, yes, it's true these people are easier to sell than Joe Average but... only if you offer true value!

Reflect, for a moment, on what I sell. This would include a high-priced, rather arrogant newsletter, expensive seminars, expensive videos, audios, printed information packages, client services, etc. Who won't buy my material? Basically, stupid, lazy people who relate its value to how much it weighs and how much "bulk" they receive. Who does buy my material? The answer is easy...

Players With Money!

Want some proof? Recently I did a per capita analysis of the readers of my newsletter by State. The ten States with the highest per capita readership of this newsletter are: (1) Vermont, (2) Texas, (3) Nevada, (4) Colorado, (5) Alaska, (6) Arizona, (7) Utah, (8) Washington,         (9) California, and (10) Hawaii.

The ten States with the lowest per capita readership of this newsletter are: (1) West Virginia (by far the worst of all. Could this have anything to do with the fact I was born there?),         (2) Kentucky, (3) Nebraska, (4) Mississippi, (5) South Dakota, (6) Tennessee, (7) South Carolina, (8) Iowa, (9) North Dakota, and (10) Louisiana.

These two groups of States are separated by a dramatic difference in per capita income. Want to know the difference in the average four-member family income from the highest State (Vermont) to the lowest (West Virginia)? It's a staggering $14,800. And get this: The per capita readership of my newsletter in Vermont as opposed to the readership in West Virginia is...

900% Higher!

Pay attention here. This does have meaning for you. Remember what Willy Sutton said when asked why he robbed banks? "Because that's where the money is!" So, to get to the bottom-line, here's what I'm suggesting: If you haven't done so already...

Start Thinking About Developing
High-Priced, High-Profit Products
And Services With Enormous Value!

And secondly...

Start Thinking About Selling
Your High-Priced, High-Profit Products
And Services With Enormous Value
To Players With Money!

Pretty simple concepts, aren't they? But, simple or not, this kind of thinking can separate you from the poverty of the brain-dead masses and catapult you into the ranks of those lucky folks who enjoy total financial freedom. However, to help you implement these concepts, I feel I need to give you some tips on (A) What to sell to these people, and (B) How to locate them.

First, what are "PWM's" (Players With Money) most likely to buy? Well, for openers, they are extremely willing to shell out money for what they did not get in school. Namely... an education. PWM's learn very early almost nothing taught in school has any commercial value whatsoever. For one thing, our school system teaches absolutely nothing about how to be an entrepreneur. And, of course, almost all PWM's are entrepreneurs. They have to be. After all, being an entrepreneur is almost the only way to make truly serious money either here or in any other country in the world. So, what kind of education does an entrepreneur need? He needs an education on "how to sell"... because... none of his high school or college classes even touched on this subject. So, PWM's make up the largest segment of the market for books, seminars, video tapes, audio tapes, lectures and anything else that can help them become more skilled in the art of selling. They also make up the largest share of the market for information on other money-related matters... such as management, how to invest their profits, international currency fluctuations, stock and commodity speculations, reducing their tax burden and so on.

What else besides education are PWM's eager to purchase? They are also eager to purchase... INSPIRATION! I don't mean phony/baloney types of inspiration like the horseshit sold by televangelists. Nor do I mean stupid tapes with hidden "subliminal" messages (they've been proven not to work) that supposedly bombard your mind with positive "you can do it" rah-rah types of messages. No, the type of inspiration I'm talking about is the kind you get from listening to the experiences of other PWM's who have made it big by overcoming the same types of obstacles all of us have to face with deadening regularity. True inspiration, effective inspiration is more than just a hyper-excitable speaker who is able to froth a room full of people into a frenzy with empty "pump up" catchy phrases.

For example, I think guys like Zig Ziglar do some good but mostly, they leave people all dressed up with no place to go. They get you all enthused... but... they don't give you any specific blueprint that tells you how to profitably harness that enthusiasm. If you want to get some real inspiration, the best source is listening to a talk by a person who started out with nothing except the handicap of 12 or 16 years of schooling... and then... hearing him explain step-by-step in minute detail how he overcame this deadening handicap and went on to become a PWM in the field of his choice.

By the way, speakers at multi-level rallies give the illusion of doing this but, after they've got you all enthused, they give you a specific plan that makes them (not you) money... and... sends you (not them) off into activities which are often illegal and always stupid. I've said it before and I'll say it again. MULTI-LEVEL MARKETING SUCKS! Not just some of it, all of it. By the way, I heard in a speech by Dan Kennedy the average annual income of an Amway distributor is a whopping $32.00!

Enough of that. Simply said the kind of real inspiration PWM's are willing to purchase is provided by articulate experts who have become successes in their chosen endeavors and are willing to share their knowledge.

OK, what else will these successful, moneyed people purchase? Value. Just because these people have money doesn't mean they are promiscuous with it. They will spend it... but... not frivolously. Take automobiles for instance. You won't find most Players driving Fords, Chevy's, VW's, etc. On the other hand, I don't think many of them drive cars like Ferraries, Maseraties and Jaguars either. Those cars represent very poor value. They depreciate faster than a politician can make excuses, they are extremely uncomfortable, they have frequent and enormously expensive breakdowns and there is no place on any American highway where it is legal to drive them at the speeds they were intended to be driven. In other words, instead of value, what they actually are is high-priced toys usually bought by...

The Children Of
Players With Money!

My guess as to what most of the real Players buy are cars like Cadillacs (just voted care of the year), Buick Roadmasters, Mercedes and Lexus sedans. These are all automobiles that are safe, comfortable, luxurious and have a very high resale value. In other words, they represent an intelligent choice, not a stupid gesture.

What I'm trying to illustrate here is PWM's will spend... and spend big... but... they won't spend stupidly. Another thing to remember is, these people care about substance, not window dressing. When I sell my information, I don't "dress it up" much. My videos, for example, are raw. I don't concern myself with "production values," adding chintzy canned music to the sound track or clever graphics and cute special effects. What I do concern myself with is providing substance and, I hardly ever get a complaint about my materials.

What else will intelligent, hard-working people with money buy? Another big category is... services that save time! All truly wise people realize time is the most precious commodity they possess. And, it is this commodity they are least likely to squander. Do you realize many people who pay to have me write copy for them can do it almost as well as I can? So why hire me? Because it frees up their time to get on with the crucial job of running their business.

As a general rule, nobody with wisdom ever does anything business-related he can hire someone else who is honest and competent to do for him. Dumb people (losers) gloat about all the money they save by doing things themselves instead of paying someone else to do that same job. Smart people (winners) are always ready to cheerfully cough up fungolas to buy time. For example, I went to the last Rolling Stones concert in Miami. I sat center stage in the second row. My tickets (obtained from a ticket broker) cost me ten times as much as most of the people around me paid because... they were willing to stand in line up to 14 hours to get the seats they wanted. Poor me. I guess I blew around $8.00 per hour. What a sucker I am!

Players value time. If you want to market to them, consider a business providing meals (good meals) delivered to them. Consider a business that sends masseurs to their corporate offices to give executives and employees a tension-reducing shoulder rub. Consider a car wash business that does the job where the Player has his car parked when he is working. Organize an executive typing service where Players can dictate their correspondence into a phone and then have the letters delivered to them for their signature.

The possibilities are endless.

But, where do you find real Players? How do you get to them?

Obviously, Players are different than Non-Players. They drive different cars, live in different neighborhoods, eat in different restaurants, attend different functions, etc. One of the biggest differences is...

They Read!

Sure some Non-Players read also but, what they read is very different. Mostly Non-Players read self-help books written by dummies with Ph.D.'s (Piled Higher and Deeper) after their names, or publications that offer up a lot of gossip and "quick fixes" that are laughable to anyone with half a brain. Want to know what kind of publication is read by a higher percentage of Players than any other type? It's... newsletters! No, it's not just this one either. Many real Players read several newsletters every month. Why? Because newsletters, by their very nature, offer stripped-down, no-bullshit-info that can be grasped, digested and... implemented very quickly. Also, make a note of this: Real Players, who are by definition people with at least a modicum of wisdom, would rather pay $600 per year for 100 pages of real info than $9.95 for a book containing 300 pages of misinformation and fluff.

So, one way to find Players is on the subscription lists of newsletters. Also, Players often read financial publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Barron's, Investor's Business Daily, the International Herald Tribune and the Financial Times. Plus, they read books on selling and how to achieve excellence. Further, Players read biographies of successful men and women who have gamely overcome obstacles to succeed big in their chosen occupations.

Anyway, you can reach Players by advertising in such publications or renting mailing lists of people who buy them. You can also work with a good mailing list broker and have him ferret out for you lists primarily made up of high-income people. These might include Cadillac, Rolls Royce, Buick, Mercedes, Lexus and other expensive car owners. It might include lists of people who live in expensive homes or own power boats over 36 feet long or private, multi-engine aircraft. But, you know who the people are who are most likely to be at the very top of the Halbert Index? It's very simple...

They Are Business Owners!

Business owners represent about 6% of our population (there are about 15 million of them) and it is within this 6% where most of the PWM's reside. The others are mostly retired business owners. And... blessing of all blessings... all you need to locate them is... a phone book.

By the way, did you know that businesses that sell to other businesses are about 500% more likely to succeed than businesses that sell to consumers?

Look, I realize all of you can't simply drop everything you're doing and close down your bakery or flower shop and open up a "we deliver" car wash service. On the other hand, this issue should surely have given you much food for thought. Food that hopefully will have a positive influence on your future decisions.

That's it for now. Chow. I know, I know. It's supposed to be spelled "Ciao." Whatever.

  Sincerely,
 
   Gary C. Halbert

 

P.S.

Many people keep asking when I'm going to have another seminar. Not for a long time. Probably, at least, not for another year. However, in May I will be teaching from the 11th to the 14th at another seminar (it's dirt-cheap compared to what I charge for mine!) being given by one of the sharpest marketing men I've ever met. If you decide to attend because you read about it here (see info enclosed) be sure to tell them so because... that will entitle you to a mystery gift (called "The Halbert Bonus") which the other attendees will not receive.

Peace.

 

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