Jay Abraham's Case Study # 150
I'm a big fan of Jay Abraham when I was still in college. I could not afford his programs that cost over $200 at that time. But I listened to his "Your Secret Wealth" tapes, read his book and everything he has for free on the internet.
I graduated last year and started my business instead of finding a job. My girlfriend and I rented a little cart in a mall. We sell this fashion Italian Charm Bracelet where people start out with a bracelet with one or more charms and they would come back to buy more charms to add on to their bracelet anytime they want.
We started out with about $10,000 which was the left-over from school subsidized loan. Now we're making over $150,000 and preparing for a killing during Christmas. I know my success came from the knowledge and experience I learned from Jay Abraham. As an immigrant from Vietnam at the age of 19, what did I know about doing business in America? It was hard for me to even understand the words Jay Abraham was shouting in the car when I was driving, or in the bathroom when I was taking shower. But I kept listening over and over again, trying to piece his words together and gradually I got it.
After that I found out he published his first book which costs $25 I went to the bookstore, got it and read it many times. Anyway, after we set up the cart in the mall, I began to apply the Strategy of Preeminence that Jay Abraham taught. I really spent time to talk to people to make friend with them. I don't care whether they buy or not. As long as they come to my booth, they deserve to be treated nice. We explain to new customers (which are clients in my hearts) what we're selling so they can spread the word out for us.
For those who already have the bracelet, we offered a shining-up service by just saying: "Oh, let me shine up your bracelet while you're here." I just try to make them remember us next time they want a charm or buy a bracelet for someone.
The amazing thing I experienced is that over 90% of them end up buying something, right there after I shine their bracelets up. That simple gesture (just shine up the bracelet with a jewelry cloth) makes sales almost every time.
In the beginning, I was really hesitating about offering a guarantee on the charms because I was afraid that people would wear them out and then exchange them. But people were hesitate to start a bracelet anyway when we told them it was guaranteed for only 14 days. By listening to Mr. Abraham's tapes in the car everywhere I go, it reminded me to keep testing.
So I went ahead and tested by extending the guarantee to infinite. I told any clients that if something happens to the charms, they just bring the charms back and we'll replace another one for them. Our sales shoots up 150% in 2 months and stay that way until now. The return rate is very small, less than 1%. But when people come back to exchange, they end up buying 2 or more charms. Maybe we're so nice and they feel guilty, or because of the guarantee, I'm not sure.
The sales we make when they come back covers the replacement and we also make some more profit. Nothing to lose, all to gain. Maybe without the defective charm and without the guarantee, they don't even think about charms and going back to us. That's one of the beautiful things about guarantee I discovered. I did not understand what magic a strong guarantee could deliver until I learned from Mr. Abraham about guarantee and testing. The magic word is TEST. If you're afraid, test it.
Having a strong guarantee put my business above my competitors like crazy. When we first started our business, nobody in the area was selling our product. When they saw we were doing good business, they started carrying the charms in their stores, in and around the mall. We have at least 4 competitors in the mall and 6 competitors in the area. Yet our sales keeps going up. The reason is that we guarantee the charms while others do not.
Customers came back to us and said other stores won't exchange it without the receipt. They said something like: " Well, it looks like you damaged the charm or worn it out. We can't replace it." We make it clear to our clients that if something happens to the charms, just bring them back, no receipt needed when we know you.
This policy makes them want to come back to us more frequently because they want us to know them. Some of the customers even said it out loud to people at the store: "Don't even go anywhere. Just come to them because they are easiest on exchange." Man, am I glad to hear that!
Another great experience I learned from Mr. Abraham is the idea of building business on multiple pillars. I took it to heart and took actions on it that gave our business very strong foundation and position in the market. Right at the beginning of the business, I put a sign at the store telling people that we do home party.
We give the host 10% commission and 15% discount on whatever they buy. The purpose is not only to sell more, but also to get to know customers, because of the philosophy that it's easier for people to deal with those they already know. At the party we get to meet people, become friended with them, give them a stamp card where they buy 10 and get one free.
One party leads to another because other people also want to book parties at the current party. We told the current host that when someone book a party at their party, the current host will get a free charm. I even told them to ask their friends: "Who else want another fun party?" based on one of the headline suggestions that I read free on Mr. Abraham's website.
From one party per night, we have to hire more people so that we can book two parties a night. And the number of people who come back to the store after the party is tremendous!
I also went out to fairs and festivals in the area to promote our store. Sometimes I don't care if we'll make money at the fair or not. I just want to get to know people. I also want to establish my relationship with the fair management ( I did not grow up in America.) so that later I can get in easier whether I sell charms or other merchandise in the future. I've got a lot of good relationships going on for me right now that I can mine in the future.
Through talking to my clients, I also found out some ladies are organizers of fun bus trips, school or community events like Swimming Championships, Little Baseball League, Soccer, etc. I offer donation of charm bracelets and raising fund for them at these events. I did fantastic and made more friends. The lady running the fun bus trip refers us many clients who gave us thousands of dollars in sales.
I clearly understand what Mr. Abraham meant by Back-end business, even though I have not really analyzed mine. Since people come back to buy more charms for their bracelet, we offer new clients to buy 2 charms and get a bracelet free (a charm is 3 times more expensive than a bracelet.) And each charm after that they get stamps on the back of our business card so that when they buy 10, they get one free. None of our competitors does this.
We started a customer list by making a "Wishing and Birthday List" file. Since people buy charms as gifts for others, they have to remember what their loved ones have already had on their bracelet so that they don't have to buy duplicate charms.
We created a "Wishing and Birthday List" so that clients can list what charms they want next. When their loved ones come, they look at the list and buy. By doing this, we can get customers' name, phone numbers, and addresses for future used ( Direct mails, host-beneficiary, etc). Also by doing this, we "lock" our clients with us because they want to come back to their wish list, and their loved ones have to come to us to know what the client wants.
We did well enough that a company offered us sole distributorship in North Carolina, Arizona, and Louisiana at a lower wholesale price than we previously paid for. That means we can retail and wholesale that brand in these 3 states. Anyone who wants to sell this brand has to go through us. I'm very excited and anxious about this because I don't know how to expand to other states without spreading too thin the resources we have.
Reading and listening to Mr. Abraham opens my mind up to endless possibilities to make our business really strong and secure. There are so many other ways I can do to increase my business and income that Mr. Abraham's book and tapes inspire me to do. Now I have made enough money to arrange a wedding for my girlfriend and I, buy a house, and afford a $5,000 PEQ Home Study Program from Jay Abraham.
In the future I will devote my time, effort, and money necessary to master what Jay Abraham teaches. I will become a lifetime student of Mr. Abraham.
I truly believe that by mastering Mr. Abraham's materials, I can create massive values for people and earn a handsome profit for my family and myself.
Thank you, Mr. Abraham.
Vu Dinh
A Thousand Charms
Santa Rosa, CA