Pre-eminence. The mindset, positioning and marketing concept of being the absolute only logical and emotional solution to your customer’s pain points.
It’s Jay Abraham’s pinnacle marketing mindset, that floats you past “competition”. You educate your market on what you can do for them, and inform them how you’re the only path to that fulfillment.
This has been the focus of The Abraham Group and countless other marketing firms over the years, and it’s what we’ll be covering today.
In fact, Eben Pagan often states that if you can enter inside the mind of your consumer and explain their problem even better than they can, they automatically credit you with the solution.
What we’re covering today is the topic of Pre-eminence, introduced by the marketing legend, Jay Abraham.
They call him the 9 billion dollar man, since his work with “The Abraham Group” has increased an estimated $9 billion dollars in income for his major clients, which include AT & T, Baskin Robbins, IBM, HBO, Sears, Kawasaki, and many more massive names. A multi-millionaire himself, he’s no stranger to marketing and marketing consulting; he’s noted as the highest paid marketing consultant there is. He’s also created his own strategy that he calls “Pre-Eminence”.
This article is where we mix Pre-eminence, with Bulletproof Mindset concepts and personal approach, since Motive In Motion is about uncovering the mindset and inner game aspects of entrepreneurship. The pre-eminence concepts can be beautifully intertwined with the mindset and state of carrying out the most effective work strategy.
Strategy & Mindset of Positioning Yourself With Pre-Eminence (Direct Response Marketing)
Jay’s strategy of being the number one, only option is the opposite of niching down. In fact, he doesn’t even suggest that you niche down ever. Jay often points out, that you should be bringing the highest solution to your clients, and your company uses all of its massive energy to focus on the client and bring them results.
Think for a second about Dr. Phil, or Dr. Oz, or another famously publicized proprietor of services. Are these people the best and most qualified psychologists or nutritionists? Do they have the most credentials, are they the highest fit for the job, and do they really bring the best results to people out of all the others in the entire world?
Most likely not.
So what really separates them from the rest of the crowd, when people go tune in?
Their positioning. Their strategy. Thus, their fame and wealth, and influence.
– Jay Abraham
These people like Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil, are great at what they do, but most likely not the best. They have taught millions of people their wisdom, but there are plenty behind the scenes who are actually much better at the actual craft than they are. These icons are very good at marketing, very good at persuasion and influence, and they’ve learned how to position themselves as the only ones to listen to, through pre-eminence.
Another facet is that they are highly visible. They’re right in front of you, on TV, in the ads, on the radio, on your computer, you cannot miss them and what they do. If you consciously tune out what they’re doing, you still know that they exist and they’re working in the background. You automatically associate them with their craft, and don’t often think of others who are doing the same, in the same market.
Looking at the inside mind behind pre-eminence, this all breaks down to how you carry yourself, how you perceive yourself, how you visualize your potential and what you’re doing on a daily basis that gets you closer to what you want.
If you treat yourself like a king, others will follow suit.
If you disrespect and self-deprecate, people will walk all over you.
You set the standard.
Of course this applies to business and positioning. Position yourself as the best option, with the most value, and understand the client’s needs the best, and you’ll get his business, time and time again.
– Jay Abraham
You tell them what is required, then sell them exactly that, excluding the possibility that others can do that too.
This even goes back further than Jay Abraham, back to Claude Hopkins in Scientific Advertising. Here’s an excerpt:
– Claude Hopkins
Positioning always applies in life, business, and relationships. It’s up to you to choose your place. Don’t let others assign this for you.
Again, you’re the one who sets the stage. You’re the one who tells (or shows) the world what you’re worth, what you’ll take, and what you will not settle for.
Positioning is power.
When using the marketing mindset of pre-eminence, you’re consciously leveraging that power, using every advantage you have, and making sure you’re the one that gets seen and gets the clients.
How to Clearly Show That You’re the Best Logical & Emotional Solution For Your Prospect
You must understand your market, better than anyone. Speak to them, analyze them, survey them, find out what they want. Leverage proper direct response marketing principles.
Study and use their own vocabulary, so you can find them at their level and communicate with them directly. Understand what they mean by the things they say, what slang they use, what industry terms everyone in the market knows, and how you can be the ultimate authority on it as well.
Everybody wants similar things, and needs absolute non-negotiable things. This is easy. What is harder, is uncovering the next level desires that people don’t speak of, or often hide in their own framing.
As Dan Kennedy would say, you must find the benefit within the benefit. Understand why they want what they want, and what they’ll be able to do with what you’re selling them, what type of chain reaction will happen when they buy, and harp on what they really care about.
It’s completely fine if this is too advanced; there are different levels to this.
For now, what’s important to know is that you must position yourself as the one true option in the market, in life, and in your relationships.
Sometimes niching down further can be helpful, other times it’s better to be the consultant and help the person with all their needs, because they likely originate from just a few areas that are out of balance. You’d be surprised how easy it is to set people back on the right course, with a little common sense. This can be massively helpful.
Remember to Establish Trust, to Advise, and to Consult With Your Clients & Customers
The ultimate strategy Jay harps on, is becoming a consultative seller. Being a pre-eminent option that is the most valuable, trustworthy source of information and advancement in that person’s life.
– Jay Abraham
This applies whether you’re a health coach, life coach, marketing consultant, investor, or any profession that you have a trusted position to lead and provide actionable advice that people need.
Oftentimes it’s hard to tell what you need yourself, so you purchase consulting. Then when your consultant gives you something to do, you might not see the relevance, or you might not establish rapport with them.
This is not your job.
If you are the consultant, this is absolutely your job, however.
“Consultative selling” is the way to diagnose like a doctor what the client needs, and how you can specifically deliver it to them. You don’t focus on what you have to say first, you don’t rattle off all of your credentials, you turn your focus to the client and what their pains and thresholds are that they want to eradicate.
This is the focus of The Abraham Group, GKIC (Dan Kennedy) and many other big names in the copywriting and marketing consulting industry.
A Final Note On Pre-Eminence In Consultative Selling, Positioning & Pull Marketing
Have you ever gotten cold-called by a surgeon?
Has an industry CEO of a Fortune 500 company ever given you a ring, to see what services you’d like to be interested in?
(Hopefully) you answered no to these ridiculous scenarios. It’s the exact same with positioning. You must figure out ways to market by effectively pulling, not pushing. Encourage people to take actions that bring them to you, effortlessly (read:automated) that make them feel it was their choice to contact you, which of course it was.
To instantly be perceived in a higher state, make it a little hard to reach you. Understand the principles of scarcity, and that they really work on our human psychology. Find 5 more weapons of influence here on Dan Western’s site, Wealthy Gorilla.
Some of Dan Kennedy’s clients have implemented processes where the client needs to jump through some hoops to apply to work with them, because they want to present higher value and status, which works. This is also helpful because it weeds out all the people who will never take any difficult action, and will just waste your time should they get it anyways.
As always, I’ve taught you to always look out for the win-wins in business and life.
Figure out how to leverage the marketing mindset of pre-eminence, learn more from Jay Abraham and his books here and continue to develop your positioning in your marketplace.
This is the way to instantly boost your perceived value, influence, wealth, and success in and outside of your market.
Until the next knowledge air-drop…
Evan
Motive In Motion
P.S. – This presentation of the Bulletproof Mindset concept is the third in the series.
To read Bulletproof Mindset Pt. 1, click here.
To read Bulletproof Mindset Pt. 2, click here.
To read Bulletproof Mindset Pt. 4, click here.
