We don’t want you to think that guerrilla marketing is easy, because it isn’t easy. But we do want you to know that once you have the personality, the attributes, and the attitudes of a guerrilla, it’s hard to fail. It’s tough to be anything but successful with the mindset of a guerrilla. And it’s kind of amazing that you can get that mindset simply by reading about it in a book. Yet, that’s precisely why we’ve written this book—to give you that mindset, then set you on your way.
To do that, you’ve got to know what marketing really is—because it’s certainly not what most people think it is. You also must know exactly what guerrilla marketing is. And since we’re devoted to making you a master of guerrilla marketing, we’ll make sure that you know just what you’re mastering. If you have any questions, you won’t have once you’ve completed this book. Trust us on that one.
Once you have the personality, the attributes, and the attitudes of a guerrilla, it’s hard to fail.
You’re about to launch and succeed with a guerrilla marketing attack. It’s a ten-step process, and we’ll guide you through it every step of the way. We’ll tell you the research you must do. That part is crucial, easy, and actually enjoyable. We’ll show you how to create a benefits list so that you know clearly what makes you so good and can communicate that goodness to your target audience.
Do you know what a meme is? It’s an extremely simple way to communicate an entire idea instantly. Picture a hitchhiker standing there with his thumb out. You don’t need an instruction manual to show you what he wants you to do. What he’s doing is using a meme to get you to take a specific action. We’ll get into the nitty and the gritty of how you can create a meme to get people to see things your way.
A meme is an extremely simple way to communicate an entire idea instantly.
There are 200 marketing weapons that you can use to earn the profits you dream about. The majority of those weapons don’t cost a cent. Yet they’re all true weapons of mass profitability. What are the weapons? Which are best for you? Now that we’ve asked those questions, you can count on us answering them for you.
Of course, to breathe life into our own dreams for you, you’re going to have to operate with a plan. We’ll take you by the hand, and show you how to create a plan that will work for you. It’ll be only seven sentences long, but don’t let its brevity mislead you about its power and potency.
To achieve all the financial greatness that we have in store for you, the timing has got to be perfect. How can you make that happen? With a guerrilla marketing calendar—just like the one we’ll show you how to create for yourself.
Take comfort in the knowledge that you won’t be fighting the guerrilla marketing battles by yourself. Far from it. Naturally, you’ve got us as your partners. But we’ll also show you how to get a lot more allies through what we call your fusion marketing partners. There are more of them out there than you think. How to enlist them in your guerrilla army is paramount to your success. That’s why we’ll show you exactly how.
Once you’re armed with all those guerrilla marketing necessities, it’s time to launch your guerrilla marketing attack. Doing that will be one of the most rewarding parts of your life in business. We’ll show you how to make it extra rewarding. The hard stuff comes next. It’s maintaining your attack. But that won’t be very difficult for you because you’ll know exactly what to expect and how to sidestep the tough parts.
Keeping track of all your efforts is very important to us and even more important to you. How to do it? The upcoming pages reveal the answer. There will then come a time when everything is falling into place for you and you’re making larger bank deposits than you expected. That’s not the time for you to kick back and give yourself a high five. Instead, that’s your cue to ramp up all your actions and to improve every single aspect of your marketing. Take heart in the notion that we’re here at your side to help you do that. It will be our pleasure.
12 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GUERRILLA WANNA-BE’S AND TRUE GUERRILLA ENTREPRENEURS
1. Wanna-be’s obsess about ideas. Guerrilla Entrepreneurs obsess about implementation.
2. Wanna-be’s want more web traffic. Guerrilla Enrepreneurs focus on sales conversion.
3. Wanna-be’s focus on positive thinking. Guerrilla Entrepreneurs plan for multiple contingencies.
4. Wanna-be’s want to get on TV and get “famous.” Guerrilla Entrepreneurs build their list.
5. Wanna-be’s seek a perfect plan. Guerrilla Entrepreneurs execute—and adjust the plan later.
6. Wanna-be’s wait for their lucky break. Guerrilla Entrepreneurs engineer four, five, six plans and execute them in tandem, wagering that at least one plan will get traction.
7. Wanna-be’s fear looking stupid in front of their friends. Guerrilla Entrepreneurs willingly risk making fools of themselves, knowing that long-term success is a good trade for short-term loss of dignity.
8. Wanna-be’s shield their precious ideas from harsh reality, postponing the verdict of success or failure until “someday.” Guerrilla Entrepreneurs expose their ideas to cold reality as soon as reasonably possible.
9. Wanna-be’s put off practicing basketball until they’ve got Air Jordans. Guerrilla Entrepreneurs practice barefoot behind the garage.
10. Wanna-be’s believe what they’re told and believe their own assumptions. Guerrilla Entrepreneurs do original research and determine what paths have been already trod.
11. Wanna-be’s believe they can do anything. Guerrilla Entrepreneurs do what they’re gifted for and delegate the rest.
12. Wanna-be’s think about the world in terms of COULD and SHOULD. Guerrilla Entrepreneurs think in terms of IS and CAN BE.
Now you’re ready to enjoy the fruits of your labor and to combine all your newly gained wisdom into an unstoppable profit-earning machine. That will happen when you put all that wisdom together and become a guerrilla who inspires shock and awe.
When that does happen, as it surely will, your guerrilla marketing will be in high gear, your profits will be held in high regard, and you’ll be in high spirits. That’s because you got off to a great start. Our reward will come in the knowledge that we were there the entire time. And we knew it would happen.
It’s going to be better than you think, so let’s get going!
CHAPTER 2
THE PERSONALITY OF A GUERRILLA MARKETER
It’s going to be an uphill battle leading a guerrilla marketing attack unless you’ve got certain personality traits. We’re sure that you’ve already got some, if not most, of these traits already. But you need all of them.
While creating marketing programs for many of the largest, wealthiest, and most successful companies on earth, as well as some of the smallest, newest, and most poorly funded, we’ve studied the leaders of those bound for success—in the quest for personality characteristics that they have in common. We’ve found an even dozen. Those companies on the Fortune 500 and headed for the Fortune 500 have had marketing campaigns masterminded by honchos with these twelve traits.
We’ve looked for exceptions, but have found none. Does that mean that if you have these traits, you’ll succeed? It does not. But it does mean that unless you have them, the odds are seriously against you. And that’s no way to start any guerrilla marketing venture. By consciously trying to develop the personality characteristics that you don’t have now, you’ll be putting the odds in your favor, a highly desirable state for any self-respecting guerrilla marketer.
Your goal: to possess all 12 traits. Our goal: to show you how to do that. You probably won’t need a personality transplant, but you may need to sharpen some of the rough