Underdog Marketing Challenge hits a controversy!

Shaun, Penelope, Terry, Nikita and I had such fun last week filming the videos - who could have thought that one of them was going to produce such a controversy!

What happened? On her last visit to Montana, US, Penelope purchased a t-shirt and she was wearing it for the video, blissfully unaware of the emotional issues it was about to evoke. What are the odds? Of all the t-shirts in her wardrobe...

...it goes to show how easily one can get things wrong! The t-shirt in question depicts the confederate flag:

What can I say... we've received blog comments and emails with people expressing varied reactions. To cut the story short, Penelope jumped into a brand-new attire and we re-made the video.


Now back to Shaun: there's a problem, a BIG one, and in retrospect I should have seen it coming...

... in my last posting I mentioned that Shaun had to borrow $4,500 to pay for his personal trainer course. Well, he has to pay it back - which is why he's now working for Harrison's knocking on doors and running a survey on water consumption.

This allows him to pay the debt off - bit it means he can only work PART TIME on building his business. As if it were not hard enough!

Ah, well, what can you do...

The challenge has just been raised by 10 notches - to succeed Shaun will have to be ultra-well-organized!

Transition from a high school to running a business is not a trivial task - so our first step was to help Shaun get organized and get into the business frame of mind. To this aim we're recommending some fantastic software tools - but because of Shaun's situation with money (or lack thereof), we're going for the valuable tools that are absolutely, positively, completely FREE with no strings attached.

I'll let the video do the talking:



[ Do not worry if you haven't noted the web addresses you see in the videos -- all the business-building tools with their download locations (and a lot more!) are available when you subscribe to Underdog Marketing Challenge priority updates on the left of this page. It's FREE and a fantastic way to grow your enterprise. ]

Have you heard of mind-mapping? It is a wonderful thing! I cannot think of a better tool to link, structure and organize your ideas. Learning to use mind-mapping software takes only minutes, and you never stop using it after that!



How do we go? What do you think of the tools we use and recommend?

But wait, there's more:



To make your life easier it is possible to find free tools of extraordinary quality. The problem is, for every good tools there are 100 that are absolute rubbish - and if you have to spend time downloading, installing and testing one hundred programs to find the jewel, than it is not really free, is it? You're paying with your time.

So, by directing Shaun to these nifty collection of valuable free tools and sharing this information with you, I am hoping that you'll use at least one of them - and find that it helps you too!

... and if you know of a great free or low-cost tool that would help Shaun and other people further, why not leave a comment about it?

Coming next... wait, I think I'll keep it as a surprise - but I can say this much: stay tuned, you're in for a treat!

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Would you like to use the free business-building tools from the videos in your enterprise? Get the list of download locations, plus 8 hot tips on how to conduct market research and how Shaun's used it for his own customer value survey when you subscribe to priority updates at the top of the page.

Underdog Marketing Challenge takes off - with some unexpected problems!

Dr Alex here, with an update on the Underdog Marketing Challenge: things are truly hotting up.

As it appears, I made a mistake: in my previous entry I said Shaun was 19, but he is really 18 - fresh from the high school! I'd prefer him having this extra year of life experience, but what can you do...

There is another, far more pressing problem.

Namely, Shaun is not without money as I mentioned previously, it is MUCH WORSE - he's had to borrow money to complete his Personal Trainer course and he's now $4,500 in debt!

Now that's tough...

I've been preparing the "shopping list" for Shaun with the software tools that he badly needs for his business - but there's no way he can afford them now. This puts heaps of pressure on his support team - Penelope, Terry and me - to come up with the equally good no-cost alternatives.

What to do, what to do... the pressure is on!

In the meantime, here's the video marking the start of the Underdog Marketing Challenge:

Yes, despite everything, Shaun has 3 things going for him:

1. Some remarkable and original ideas on how to help people get fit for life
2. Friends ready to give their right arm for him, and
3. Shaun is a REALLY nice guy - and I am not the only person to say it!

Public Relations, what is that???

Now that we've started introducing Shaun's support team, here is what PR legend Penelope Herbert has to say on public relations:

Meet Terry Reeves, the salient marketing whiz...

I place my faith in Terry to help Shaun with salient marketing. But first, what is salient marketing anyway?

Who's behind the camera?

In case you're wondering who is behind the camera, here she is: Terry's talented 13-year old daughter Nikita.

"Would you like to flunk out of school and stay behind the camera for a living?" I asked her.

"No, I want to be a vet!" was her reply.

The remarkable thing is:
- Shaun inspires EVERYONE to get fit -
...even the animals start exercising in his presence!

By the way, we've received 17 comments on my first entry, Why did I get $196 speeding ticket today?

• First, thank you for your comments and words of encouragement, we all needed it!


• Secondly, I've received 5 emails from the people who know me personally, which can all be summed up with "Are you crazy - why are you doing this?"
  OK, I know that not to many people would be willing to put their reputation on the line when the odds are slim... and they'd be even less inclined to do it for free... and they'd be absolutely horrified to disclose some of their best marketing secrets in the process!
  
  Sometimes I am not clear myself - maybe I am crazy - but I promise to talk about our motivation in more depth...

What is coming next?

Shaun needs to get in the business frame of mind... define his niche... select a domain name...
But as I am finishing this entry, we're being hit by some TRULY BAD NEWS - and I really have not seen this one coming!

Stay tuned for more...

Why did I get $196 speeding ticket today?

Today (10 April 2008) I got a $196 speeding ticket, but I am so excited that not even this could dampen my enthusiasm!

Let me explain… I am about to embark on an incredible challenge and I am putting everything on the line – literally everything, including my money, my job and my hard-earned reputation.

Two hours ago Shaun McCowat asked me to help him out. This is hardly news – after releasing my Underdog Marketing Formula (which by the way has been unavailable and off the market for some time now) we’ve have had heaps of clients – but they have all been owners of already established businesses. We’ve always had a solid foundation to build upon.

(By “we” I mean PR legend Penelope Herbert, salient marketing whiz Terry Reeves and myself)

Anyway, this is not the case with Shaun - he is completely different from our other clients: he is only 19 years old, has never had a business, knows bugger-all about marketing, has never created a website, and has no money to spare.

It looks bad enough, but it gets even worse: Shaun’s passion is get-fit industry (he is a Personal Trainer), which has a big market but the one that is saturated by competition. We’re not talking about some tiny forgotten niche where you can easily achieve virtual monopoly. We’re talking about a BIG, real market already populated by powerful competitors… who have big teams… with big budgets… and big already-established customer base. Everything Shaun does not have!

It is an uphill struggle - imagine a race with everyone so far ahead you're not even in the picture. And apart from a circle of friends who'd give their right arm for him, no-one has even heard of Shaun. He is clearly an underdog, but he has 3 things going for him:

1) His desire to succeed

2) Ideas

3) The helping team

Speaking of Shaun’s ideas, I’ve been trying (and failing) to get fit myself for a long time, but when Shaun started telling me about what he had in mind, I was literally blown away… and filled with hope that it was only a matter of time before I got fit again.

Anyway, I love a challenge and this is a BIG one. The challenge of helping Shaun succeed from a no-win situation was so energizing that on my way to meeting my partners Penelope and Terry I forgot about the speed limit… and was promptly caught by a cop with a hand-held speed camera. A $196 fine!

As a matter of fact, I NEVER exceed the speed limit. I am known to take unreasonable chances in business, but when it comes to driving I am one of those guys who ALWAYS go by the rules and NEVER put other people’s life or well-being in jeopardy by speeding. But just thinking about the challenge ahead made me forget the rules and step on the accelerator – and into the hands of a policeman lying in an ambush!

The fact that we’re talking about a wide 4-lane street did not make it any easier. After YEARS of religiously observing every traffic rule I didn’t feel that the fine was fair – but I owned to my mistake, apologized to the policeman and promptly paid the fine.

Fortunately, when it comes to a helping team my partners Penelope and Terry are not only great marketers but also nice people. Yes, we’ve already had a full load of clients – any more and you run the risk of not being able to provide the best possible service – but Penelope and Terry too were keen to help Shaun, even when it meant working for free and losing their spare time. They too have always wanted to help the underdogs – people who badly need quality marketing information but cannot afford to pay for the top consultants.

Penelope, Terry and I reach another important decision: Shaun is not the only person who needs this information, so we’re going to share with you every step of building an insanely successful business from scratch – you’ll know every why and how-to.

Stay with us as we help Shaun through the initial hurdles – next time I’ll explain in detail:

• Who is Shaun and why do I help him and risk my reputation– even though the odds are stacked against success
  
  
• Getting started can be overwhelming - what you MUST DO to overcome the odds, and
  
  
• Why do we give away powerful strategies that can truly make-or-break your business– even though we can charge top dollar for this information.

With warm regards,

Dr Alex

P.S. You probably have a story of how YOU managed to overcome the difficulties. Why not share with others your 2 biggest hurdles and what you’ve done about them?

Just click on 'comments' below to leave your comment.