Article 1 06-25-03

"A BIG Dog Is Just A LITTLE Dog
That Wouldn't Stop Barking!"

Steve Wagenheim

The Evolution of a Star
. . . In His Own Words

Ready to be inspired, fellow dogs!?

A few weeks ago I received a very nice "thank you" email from one of our newest Alpha Dogs, Steve Wagenheim from New Jersey.

This isn't all that unusual, but because it was so well written I decided to keep it and copied it to a folder. I didn't actually think any more about it until I started receiving additional messages from Steve which, taken together, can only be described as unbelievably inspirational and educational!

As you read this series of emails, take note of the lines I made bold. Then read my comments at the end of each email...

...and LEARN!!!

Steve's June 8 Email

"Hi, Stan,"

"I know how busy you are, so I don't expect a reply to my email, but I just had to share this with you."

"I purchased my copy of 'Secrets of the Big Dogs' in early April. I have to admit, though, that I just 'sat on it' for almost two months. Finally, at the beginning of June, I decided it was time to put your principals to work. I joined as many of the C.H.I.P. programs as I could afford. As I have been out of work for almost two years, money is tight, and I'm sure you can appreciate that. Nevertheless, I joined six of the fifteen C.H.I.P. programs including AdMinder, which I would be lost without."

"I followed the Big Dogs program to the letter. I made my own ads, stayed away from hype, made sure I sounded sincere with my offer to change peoples' lives and was basically myself. I put in countless hours putting everything together and making sure everything was just right. I wasn't expecting miracles. I knew this was going to take time and that I was running a marathon and not a sprint. My goal was to sell one book my first month and then double that number each month. I felt that was a reasonable goal."

"To make a long story short, I have sold three ebooks in my first eight days, and those sales all came in the last three days. One sale each day."

"I can't tell you how amazed I am. Your system really DOES work. Thank you for putting together strategies that are so simple, yet so effective."

"My sponsor says I am doing an unbelievable job in such a short time. I am determined to someday be one of your biggest Alpha Dogs. I would be honored to someday meet the man who made it so that I had my first sales EVER on the Internet."

"Thank you again. Now it's time for me to get back to work!"

"Steve Wagenheim"

COMMENTS:

Our office records show that Steve purchased the ebook on April 8 and that we received his list of Alpha Dog URL's approximately sixty days later, on June 1.

Like I said, Steve's initial email was well written and brimming with enthusiasm. Three sales in the first eight days, however, while being an above-average job, is certainly NOT setting the world on fire! But even at this early stage in Steve's evolution there were certain kernels of inborn genius that pointed the way to his upcoming greatness.

First of all note the time frame. Steve made his initial purchase of the "Secrets of the Big Dogs" ebook NEARLY TWO MONTHS BEFORE he decided to take it seriously and upgrade to Alpha Dog status. This is important to all of you folks out there that expect a prospect to buy the ebook and become an Alpha Dog within the first six minutes! It took Steve two months to take that step, and it's not uncommon for others to take six or more months. Heck, at least once a week we have a new Alpha dog who bought the ebook over a YEAR ago! This is why STAYING POWER is so vital and crucial to this business. Too many people "turn off the engine," not realizing they're just around the corner from the finish line!

Secondly, notice that, because of financial constraints, Steve was only able to join SIX of the fifteen C.H.I.P. programs! That's like expecting a race car to win races on only two wheels. But obviously, Steve turned those "two wheels" into a high-performance motorcycle!

Most importantly, notice that Steve's initial goal was to... "sell just one ebook my first month." He wasn't out to make the proverbial "million dollars by noon tomorrow." He set for himself a reasonable and ACHIEVABLE goal. Just ONE sale that first month and Steve would have considered himself a success!

Please burn Steve's words into your brain... "I wasn't expecting miracles. I knew this was going to take time and that I was running a marathon and not a sprint."

Very, VERY well said!...

Steve's June 12 Email

"Dear Stan,"

"You were RIGHT! Big Dogs is the ONLY way to market effectively on the Internet! I just made my seventh sale in seven days and an eighth is coming through the mail as I write this! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Steve Wagenheim (A VERY happy Alpha Dog!)"

COMMENTS:

Hmmmm. Eight sales in seven days. NOW I'm starting to take note of this up-and-comer!

In fact I thought it would be nice to congratulate Steve's sponsor, Pam Lyon, and send her an email informing her (if she didn't already know) that she had a potential super-star on her team.

I shot out the email and below is Pam's response which, itself, is very instructive...

Pam's June 14 Email

"I know, Stan. Steven was ready to give up totally, when I told him it was his ad writing holding him back."

"We worked together on that and, with his second attempt he "got it", literally. I knew he was headed for success. He immediately started making sales and then started to create other ways to enhance his results. Steven is going to be one of our Hot Dog AlphaDogs and the nicest thing is his sincere appreciation of any help that is given. Steve's a real team player."

"Pamela"

COMMENTS:

See what I mean? Steve was "ready to give up!" So YOU are not the ONLY one! All of us, especially when we're starting out, go through that initial period of frustration when things aren't going as expected. But Steve stuck it out and applied himself to writing more effective sales messages! It obviously worked and he got off the berm and back on the success superhighway.

Incidentally, do you think Pam is HAPPY with Steve!? Remember that as his ebook purchasers upgrade to Alpha Dogs, these folks are in Pam's downline as well and she ALSO gets a residual income from them!

But it doesn't stop there...

Pam's sponsor happens to be Jared Crebs - ANOTHER one of our super stars. Jared's sponsor is Juan Walker, who we interviewed for the Big Dogs Bulletin a few months ago. AND...Juan's sponsor is none other than the big man himself - Chris Gibson.

Now THAT's what I call teamwork! THAT is the beauty of the Big Dogs system, because ALL of these folks are making an income from the efforts of "newbie" Steve!

Yeah, baby!!!

Steve's June 16 Email

"Hi, Stan,"

"In the last eight days since my first sale I sold twelve, yes, twelve ebooks! I am getting so many emails for requests for the information from people who are failing online that I literally am spending all day just writing responses."

"I don't know how long this landslide is going to last but I'm just taking it one day at a time."

"In the meantime I keep in contact with my downline constantly. I even put up my own web site with my own news letter that I call Big Dog Steve's Tips Of The Week. The feedback I've gotten on it so far has been awesome. My downline seems to appreciate that I care enough about them to put in all this time. Yes, my normal day is 14 to 16 hours. I love it!"

"Thank you again for pulling me out of Internet Marketing Hell. I hope to someday come to PA to meet you. You really have turned my life around. Thank you."

"Steve Wagenheim"

COMMENTS:

Anybody guess the key point I want to emphasize in Steve's June 16th email?

You betcha! It's something that I try to stress CONSTANTLY. To reiterate Steve's words, "I keep in contact with my downline constantly." In fact Steve has gone so far as to put up his OWN Big Dogs training and communication site... and his people LOVE it!

You'll also notice that Steve says his "normal work day is 14 to 16 hours." Now, the MECHANICAL portion of the Big Dogs program can obviously be accomplished in far less time than that - the "daily grind" of sending out emails, etc can be done in less than an hour, in as little as ten minutes a day. BUT!... Steve recognized during his initial week when he didn't make a single sale, that his ad writing abilities and his understanding of the "ins-and-outs" of how the C.H.I.P. programs work was severely lacking. So he applied himself! He knew that there was a price to pay in terms of time-commitment until he got over that initial learning curve.

And his results show this - in SPADES!

So let's recap Steve's "evolution..."

1. It took Steve two full months from the time he purchased the "Secrets of the Big Dogs" ebook until he upgraded to Alpha Dog. Even then, he was only able to join less than half the the C.H.I.P. programs. Yet, using the Big Dogs principals, he was still able to generate substantial sales.

Remember, though, that his first sale did not come until a week after he became an Alpha Dog. HIS SALES DID NOT START UNTIL HE CHANGED HIS AD!!! And now they're flying in!

"Don't get mad! Change the ad!"

2. Steve's total ebook sales in his first 21 days as an Alpha Dog came to 22!

An outstanding job? Absolutely! Especially considering that Steve did NOT come to Big Dogs with a huge in-house mailing list of established contacts. He did not come to Big Dogs and simply "transfer" members from another program to ours. WHAT HE DID, HE DID FROM SCRATCH! What he did, he did from scratch, using only hard work and less than HALF of the C.H.I.P. programs!

But remember something, folks, lest you think that EVERYONE should be getting 22 sales in their first 21 days. THIS IS NOT THE NORM! IT IS FAR, FAR ABOVE AVERAGE.

Lest you become frustrated, instead of being inspired, by Steve's success, please remember than VERY few Alpha's start out like gangbusters. To make the point: Pam Lyon, Steve's direct sponsor had just six sales HER first month. Jared Crebs, Pam's sponsor, had a mere ONE sale his first month and just one sale his SECOND month!!! Juan Walker, Jared's sponsor, did a superlative job HIS first month with eight sales. Finally, Juan' sponsor Chris Gibson - who now averages a consistent 50+ ebooks sales every month - had a mere ONE sale his first month!!!

ALL of these folks went on to achieve greatness in the Big Dogs program, but NONE started out like Steve.

3. Total ebook sales are only a small part of the overall picture, though, aren't they? The BIG bucks - the RESIDUAL dollars - come from ebook purchasers who upgrade to Alpha Dogs. And, here again, ol' Steve-o really shines! The average "conversion rate" - people who upgrade to Alpha from being merely ebook purchasers - is 18% to 20%. Of Steve's initial 22 ebook purchasers, NINE have upgraded to Alpha Dog!

That's a conversion rate of FORTY-ONE PERCENT, more than double the average!!! His secret? Again, in Steve's own words... "I keep in contact with my downline constantly. I even put up my own web site with my own news letter that I call Big Dog Steve's Tips Of The Week."

Learn anything from all this, my friends? If you DIDN'T, you dog-gone better read it again because there is a veritable fountain of good, solid marketing advice here.

Steve Wagenheim went from zero to hero with plain old-fashioned hard work, creative ad-writing, and the basic Big Dog principals that ALL of you have access to.

So...

...what's holding YOU back!?

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