Daniel Levis – Effortless Influence Basic

A true story for serious online marketers looking for an inside edge that leads to more sales… at higher profit… with less stress:

Crude Irish Swashbuckler by Night… Star Salesman by Day.

Jimmy Ray Carl could sell just about anything to anyone…

As a greenhorn salesman in the territory, my first assignment was to accompany him on two or three sales calls a day — and observe. Then we’d spend an hour or so role-playing back at the office.

I learned how to ask questions. And tell stories.

He had a story for countering every objection… fascinating stories about how a given product came about… heartwarming stories that made people like him and trust him. And when he told these stories to customers I watched the purchase reluctance literally disappearing from their faces.

Jimmy Ray Carl influenced people so effortlessly and easily that getting them to sign on the dotted line was like taking candy from a baby.

At first I resisted modeling his approach …

It was hard enough remembering product specs and features and benefits and competitive advantages. Was it really necessary complicating things further with people and places and events?

One day we were out for a few beers at a little Italian bistro on Queen’s Quay (Lake Ontario), and I asked him, “What’s with the stories? Why don’t you just get to the point and tell the customer the facts?”

He looked at me with that mischievous Irish glint of his, and said:

“Storytelling is a Lot Like Making Love. All Of Us Know How to Do It. But Few Of Us Will Ever Be Porn Stars. As A Persuader, THAT Is Your Greatest Failing.”

He went on, “When you tell stories, people listen. Haven’t you noticed?”

I thought about the morning’s sales calls, and he was right.

“It’s because you’re making it easy for them to get the picture” he continued. “They don’t have to think too hard about what you’re saying. They just have to watch the little mental movie running in their heads. You like it when customers listen to you, don’t you?”

“Well yeah”, I said.

“What’s more”, he added, “they understand you a whole lot better.

“See, whether you tell stories or not, people are trying to visualize what you’re saying to them. Why risk having your buyers conjuring up the wrong pictures? Show them what you want them to see with your words.

“And here’s another thing. You ever heard the expression, ‘seeing is believing’?”

I’m sure my head had been bobbing up and down the whole time. Jimmy took a moment to flirt with the waitress and order another pitcher of beer before he continued …

“See, when you got this mental movie thing going on, it’s like you can say things to people without actually coming out and saying them.

“Have you noticed how when you make a product claim, the customer is fighting you? You’ve noticed that right?”

“Sure. He’s thinking… of course you would say that. You’re here to sell me this thing.”

“Yeah. But if you make him see himself interacting with the claim in his imagination, there’s no resistance. He thinks he figured the whole thing out by himself. And he accepts it, because he owns that idea.

“And here’s the really beautiful part Danny boy…

“See this solid gold Movado watch… that amazing Jag in the parking lot… the block of rental properties I own on the Danforth. Paid for with stories.

“You know what I’m saying?”

Jimmy Ray Carl could be a little cocky when he wasn’t around customers, especially with a few pitchers of Rickard’s Red in him. But he had a good heart. And boy could he sell.

So I took his advice.

I learned the stories.

And they produced for me too.

…I Went From Really Struggling — Barely Able to Pay the Rent Some Months — to Winning Trips and TVs and Making as Much as $40,000 a Month in Commission…

But that was a long time ago.

What about today?

Do sales stories still work?

See these two watches?

The watch on the left sells for around $15,000 while the one on the right sells for about $100. Does the ROLEX tell time 150 times better than the TIMEX?

Of course not…

…So what compels people to pay such a ridiculous premium?

It’s quite simple, really. The Rolex is a prop in a storyline. The person puts on the watch and they become the hero in a little drama that plays out in their head.

King Arthur had Excalibur, A Symbol of His Chivalry And Prowess In Arms. The Modern Day Hero Has His Rolex, A Symbol of Mastery On The Battlefield Of Business.

Seth Godin wrote a book about this. It’s called All Marketers Are Liars Tell Stories…

He talks about $20 wine glasses that instantly transform you into a wine connoisseur… $125 (made in China for $3) sneakers that turn shy wallflowers into popular social butterflies… full grown adults paying $80,000 for $35,000 Volkswagens with Porsche name plates slapped on them… and plenty of other examples of patently irrational consumer behavior.

Gene Schwartz has a chapter in Breakthrough Advertising devoted to what he called “identification”, which is basically the same idea. People don’t buy products for what they do, but rather the identities they help them create.

When I left the world of shoe leather selling to become a freelance copywriter and marketing consultant I became captivated by these notions.

I Dreamed Of a System That Would Combine the Tactical Storytelling Wizardry of Jimmy Ray Carl with the Identification Factors These Brilliant Authors Were Talking About…

Direct response copywriting courses did not do this for me. Sure, they sang the praises of storytelling… but fizzled after telling the story of the “Two Young Men” letter.

So I went on a quest to build such a system myself…

I analyzed films, fables and short stories to see how they hook people’s attention and embed invisible themes that change attitudes and beliefs.

I watched how trial room lawyers use stories to win juries to their way of thinking.

I studied how politicians and religious leaders use stories to indoctrinate the faithful and woo new converts…  how therapists use them to inspire change in their patients… even how con-artists use them to gain the trust of their marks.

I began testing different ideas and soon discovered something interesting. Telling stories online and in print was NOT the magic pill I thought it would be.

For Every Success I Had at Least Five Failures …

… And I quickly realized that if you tell a story in the wrong place or in the wrong way it can seriously reduce your conversion instead of increase it.

Selling with stories online Is actually downright dangerous If you don’t know what you’re doing… like driving drunk… or having unprotected sex with strangers. The mistakes are not obvious, even In hindsight.

…But the Few Successes I Did Have Were Truly Astounding!

I walked into the bank one day with a royalty check so big even the bank manager refused to cash it. The story-based promotion I’d created had more than doubled response to the client’s previous long standing control.

And gradually, through ongoing experimentation, testing and tweaking, I Improved my model… and Improved It again… until my win rate Increased to the point where story became the prime driver for almost all my promotions.

Today, I’d like to offer you the same glorious advantage — a repeatable, step-by-step, story creation formula that will have you developing deeper, more meaningful relationships with your best customers… easily commanding premium prices for your products and services… and grinding your cut-rate competition to dust.

If you’re tired of the pain of failed campaigns and watching your list become less and less responsive, you need to pay especially close attention to this.

introducing, Efforttess Influence— How to Master the Art of the Sales Story…

As the title suggests, this course is about telling masterful sales stories that absorb your target audience’s attention and then direct it toward a purchase.

You’ll discover amazing secrets for keeping your ideal prospects engaged and interested in you and your products and services over the long term.

And you’ll learn to tell order-inducing stories that make people feel safe and secure and enthusiastic about handing you their hard earned money in exchange for the value you bring them.

Quite simply, it’s the ultimate marketing resource for selling to people without them feeling like they are being sold, resulting in increased conversion… higher margins… and dramatically enhanced lifetime customer value.

In module 1, you’re getting the complete lowdown on 7 powerful story formats… how and why to use them… and the insider secrets to leveraging them to capture the attention and interest of your target audience…

• How to melt your prospect’s irrational fears… freeing them to give your sales arguments a fair hearing…
• How to plant ideas in your prospect’s minds so subtly they think they came up with the ideas themselves…
• Secrets of guided imagery that give your prospects time travelling powers and the ability to visit their future lives — with you, the storyteller, as their guide…
• The Vision Quest: How to help your prospects see realities that were invisible to them before… and feel new sensations that empower them to take actions that were previously impossible…
• How to short-circuit skepticism and cynicism by harkening your prospects back to their childhoods. A time when thought processes were pure emotion and life was spontaneous and carefree…
• How to disarm the defensive stockade people put up against persuasion by weaving the facts, features, and benefits of your offerings into the innocent fabric of story …
• Why the unconscious mind literally can’t tell the difference between a real and an imagined experience… and how to use this amazing phenomenon to make your marketing infinitely more productive…
• Zero Resistance Selling: A simple trick that allows your sales argument to effortlessly find a new home in the prospect’s belief system. (See Page 6) …
• How to cloak complex or unfamiliar ideas in easily understood stories, giving your prospects the confidence and assurance to move ahead. (Page 9) …
• How to craft a good origin story that cements your credibility as a seller and bonds you to your target audience like crazy glue. Connect with your customers on a deep and enduring level, virtually immunizing your business against discount happy competition. (Page 10) …
• How to use dramatic reversal to make your sales pitch more entertaining and believable. (Page 18) …
• The secret storytelling ingredient that shifts your prospect’s mental gearing from “passivewishing” to “active willing”. Gets them to plunk down their hard earned money faster than just about anything. (Page 20) …
• Four magical little “Trojan Horse” phrases that instantly put your prospects at ease and allow you to tip-toe past their exterior defenses. (Page 21) …
• Sneaky little metaphors that prime your prospects to accept your sales arguments without giving them a second thought. (Page 22) …
• The deadly (yet common) storytelling mistake that kills sales and actually reduces readership and repeat business. (Page 23) …
• How to sell prevention. This $297 preventative sells like crazy with no sales letter. See how a simple story-driven email goes straight to an order form to make the sale. (Page 24) …
• The power of parables. How to use innocent little teaching tales to unleash a torrent of new profits. (Page 28) …
• How to use stories to maintain the perceived value of a discounted item, doubling or even tripling sales conversion. (Page 31) …
• How to use morbid curiosity to practically force people to open your emails and rabidly consume your sales message. (Page 32) …
• How a Greek fable spawned a $1.5 billion dollar ad campaign that ran for decades … (Page 32) …
• How to choose the right narrative point-of-view for a given sales story. Plus a weird, science-fiction-like technique proven to boost response when you need a great story to tell but can’t find one. (Page 36) …
• How to revive the dead and put them to work earning you juicy affiliate commissions.Historical figures make great characters for your sales stories. You can put words in their mouths. Make them do cool things. Embed purchasing criteria in their actions. (Page 37)
• The three key ingredients you must put in every sales story if you want people to click a link… fill out a form… or complete a purchase. Miss any one of these key ingredients and your story will bomb, guaranteed. (Page 39)
• How to hitchhike on a news story or an entertainment item from the popular media to magnify the distribution and potency of your sales message. (Page 40)…
• An unusual way to use pre-supposition in your sales stories that almost always increases email click through rates. (Page 41) …
• Three things to put in your sales stories that most people find near impossible to look away from. HINT: They tap in to the reptilian part of our brains, were the survival and self-preservation imperatives dwell. (Page 42) …
• A simple story trick that lessens your prospect’s burden of decision. Do this and you’ll make infinitively more sales. I guarantee it. (Page 44) …
• Story Transposition: How to template mesmerizing stories that are proven through time to capture people’s attention and influence their behavior. The ultimate shortcut to creating sales-inducing stories. (Page 48) …
• How to create a killer case study. Most case studies could bore the arm off a chair and don’t do much to increase sales. Here are 12 interview questions for extracting amazing success stories… and the secret narrative structure that virtually guarantees explosive, profit-pulling case studies. (Page 49) …

In module 2, you’re getting the complete blow-by-blow on all of the essential elements that go into creating astonishingly effective origin stories that allow you to sell effortlessly and at consistently higher margin than your competitors …

• The 12 stages of the hero’s journey — and why this almost magical story structure intuitively resonates with all human beings. A proven way to trigger the curiosity, empathy and emotion you need to rivet your prospect’s attention… amplify desire… and install powerful buying motives while virtually eliminating purchase resistance. (Page 53) …
• The difference between story structure and content and how “archetypes” can be your unfailing beacon to higher response. (Page 55) …
• How the hero’s journey can also form the fabric of a seductive mythology you build around yourself, your product, and your business over the course of months or even years. (Page 59) …
• Stealth Positioning — How to convey credibility through accomplishment without a hint of braggadocio or boastfulness. Infinitely more effective than the worn out “I’m not telling you this to impress you, but rather to impress upon you” schtick most markets have heard way too many times. (Page 61) …
• How to inject drama, intrigue and entertainment value into otherwise boring product descriptions and explanations. Deadly effective in b2b markets. (Page 64) …
• How embedding a logical rationale for purchasing your product inside of a story can spike your sales conversion overnight by 187%. (Page 65) …
• The Russian Doll Secret: How to use nested narrative to subtly implant buying conclusions in your prospect’s minds that have them reflexively clicking the order button to complete a purchase. (Page 69) …
• How to anchor your prospect’s affection to inanimate objects you want to sell them. (Page 71) …
• Six proven ways to create empathy and connection, practically forcing your prospects to mentally project themselves into your sales story. (Page 72) …
• How to reveal character flaws and vulnerabilities and turn them into character assets that build trust and affinity with your target market. (Page 74) …
• The secret to stimulating your prospect’s sympathetic nervous system in a way that creates incredibly deep rapport and attraction. Almost instantly dissolves sales resistance and purchase hesitation. (Page 75) …
• A counter-intuitive “back door” way to create character fascination. This unusual technique when properly executed leads to an almost blinding rapport with your target prospects. (Page 76) …
• The secret “primal” ingredient to put in your sales stories that sows the seeds of emotion and stirs even your most careful and deliberate prospects to action. (Page 76) …
• Collective Heroism — When your prospects associate your marketing with a sense of being part of something larger than themselves, sales shoot for the moon. Here’s how to create an addictive feeling of camaraderie and belonging within your target market. (Page 77) …
• How to neutralize the internal demons that stand between your prospects willingness to pursue their biggest dreams… and between you and a reliable stream of repeat sales. (Page 79) …
• The Stimulus and Response Principle: the secret to transforming stories that feel like lifeless, unsatisfying processions of events into electrifying cavalcades of excitement that enchant your prospects from beginning to end. (Page 80) …
• A counterintuitive story strategy that lets you quickly assume the mantle of authority, compelling your prospects to accept you as a trusted advisor and subject matter expert. (Page 90) …
• Four different types of mentor stories that allow you to effortlessly establish ironclad credibility for yourself as a seller. (Page 94) …
• How to strike at the heart of your prospect’s most deep-seated, close-to-the-bone emotions without seeming manipulative, ham handed, or obvious. (Page 96) …
• The number one determining factor that spells the difference between sales stories that grab your prospects, turn them upside down, and shake money from their pockets… and stories that leave them cold as dead fish. (Page 97) …
• The four step mental process that leads to action. Miss one step, (or get them in the wrong order), and your sales story is dead in the water. (Page 98) …
• How to alter the chemical makeup of your prospect’s physiology… stepping up or stepping down the brain’s activity level… creating sensation in the body… altering involuntary movements, gestures, and facial expression… and ultimately, impacting the will to act. (Page 99) …
• The difference between innate primal emotions and learned social emotions. Which class of emotion sways people more powerfully? Find out on page 100.
• A complete model of the human emotions… their biological function…  how and when to use them in your sales stories. 67 different emotions explained and their application to persuasive storytelling demonstrated. (Page 102) …
• How to use curiosity, anticipation, surprise, suspense and intrigue to transfix your prospect’s attention. Amazingly powerful storytelling techniques that literally crowd out awareness of time and space, locking potential buyers to your sales message like an invisible tractor beam. (Page 110) …
• Why “hard loops” don’t work in direct response selling and what to do instead to create stunning increases in readership and response. (Page 114) …
• How to use soft loops to deepen attention and interest. When you do this right it practically guarantees your sales message gets read. (Page 116) …
• The pleasure/pain quadrant: a simple strategy for harmonizing the motivations of your story hero with those of your target prospects. (Page 119) …
• Four different types of humor to use in your stories.These techniques loosen purchase resistance and lubricate the buying process without detracting from the seriousness of your sales message in any way. (Page 121) …
• How to craft compelling characters your prospects want to identify with. People buy when they sense doing so enhances their self-image in some way. Showing a similar development in a character they care about is the deadly effective way to create this effect. (Page 126) …
• How to differentiate your products and services through the characterization of your protagonist. This is the ultimate secret to selling at premium prices and with superior profit margins — ten times more profitable than mere functional advantage. (Page 127) …
• The 16 irreducible values that motivate your prospect’s actions… and how to subtly communicate them through story to unleash a tsunami of increased conversion and response. (Page 131) …
• The 12 classic character archetypes… how to recognize the dominant archetype(s) in your particular market… and the keys to motivating each type. (Page 135) …
• Five different ways to reveal character and activate even the most unconscious fears, aspirations, beliefs and values of your target prospects. This is the lethal combination strike that jerks even the most shell-shocked and reluctant would-be buyers out of their complacency and into your pitch. (Page 191) …
• Ten archetypal themes to use in your sales stories that are proven to attract attention, arouse interest, and stir your prospect’s blood toward a purchase. Use these proven story templates and your hit rates will soar! (Page 196) …

And in module 3 I’m tying it all together for you with a powerful series of fill-in-the-blanks worksheets and do-this-do-that templates that will have you penning highly persuasive order-getting sales stories more easily than you ever imagined.

You’ll watch as I explain each one of these time saving tools that have allowed me to slash my writing time by 80% to 90%.

• The protagonist worksheet. (Page 227) …
• The pleasure/pain worksheet. (Page 229) …
• The irreducible values worksheet. (Page 232) …
• The character arc worksheet. (Page 233) …
• The antagonist worksheet. (Page 233) …
• The mentor worksheet. (Page 234) …
• The sub-text worksheet. (Page 239) …
• The hero’s journey template. (Page 242) …

You’ll see the actual inputs I made to create a recent promotion. And you’ll experience the magic as these completed sheets and templates morph into the kind of hard-hitting sales copy that makes millions.

The entire story creation process is laid bare… so you can quickly model it… and breathe new life into your own promotions …

• Six different ways to create powerful story telegraphing headlines, plus tons of examples. (Page 236)…
• How to deepen the fictive spell by breaking the 4th wall. (Page 246) …
• Sneaky tricks that bend the perception of time, transplanting your prospects into a future reality where they can experience the pleasure of ownership. (Page 248)…
• Five amazing creativity exercises. (Page 249)…
• And much more!

For over 9 months I’ve poured every spare moment into fully documenting my proven story selling processes. And these three modules are the result. 262 tightly edited pages of text… eight and half hours of audio… and 59 annotated exhibits in all!

I’m convinced they give you the most comprehensive, complete and concise story-selling encyclopedia known to man… a veritable Bible of story-based persuasion.

And I honestly believe they’ll help you to create the kind of heroic customer identifications experience proves are the secret to enhanced sales conversion… impervious-to-competition profit margins… and the enduring goodwill and patronage of your best buyers.

Without a Good Story, There is No Power and No Glory…

Gone are the days when you can win the battle for consumer mindshare on price, quality or convenience. Competitiveness in these areas is now merely the cost of entry — no longer a key factor in your success.

In today’s world of material overabundance, what people secretly want are products and services that allow them to tell better stories… to themselves… and to the people around them.

I saw this trend emerging in my days with Jimmy Ray Carl in corporate sales. Decisions were made for personal and emotional reasons first, and practical reasons second. People wanted to tell a story — to their superiors, to their peers, to their spouses and children —that framed them in a heroic light.

I saw it in sales made over the Internet as well. The functional features and advantages of a product didn’t sell nearly as well as the drama those features and functions could be made to represent.  And this trend will only accelerate …

If you want to avoid getting sucked into the suicidal price chopping games we’re seeing spread like bad weeds all over the Internet right now, isn’t it time you got serious about building your story selling chops?

Think back to your own buying experience. Visualize several pivotal purchases you made at some earlier point in your life. If it wasn’t the story you read in the sales copy that hooked you and got you to buy… or a story suggested by the sights and sounds and smells of the sales floor… it was a story you told yourself.

Why leave the story to chance?

Imagine What It Would Mean to Your Business If You Could Predictably and Reliably Sell at Big, Brawny Profit Margins — Double or Even Triple Those You Enjoy Now…

How will your life change for the better when you’re able to easily and effortlessly create stunning conversion numbers for all of your products and services… reducing your cost of customer acquisition… and exploding your lifetime customer value? (Or if you’re a freelance copywriter or marketing consultant, imagine the rewards your clients will shower you with when you create that magic for them.)

Those outcomes have given me and my family the freedom to come and go on a whim… never worrying about rush hour traffic… bone headed bosses… or meaningless, mind-numbing work.

They’ve given us the peace of mind that comes from knowing our income is safe and secure no matter what happens to the economy.  And for me personally — the deep sense of satisfaction I enjoy from being able to share this life changing knowledge with you.

If you follow my lead and get really good at selling with stories with this new course, I know your life can be much more than it is today.