Good Morning, Steppers!

Wow. So, this seems to be fate.

This morning, a guy whose information products I buy sent me an email… asking what kind of product I wanted next.

GENIUS!

He hasn’t even made the product yet. He just knows that I’ve purchased things from him in the past… meaning that I value the knowledge that he has imparted already… and would like to know what other kinds of things I might order.

Again, that is genius.

See, after the first and most vital Shoestring Step… Get OFF Your ASS… the next Step that I learned as a ShoeString101 “Stepper” was that I needed to know What people Want.

Your willingness to Learn What People Want… plus the other W‘s: Who they are, Where they can be found, Why they want what they want, When and hoW can they be reached… is  what truly makes your business a Shoestring101 business.

 Let me share with you a story about my friend Keith:

Keith lived in Grand Junction, Colorado, where he had a business making signs for other businesses. While shopping for a used car, he found that everything in ‘Junction at that time was overpriced. To get a good deal, you had to drive around four hours and go to Denver.

Then Keith smelled opportunity. He started buying used cars in Denver for cash and selling them in Grand Junction for a decent markup. Often he did nothing more than give the car a good cleaning. In the late 80′s there weren’t JOBs that offered $500-$1,000 for an eight hour road trip with a friend… but Keith did figure out a Shoestring opportunity!

Here’s more genius: Keith eventually discovered that he DIDN’T need to actually HAVE a car to sell one. That’s right… he placed ads saying, “Toyota Corolla. Must sell. $2500 or best offer. Call 555-1212″.

That phone number went to an answering machine that Keith wouldn’t pick up, even if he was at home. The message said something like, “This is Keith. I’m out right now. If you’re calling about the car, please leave your name, address, and phone number. I’ll call you back.”

See that? Keith was capturing leads. His target market, folks looking for a good deal on a Toyota Corolla, was coming to HIM… and they were calling BEFORE he even had the car.

Once he had several callers, then Keith would make the trip into Denver. He’d buy coffee and donuts for the paper delivery boys, get first dibs at the classified ads, see a few cars and make  offers.

Keith  had armed himself with the most valuable commodity of all: INFORMATION.  Before even picking up a  car, he would have a list of potential buyers and their contact info. If he wanted to get a great selling price, he might even arrange for several of those buyers to show up at once to see the car, artificially creating a bidding war.

Fuh-reakin’ GENIUS.

Once you Learn What People Want and are willing to help them get it, you can write your own ticket!

Okay Steppers! See you again here on the blog soon, this time for Step Three: Create Value.

Keep Stepping,

Kurt