SPS 039: 80/20 Book Sales & Marketing with Perry Marshall
Perry Marshall has turned 80/20 into a verb. It's an action you take on your business. It's the central lever to any great strategy. Perry's book 80/20 Sales and Marketing is mandatory reading in many growth oriented companies. It's also one of my favorite books of all time. After reading it, I started giving copies away like I was Oprah. The book is legendary.
He also is a pioneer in web advertising, as the author of the Ultimate Guide to Google Adwords, he laid the foundations for the $100 billion pay per click industry. He is one of the world's most expensive and sought-after business consultants. He has consulted in over 300 industries and even was an expert witness for Google AdWords litigation. He is a man that actually doesn’t need an introduction. Today, we talk about his book, marketing, advertising, and more.
You can find Perry here:
Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords: How to Access 100 Million People in 10 Minutes
Show Notes
[01:58] Perry's first book evolved organically. In 2002, he went to a seminar and started using Google AdWords.
[02:48] Perry discovered Google AdWords should be the first marketing step for testing. He was invited to speak at a Ken McCarthy seminar So, he made an ebook to sell at the seminar and on his website in 2003.
[05:15] AdWords became so popular that Perry had to work to stay current with his knowledge and ahead of the competition.
[06:09] The snowball effect of his testimonials worked for him, and it became a self-publishing success story prior to the Kindle.
[06:56] He was selling half a million dollars a year of ebooks.
[09:04] Wikipedia flagged Perry as a non-notable person. To have real longevity Perry needed to engage with the rest of the world.
[11:01] He went to an agent speed dating seminar and found an agent and got a publisher.
[11:58] He makes less money with the published book, but he is established as an expert. It is a long-term play to be a number one author on Amazon.
[13:24] How there can be good reasons to go the traditional route, but there are trade-offs.
[14:11] His first book was about beginner to advanced intermediate PPC or Google AdWords.
[15:28] The seminar got him great customers and testimonials.
[18:19] If you can become the number one expert, you can make a good living.
[19:02] 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.
[20:21] There is an 80/20 inside of every 80/20.
[21:03] 50% of customers comes from 1% of your business.
[21:50] In Google AdWords it's closer to 90/10. Perry cracked the code on AdWords using 80/20.
[23:14] 80/20 became a staple of what he taught.
[23:52] Perry decided to write an 80/20 book because this was the secret to everything. He wrote the book that he wished he had years ago.
[25:23] 80/20 applied to book marketing. Purchasing a book is like racking a shotgun.
[27:40] Playing poker with marks or guys who are going to lose.
[29:05] Everything in marketing is like racking a shotgun.
[30:33] 20% of people who buy your book will actually read it. 20% of them become your customers.
[32:53] The penny book offer is like the Columbia record and tape club. He makes money off of the backe
