Selling to Skeptics-Put your money where your mouth is

"If you don't offend somebody by noon each day, you're not doing much." That's the advice of business-building expert, Dan Kennedy. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself…rnDo you sell something that's "outside the box," like a product or service that's revolutionary, or that's a lot higher (or lower) priced that your competition? Something that makes your prospects initially skeptical?.rnAs a business consultant to financial advisors for two decades, I've investigated over 450 financial products and strategies, which led me to conclude that Americans have been brainwashed into believing they must risk their money in order to grow it.rnI was fortunate to finally learn about a proven method for growing a nest egg safely and predictably that I call "Bank On Yourself." I had stumbled onto the best way to invest money. But very few people knew about it, even though it's been around for over a century. rnOnce I knew from personal experience the extraordinary power of Bank On Yourself, I felt it would be unfair to keep it a secret. It became my mission to educate Americans about it. Nothing could have prepared me for the firestorm of controversy that followed.rnI immediately incurred the wrath of Wall Street, banks, and finance companies, as well as the financial advisors who were squarely planted in "conventional wisdom" investing and retirement planning methods.rnHundreds of thousands of Americans use this method, and not one lost a single penny in their plan when the stock and real estate markets crashed. In fact, their plans have all continued growing – safely and predictably. rnBut because there are so many myths about this method, I faced the biggest challenge of my life: How to convince people to open their minds to a different way of doing things. Getting hate mail on a daily basis caused me great pain, and there were times when I considered giving up on my mission.rnDan Kennedy's words about offending people stuck in my mind. The reality is that if everybody already knows about and accepts what you do, you're not making an impact or bringing value to the world.rnThe attacks against me continued, but I knew I couldn't give up my mission. I was compelled to continue to share Bank On Yourself with people who had so little to show for doing "all the right things" they had been taught to do.rnOne day, in my hour of deepest despair, I was seized by inspiration – an idea that I knew would help open minds. It was scary and potentially risky:rnPut Your Money Where Your Mouth IsrnI decided to put my money where my mouth is, list the advantages and guarantees of Bank On Yourself, and offer a significant cash reward to the first person to show they use a different financial product or strategy that can match or beat it.rnHow much of my hard-earned money was I willing to put on the line?rnI started with a $10,000 reward, and then, when my book on Bank On Yourself was released last year, I upped it (gulp!) to $100,000!rnIt has worked like gangbusters! It's a very effective "carrot" that motivates people to investigate Bank On Yourself, rather than simply dismissing it out of hand. And, in the process, they educate themselves on how powerful this method is, and clarify the misunderstandings they had about it.rnTip: If you want to test doing something like this, make the biggest, boldest guarantee you possibly can. And don't water it down with a bunch of fine print or "weasel" language.rnThink about what you could do to get your foot in the door with skeptical prospects. For example, you could:  Guarantee the initial meeting or service: "If you feel your time was wasted, I'll pay you or your favorite charity $100!"  Guarantee your sales letter: "I'm so confident you'll get value just from reading this letter…"rnWill some people try to take advantage of you? Sure. But the increased number of appointments you'll set will more than make up for it. So why not muster up the courage to try it?rnAnd remember, if you're not offending someone every day, you're probably not doing much!