You run a dog-sitting service. Would people in your neighborhood pay you to baby sit their foaming from the mouth "Fluffy", "Hairball" or "Drooly" for 3 hours? ASK!

Guess what happens? THEY'LL TELL YOU!

Your cost? A few minutes to write the survey questions... a simple-as-pie cover letter... an envelope and postage stamp... a postage-paid reply envelope... and a little bribe to get them to reply.

The bribe? A buck. Or a free copy of a report that you know they'll be interested in. A $5 gift certificate to their local grocery store. Anything of perceived value.

Want to know exactly how to do this, step-by-step?

OK... here's the letter. You have my permission to cut and paste the following letter and make the changes for your product or service:

===========================================
Dear NAME:

May I ask your opinion?

I'm considering offering a brand new product to the residents of Philadelphia and I'd like to know what you think about it. In exchange for answering the 5 quick questions below, I'll send you xxxxxxxxxxxxx as a Thank You for your help.

Please answer these questions and return this entire page to me in the post-paid envelope provided or fax it to the number below.

1) Do you currently polish your own car?
2) What brand of car polish do you now use?
3) If there was a car polish that kept your car shiny as new for 10 full years, would you pay $49 for it if it came with a double-your-money-back guarantee and was sold by a reputable company?
4) If you answered NO to question 3, why not?
5) Would you buy this new polish via mail order/internet if it was available?

Thank you for your help. Now simply fax this entire page to: 000-000-0000. Or mail it in the postpaid envelope.

Sincerely,
YOUR NAME
TITLE

===========================================

Why?

It will tell you if people like the IDEA of your product or service... but perhaps aren't willing to pay what you plan to ask for it.

It will tell you that YES, people are willing to buy, but perhaps not the way you intended to market it.

And that reference in question #3 about "reputable company"?

Those two words might be the sole reason for the YES response. Look at it again. Remember that it's TRUST that you must encourage with any sale. And skepticism that you must overcome.

Without those two words in the question, the answer may have been NO. And that NO answer may have led you to believe that people aren't interested in your product-when it's simply a matter of feeling confident about the company BEHIND the offer that they wanted. See the difference?

Check out the P.S. Note the deadline. Without it, you'll wait and wait and wait for your replies. Give them 10 days to reply. Keep the deadline short. Otherwise they may put your letter aside... and never see it again.

The survey.

It's simple. It's powerful.

And it can give you the marketing information you need... BEFORE you commit lots of money to a new project.

The cost? A few minutes of your time to write the letter. A few envelopes and stamps. And a little bribe to encourage response.

Try it. And stop playing guessing games.

Until we "meet" again in the next lesson, consider the appropriateness of this quote:

"The real object of education
is to have a man in the condition
of continually asking questions."
Bishop Creighton

Success to you, my friend!

Drew Eric Whitman, D.R.S.
Direct Response Surgeon(tm)