What does Barbizon have to do with Internet Marketing?

This post was most recently updated on February 22nd, 2014

Recently I attended a Barbizon seminar with my niece. 

I knew walking in it was going to be a talk about attending the Barbizon school.  No way was I going to shell out thousands of dollars I said to myself going in.  But my niece was “chosen” to attend what she thought would be an interview with her, and I knew would be a sales presentation aimed at ME.  I made it clear that she could go to the seminar, but we weren’t going to jump in and spend money.  Guess what I did?

I was focused on the presentation and said to myself, “hey, it is worth the knowledge to see how they recruit.” Of course all that was in my mind was how we, as internet marketers use our own system to attract business.  It was the very same approach only in a live presentation.

STEP ONE:  The speaker told the audience about her own life.

She started the seminar telling us about her childhood experiences, and the terrible stuff she went through.  She proceeded to tell us that she found her way in business and worked in the fashion industry.  She wasn’t a model, but she found her niche in the industry.

Isn’t that our rule Number One?  We tell people who we are, where we have been and connect through honesty and transparency.  Voila…there was the personal branding portion of her speech.  I instantly found myself attracted to her story: her life and kids, etc.  I found it interesting. A real life 60 year old woman, (yes she did say her age) with grace and beauty, being herself.  Nothing about the opportunity at hand… just a long, detailed… and interesting… story about herself.

We try to do all these same things that we call Branding and Attraction.

STEP TWO:  The speaker then proceeded to talk about the benefits of the school

Here was the part where I moved to edge of my seat.  She captured my interest because she honestly told us the whole deal.  How joining this school is not only for modeling, but for self improvement.  Then she addressed the kids… they must have good grades, go to college, not do drugs, etc. 

If a child could not adhere to these rules, they’d never be chosen to do any modeling jobs.  She made the point that Barbizon has been in the business since 1939 and has established a spotless reputation.  They were not about to compromise that reputation by offering models who would not live up to these expectations.

She grasped the attention of us parents concerning the benefits of the school by telling us the TRUTH…Not everyone will be a runway model, or actress.  Everyone’s goals and talents are different. But they will all benefit from this basic training by gaining improved self-esteem, developing good posture and body language, learning to make powerful and sincere impressions on people, so that when they go for a college or job interview later in their lives, they might walk in with heightened confidence and a better presence of Self.

This presentation seemed so familiar.  Isn’t this what we do?  Of course.  We blog valuable information and give it to people for free.  We show them the benefits they could have if they opted into our system, or other things we are representing.  This is why we need good content on our blog and write it so others could benefit from the information.

STEP THREE:  CLINCHING THE DEAL

Each child had to wait for their name to be called to receive a private interview.  We waited an hour.  During that time I was sold on the product, but hesitant to spend $2,000.  While I sat and thought about it, I realized it was worth the knowledge my niece would be receiving.  There were so many benefits to it.  She wouldn’t get this from school.

I stopped thinking about the end result of her actually becoming a model, and re-focused on the importance of the means to this end.  She would benefit from a different kind of school where they teach personal development and good values.  No diets, but good nutrition, proper skin care, no piercings. 

This meant she has to take out her piercings and funky hair colors.  No more pink streaks.  To my amazement, not only did she agree to these “strict” rules of conduct, she welcomed them… enthusiastically!

So were were finally called in for a brief consultation.  They accepted her and yes, I spent the $2,000.  But in order to attend the school we only had two days to actually sign the contract and make payment.

Is that how we clinch our deals?  Certainly!   People opt in, we get their emails and send auto-responders.

So here we are in our living rooms, doing the same thing, but with one big difference.  We don’t have to travel all over the place, stay in hotels and have grueling 14-hour work days.  We employ the exact same method, but we can enjoy our lives in the process.  And this my friends is why I am an Internet Marketer.

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Donna Merrill

Donna is a well known blogger and creator of "Blogging Magic" - an intensive guide to blogging. "Blogging Magic" is for beginners who are trying to figure out how to bring their blogs to life with tons of visits, comments and social media interaction. It's even for advanced bloggers looking to reach new levels of authority and engagement with their audience.