Advertising and Marketing Ideas to Create Phenomenal Profits In YOUR Small Business

“What The Mayflower Madam Taught Me About Selling” PDF Print E-mail


I just read the book “XXX SELLING STRATEGIES” by Sydney Barrows and Dan Kennedy.

Barrows was the infamous Mayflower Madam. She ran a high priced call girl business.
Once you get past the idea that “Oh Golly, you mean she was in that business?”
The book really has many ideas that are easily transferable to retail or any small business.

One idea that struck me as transferable was how she handled a caller (guys calling for a “date”) that wanted a specific type of girl, and that girl wasn’t available.

Barrows made it sound like the girl was out of the country in some exotic locale..entertaining royalty. (You have to remember that this is a “Fantasy based” business). This would serve several purposes;
The value of the girl’’s company just shot through the roof. She was now thought of as an in-demand celebrity.
The prospect was now price conditioned to pay more for the girl...when she was available.
It made the prospect picture the girl (in his mind) as something other than a commodity.

OK, I admit that this discussion is a tad difficult. We are talking about prostitution, after all. But here was my reaction after reading the book….

“How can I adapt these ideas to my business?How can I adapt them to retail?”

I hope that would be your reaction too.

My reaction was not “These ideas won’t work in my business. My customers are different”

Anyway, here’s how I adapted the above idea to work in my retail store……….
Let’s say a customer comes in your store looking for a product that you sell...but don’t have in stock right now.

You could say “Sorry, it’s not in stock. It will be here in a week. Come back then.”

But what would you have? Nothing.

Or you could say “The demand for that product is sooo high, we just can’t keep them in stock. People are buying two and three at a time for gifts. I’d be willing to set one aside for you...and if you pay now, I’ll lock in the price, put your name on the first one through the door, and you’’ll be the first one I call when they come in. Fair enough?”

Now, what do you have?

Maybe nothing. Maybe a prepaid sale. But at least the buyer now believes that you are the Go-To guy for that product.
The customer’s whole attitude changes from “I may want one later” to “How can I get one now, to beat the rush?”


One of the best reasons to read sales & marketing books, isn’t for the ready made techniques you can find...but for the ideas that the book triggers.

I sell vacuum cleaners. Do you know how many profitable ideas I’ve received from other people in the vacuum cleaner business? Several. (Mostly from Subscribers).

But do you know how many ideas that consistently make me $1,000 or more a month, came from industries other than mine? All of them.

My three most profitable marketing ideas came from the insurance, medical, and restaurant fields.

That’s why I study Success Stories outside my core business. And so should you.