You are about to master Magnetic Marketing—the system where customers hunt you down, and you never have to “get slapped” by the exhaustion of cold prospecting again. This methodology is built upon Dan Kennedy’s 34-year proven “Magnetic Marketing” system—a strategic machine that has generated over $65 million in sales across 200 different niches. The final result is a business that operates in a “competitive vacuum,” insulating you from price-shopping and the sting of rejection. However, before you can add new strategies, you must perform an aggressive removal of the strategic waste and “excess equipment” currently sabotaging your growth.
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Step 1: Strip the “Excess Equipment” (The Marketing Audit)
In business, most people confuse “busy work” with marketing execution. Over time, a business accumulates layers of complexity—new social media channels, disjointed tactics, and “branding” fluff—without ever pausing to see if those additions actually drive a dime in revenue. This accumulation creates a drift away from the fundamental triggers of profit.
The Harness Racing Horse Analogy
I own and manage harness racing horses; as I often tell people, I’m here working for “oats and vet bills.” There is a significant difference between a Kentucky Derby thoroughbred and a harness horse. A thoroughbred runs with almost no equipment. A harness horse, however, wears a ton of it: head poles, bits, boots, spreaders, and spiky burrs.
When you buy an older horse, say eight or nine years old, they are usually wearing “everything but the kitchen sink.” Why? Because they’ve moved through five or six trainers, and every trainer added a piece of equipment to solve a temporary problem, but no one ever took anything off. Your marketing is likely that eight-year-old horse. You’ve added Facebook, Twitter, and postcards just because they exist, not because they’re necessary. To find your most profitable path, you must strip away the gear and return to the core marketing that actually moves the needle.
Identifying “Marketing Piracy” and Busy Work
Much of what passes for marketing today is actually a hiding place for people afraid of a sales confrontation. It is easier to “twitter” or post mindlessly from a distance than it is to engage in a qualifying conversation. Use this checklist to identify where you are being a “marketing pirate” in your own business:
- The Distance Hideout: Are you using social media “busy work” specifically to avoid the discomfort of qualifying and closing prospects face-to-face or voice-to-voice?
- The “Quantity over Quality” Trap: Are you spending money to reach the maximum number of eyeballs at the lowest price, regardless of whether those people can actually afford you?
- Media as a Business: Are you treating “the Internet” as a business in itself, rather than just a delivery tool for a message?
- Unchecked Legacy Waste: Are you running ads simply because “that’s how we’ve always done it,” without recent data proving a return?
Once the waste is removed, you can finally focus on the only thing that matters: Ruthless Market Discrimination.
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Step 2: Ruthless Market Discrimination
In a recession-hangover economy, “broadcasting”—attempting to reach everyone—is for people who have more money to waste than brains. Consumers today are governed by what I call the “Depression Hangover.” Just as our grandparents’ spending habits were permanently dictated by their experiences in the 1930s, today’s buyers have a permanent psychological shift toward being more thoughtful and demanding of differentiation. Survival now depends on the courage to be discriminatory.
Quantity vs. Quality
The goal of Magnetic Marketing is not to find the cheapest “raw numbers.” It is to find the highest-quality prospects. Most marketers are terrified to qualify or discard prospects; they want to talk to everyone. You must stop being afraid to say “no” to the wrong eyeballs.
The California Mailing List Case Study
I recently worked with a client mailing 200,000 lead-generation pieces a month. In 12 years, they had never analyzed where their buyers were coming from. When we audited the data, we found that California was one of their three least productive states. By simply choosing to stop talking to California, they saved a fortune that could be reinvested into segments that actually buy. You must look at your own data and identify which “states” or segments are your least productive—and cut them off ruthlessly.
Magnetic Targeting vs. The Old Way
| Feature | Broadcasting (The Old Way) | Magnetic Targeting (The New Way) |
| Primary Goal | Max eyeballs at the lowest cost. | Maximum quality of prospects. |
| Market View | Broad and indiscriminate. | Ruthlessly segmented and discriminatory. |
| Philosophy | “Law of Averages” (Get slapped until a ‘yes’). | Strategic attraction (Speak only to those who can buy). |
| Result | Massive waste and erratic results. | Efficiency and a “Competitive Vacuum.” |
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Step 3: Crafting the Magnetic Message & Differentiation by Process
Products are rarely “inherently magnetic.” There are a thousand people selling what you sell. True differentiation comes from the marketing process—how the prospect arrives in your hands and how they feel during the transaction.
The “So What?” of Differentiation
If you cannot differentiate, you are forced to compete on price, which is a suicide mission. Differentiation is vital because customers judge you on feelings rather than technical reality. Take dental or chiropractic care: you don’t “split-test” your dental work. You don’t get the same procedure done by four dentists to see who is best. Because the customer has no way to judge technical quality, the marketing process is the only thing they can judge.
How a customer feels is dictated by how they were sold. If they feel bullied (the “Direct Sales” approach), they might buy once, but they will never refer anyone.
The Formulas
- Direct Sales Formula: Go out, get slapped a lot, and hope the “law of averages” delivers a win. This leads to burnout and “predatory” relationships.
- Magnetic Marketing Formula: Use a process to attract people who are already prepared. We often utilize a “Delayed Sale” concept—warming the prospect through a sequence before asking for the order.
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Step 4: Implement the “Five House Rule” (The Law of Proximity)
Most modern businesses neglect local influence, yet proximity is one of the most powerful filters available. The “Five House Rule” states that 1 customer should always equal 5 high-quality prospects.
The 1=5 Math
For every customer you serve, there are five people who either know them or have seen your presence: the neighbors on either side and the three across the street. By targeting these five, you move from “hunting” to “farming.”
The “Magnet Letter” (Green Gloop Example)
If you have a weight-loss client named Barbara, you don’t send a generic flyer to her neighbors. You send a letter with a “neighborly secret” angle:
“The next time you see your neighbor, Barbara, be sure to ask her how she lost so much weight so quickly. If Barbara won’t tell you her secret, we will: she’s been using our specialized ‘Green Gloop’ program. We’d love to show you how it works.”
This is highly effective because it uses a real person and a geographic context. It’s not a cold solicitation; it’s a nosy, neighborly recommendation.
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Step 5: The Multi-Step, Multimedia Sequence
A single touchpoint is an accident, not a system. To reduce sales resistance, you must “prepare” the prospect through a sequence.
- Multi-step: One contact is insufficient. You need a sequence of messages.
- Multimedia: Combine offline (Direct Mail) with online (Email/Text).
- Prospect Preparation: The goal is to move the prospect from zero information to a state where they are ready to accept your proposition.
The Collection Agency Logic
Think of a collection agency’s “First, Second, and Third Notice” system. They successfully collect money from people who have no money while offering them absolutely nothing in return. It is a strategic tragedy that most business owners won’t use a similar multi-step sequence for people who do have money and are being offered something of immense value.
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Step 6: Creating the Competitive Vacuum
Selling in a “swamp”—such as the open internet or a trade show floor—is a strategic error. As the CEO of Google famously noted in a Wall Street Journal article, the internet is “like selling in a swamp.” It is noisy, distracting, and full of competitors vying for attention simultaneously.
The Trade Show Hotel Suite Case Study
At a trade show, the “swamp” is the floor. My most successful clients don’t try to close deals there. They use the booth to qualify prospects and then move them to a private hotel suite. In that suite, the prospect’s attention is exclusive. The competition is non-existent. You have moved them into a “Vacuum.”
Checklist to “Vacuum-Seal” Your Sales Process
- Identify the Swamp: Where is your prospect seeing your message alongside your competitors?
- Create the Exit: What “ethical bribe” can you use to move them to a private environment (a phone call, an office, or a specialized landing page)?
- Control the Narrative: Once they are in your vacuum, ensure yours is the only story they hear.
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Conclusion & Implementation
Marketing is a strategic process, not the media (Internet, Radio, TV) used to deliver it. Whether you are a “Magnetic Expert” or a “slapped salesperson” depends entirely on your willingness to stop broadcasting and start attracting.
Which technique from this guide are you going to implement first?
- Conduct the “Excess Equipment” Audit: Strip your marketing down to the essentials and stop wasting money on the wrong eyeballs.
- Implement the “Five House Rule”: Turn your current customer wins into a neighbor-based lead-generation engine.
- Design a 3-Step “Collection-Style” Sequence: Build a multi-step system to prepare your prospects for a high-value offer.
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