Lessons Learned From The Marketing Mercenary

This is a photo of Ron Lynch.

You’ve probably never heard of him.

Ron’s one of those guys operating in the shadows of the marketing world.

Behind the scenes.
Undercover.
A master strategist, plotting the domination of markets.

A Marketing Mercenary, if you will.

If you already know who Ron is, I don’t need to fluff his credentials.

If you don’t know who he is, you’ve heard of his clients.

GoPro.
Samsung.
Johnson & Johnson.

Ron works with some of the biggest companies on the planet.

He’s a master of the infomercial… and his campaigns have turned unknown products into household names.

Along the way, he’s racked up over $4 billion in sales.

Safe to say, Ron knows a thing or two about how to sell.

The picture I shared is Ron and me at the Swiss Consulate in Austin, November 2017.

It captures the moment Ron initiated me as one of his “Marketing Mercenaries.”

An elite unit of marketers he’d trained in his wily ways.

In the original group, 73 candidates signed up.

Less than 20 were selected.

The selection process was hardcore.

Ron eliminated anyone who didn’t respect his teachings.

If you didn’t show up and do the work, Ron took you out back and put a bullet in your head.

Do not pass Go.
Do not collect $200.

He was RUTHLESS about weeding candidates out.

It’s safe to say I learned a ton during the selection process.

And today, I want to share ONE specific lesson.

It starts with the moment I was introduced to Ron, back in 2015.

At the time, the legendary mixed martial artist Ronda Rousey was getting ready to defend her title against Holly Holm.

The MMA world was on fire for the event. The UFC billed the fight as the largest in the history of the organization.

In the lead up to the promotion, I wrote an article about how the UFC sells the hell out of their fights using Unique Selling Propositions.

Back in 2015, I was just starting to build my authority around USPs, under the guidance (and encouragement) of the amazing Kevin Rogers.

(Kevin has a unique knack for helping emerging copywriters find their strengths and specialties.)

To my surprise, the article blew up.

It got a ton of comments and feedback on social media.

That’s when Ron, the shadowy Mercenary that he is, emerged in the comments section and shared this beauty:

“Great read. Insightful. The real magic for the U.S.P. discovery is everything you mention here. I’ve downloaded your product as well and recommend readers do so. I shy away from people calling themselves experts but in this case I feel valid claiming that status. As I read this I was challenged that there were some parts and pieces potentially missing from this dialogue. All of those are clearly answered in your download and extremely accurate. This is a quality complete read even for those who think they are a bit of a know-it-all, which is me pointing in the mirror a bit. Well worth the time, the read and thank you for being so willing and open with your work. You are clearly a Jedi??”

Now, when I first read the comment, I had NO CLUE who Ron was.

I was visiting Kevin at the time. And as we drove around St. Petersburg, Florida, he laid it out for me.

“That comment’s a keeper… remember that one,” he said with a nod and a wink.

That’s when I reached out to Ron first. We had a brief exchange over email, and that was it…

Until 2017.

On my nomadic adventure, I ended up in Austin, Texas.

Funnily enough, that’s where Ron lives.

While I was there, Ron “announced” a new “under the radar” training program he was putting together with a “call to arms” style post on Facebook.

Ron explained that he was sick of how most marketers plied their trade. He wanted to train an elite group of marketers on the methods he’d perfected throughout his career.

One thing you need to know about Ron is that he’s a MASTER of Unique Selling Propositions.

And since USPs were a specialty of mine, I was on board. IMMEDIATELY.

Now, it’s worth me mentioning here that USPs are tricky beasts.

Up to that point, I’d done a lot of work with clients, helping them identify their “Powerful Only Factor”… a combination claims they could make that were both Appealing and Exclusive.

Unfortunately, for most of them, once I’d taken them through my process, there wasn’t a lot they could point at that fit the criteria.

The business owners would get a TON of value and clarity out of the process… but what I noticed was most businesses were NOT that outstanding.

They weren’t bad businesses.

They all did great work for their clients.

They just weren’t DIFFERENT.

The reason for this is that most businesses tend to copy each other… for fear of their competitors sneaking an advantage over them.

Still, these businesses came to me looking for a USP.

In reality, they were searching for a magic combination of words that would transform how the market saw their product or service.

And THAT is where most of them were falling down.

Copywriting and positioning ARE powerful tools.

But they can only amplify what’s already there.

What struck me about Ron’s approach to marketing was how much emphasis he put on the “pre-game.”

Ron spent tons of time pre-screening his clients to make sure they had a UNIQUE innovation.

Ron explained that his main job was to find a product he could apply his skills to.

That was when the lightbulb went off.

For most businesses without a unique advantage already in place, I realized they’d be far better off discovering an INNOVATION they could develop… rather than trying to jazz up their marketing message.

Because once they had an innovation… it would make everything else so much easier.

Now, when I say innovation, I don’t mean you need to develop the next iPhone or GoPro.

And you don’t need to develop some sort of App, or anything like that.

What I’m talking about is creating a new dimension of value for your target market.

Something they can’t find anywhere else.

If that sounds complicated… what you need to realize is that there are cracks and crevices in EVERY market.

You just need to understand what the market is trying to accomplish to see where those cracks are.

Once you understand WHO you want to attract and what their trying to get done… then you can develop a capability to tackle the unique problems they’re facing RIGHT NOW… that they can’t find in any other solutions.

Innovation 101.

THAT is the underlying process that leads to a powerful Unique Selling Proposition.

To share some examples, I wasn’t born with the expert ability to craft Unique Selling Propositions.

And 4 years ago I didn’t know how to make a business Open Every Day.

These are two areas where I saw my clients struggling, where the market underserved them.

So, I innovated.

I developed a capability that I KNEW would make me stand out.

I created a dimension of value that didn’t exist before… for me… or my clients.

Whenever I work with a client, the first step is to understand THEIR customer. Get to the bottom of what THE CUSTOMER is trying to accomplish.

Once we understand that… and paint a clear picture of the obstacles the customer is trying to overcome….

…coming up with an offer to help those people (and position the client) in a unique way becomes way easier.

Because here’s the thing…

For most businesses, you don’t discover a Unique Selling Proposition.

You DEVELOP it.

And once you’ve got a USP, that’s when positioning and messaging is a walk in the park.

So, if you’re interested in developing a Unique Selling Proposition for your target market…

…right now, I’m looking for candidates for the next Open Every Day Case Study Group.

If you sell an online program, have over 500 people on your email list, sell your stuff for $500 or more, and want to move away from the launch model… this could be for you…

Here’s the idea… inside the group I’ll work with you to create the systems and processes you need to move away from the launch model and make your business Open Every Day.

And if you don’t double your investment… you don’t pay a dime.

If that sounds interesting check out the Open Every Day Implementation Program:

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