Billy Mays Marketing Magic

07/08/2009 | 682 Comments

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The Insider Secrets Billy Knew About Turning Ordinary Household Products Into Muli-Million-Dollar Businesses…

How They Can Revolutionize Your Sales Process And Turn EVERY Product You Sell Into A Sales Windfall

Last week the airwaves were saturated by coverage of celebrities’ deaths.

If you’re a client of mine, it’s no surprise which one hit me the hardest. If you’re not, it was none other than Billy Mays, the greatest TV Pitchman ever.

In fact, when news of his death hit the airwaves, within the span of twenty minutes I received 5 text messages about Billy’s departure.

You might wonder why everyone was texting me about his death. Well, first off, I was a big fan of Billy’s. I told everybody I knew to watch and study the series Pitchmen on Discovery Channel.

And, second, my closest confidants knew I was considering creating a product with Billy on how to best sell through video.

Why would I want to create a product with Billy? Because Billy knew how to do something that very few marketers realize is even possible. He knew how to create and stir up demand for a product in less than two minutes.

That’s right, in less than 120 seconds he was able to introduce you to a product, get you to want it badly enough, and then get you to pick up the phone and crack open your wallet to order it. And once again – all in the span of two minutes.

It’s like the opening line of Pitchmen asserts “Two minutes of television wow that makes you buy now.”

And Billy was dammed good at it. Over the past decade the products he and his partner Anthony Sullivan sold on TV racked up combined sales of over $1 billion – and made each of them a personal fortune.

In 2008 alone their ads cumulatively ran for some 56,000 minutes on U.S. television at a cost of about $170 million, according to Icon Media. And just like A-level copywriters, these A-level pitchmen get a cut of every sale.

So, while banks are scrambling for bailouts, retailers are slashing prices, and industrial giants are cutting headcounts, Mays and Sullivan were thriving.
Why? Because recessions don’t daunt you when you are able to do the impossible – Getting people to buy something they didn’t even know existed in 120 seconds or less.

But, with Billy’s untimely death – all that has changed.

Unfortunately my product with Billy will never happen, the pitchmen series will probably not broadcast another season, and there won’t be any new Billy May’s pitches screaming through the TV at us.

Like I said, I was a huge fan of his show, Pitchmen. I watched every episode and took copious notes in order to improve my own marketing skills. And to honor Billy I’d like to share with you many of the gold nuggets I learned…

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