Yoohoo!
It’s Kambam the copy man, comin’ at chu from a mildly sunny spot in Cali.
(Nobody calls California “Cali”, btw. Pro tip from the West Coast).
The other day I was watching Oceans 8 with my wife and sister-in-law.
And there’s this totally brilliant scene that I just HAD to write about…
(Spoiler alert: I don’t actually know if this is a spoiler, so if you’ve been dying to watch Ocean’s 8 but just haven’t gotten to it but you really wanna see how it ends and don’t want the movie ruined…
Then this email will probably not spoil anything…just a helpful heads up)
To get you caught up to speed on this piece of cinematic mastery…
The movie is about Danny Ocean’s sister, Debbie, as she plots a massive jewelry heist in an intricate plot to get back at her ex while simultaneously making enormous amounts of money.
She assembles a badass team of female Avengers to take the task and steal the diamonds.
One of the Jewelry Heist Avenger thieves is Rihanna.
And she plays a cool-cat character known as 9 Ball, who is a computer hacker with some serious skillz.
And she has a surprisingly relevant lesson for marketers and entrepreneurs everywhere…
See, 9 Ball’s job is to hack into the security system of the Met (where the heist will take place), and create a blind spot in the cameras.
In order to do this, she needs to get a virus onto the computer of the “head of matrix design” so she can totes hack the system.
And in order to do this, 9 Ball breaks out some lethal marketing principles so she can be SURE she will capture the attention of her mark and effortlessly lure him into unwittingly give her access to his entire security system…
Using these simple techniques of powerful persuasion, you too can craft seductive messages that attract your ideal prospect right through the front door.
Ethically, of course.
This is particularly relevant for those of you who may send cold emails or messages as a method of prospecting…
ALRIGHT! Let’s break it down people!
We’ll call this “The 9 Ball Formula for Criminal Persuasiveness”.
There’s 3 parts to this:
1. Get the lay of the land
2. Investigate your mark
3. Craft & deliver
STEP 1: Get the lay of the land
9 Ball formulates her plan for understanding her target. In your case, you need to have a plan for investigating and understanding your customer avatar. She does a simple selection process to figure out exactly who is the RIGHT person for her to target.
She doesn’t just start at the very top and go after every person on the security team. Instead, she starts with an objective, “Who is most likely to have the information I need to hack the system and get what I need?”
Only once she has identified her mark is she able to proceed.
THIS IS HUGE.
I’ve worked with dozens upon dozens of entrepreneurs who don’t make it past this first step. Because you have to make a decision.
And making a decision means saying NO to other options.
Say YES to 1 potential avatar. (It doesn’t mean you’re saying no to the others forever…just for the time being. You can always incorporate those other avatars later on into your marketing).
Step 1 is complete: 9 Ball knows who she’s going after. It’s about to get good, you guys.
STEP 2: Investigate your mark
After 9 Ball cleverly and consciously made a declaration about who she would target…she got to work understanding everything she could about the guy.
His name was Paul, he was kinda nerdy, and as it turns out, he was in love with Wheaten Terriers.
Since this is the movies, 9 Ball was able to figure this out like, instantly… but the point is that she went through the work of figuring out exactly what her target market wanted.
For entrepreneurs and marketers, understanding your target market is a huge undertaking. It involves constantly talking to the people you want to serve, and being willing to adjust if the avatar you’ve chosen doesn’t serve you or your business.
ESPECIALLY if you’re a personal brand/expert- based business, it’s beyond important to work with people that light you up. Otherwise, you’re mixing up a recipe for disaster with a capital D.
Back to 9 Ball…
She finds her target, she researches everything she can about him and then she completes the final step…
STEP 3: Craft & Deliver
Finally, 9 Ball sits down and casually crafts the most relevant marketing message I’ve ever seen in cinema.
Given Paul’s total obsession with Wheaten Terriers, 9 Ball creates a relevant website and email that’s all about how awesome these cute little dogs are….
And she knows that Paul won’t be able to resist clicking and taking a peek at the multitudinous dogs that occupy the site…
She crafts the message, sends the email, and sure enough…Paul can’t resist clicking on the site and BOOM, 9 Ball gets her virus onto his computer.
Now…you’re obviously not trying to infect people’s hardware with malicious software…
BUT…you are trying to infect your potential customers with a liking, knowing, and trusting you and your expertise so that when it comes time to make the sale, they’re just THROWING money at you rather violently.
9 Ball won because she has the combination of knowing EXACTLY who she wanted to reach along with the skills to craft an insanely relevant message that is catered to the exact needs and wants of her target market.
So the next time you’re thinking about your marketing campaign, and how to reach Your People…
Just follow 9 Ball’s simple process, become a criminal, and steal $16 million worth of jewels…
Well…maybe just the first part of that 😉
Anyway…good morning people!
And in case I don’t see you…
Good afternoon, good evening and good night 😉
-KamBam the Copy Man
P.S. Oceans 8 is highly entertaining, and I recommend watching it. Anytime you can get Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett together on the silver screen…it’s bound to be worth your time.