Gary Bencivenga held his farewell seminar at the St. Regis Hotel.
Bencivega’s motto was, Why not the best? That’s why he chose the ritzy St. Regis.
The St. Regis hotel holds Forbes five-star and AAA five-diamond ratings. It’s been home to a bunch of famous guests and residents, including Alfred Hitchcock, Salvador Dali, and John Lennon, who recorded a demo version of “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” in his room. At the time of Bencivenga’s seminar, 15 years ago, a room at the St. Regis cost $750/night.
But let’s get back to Gary Bencivenga.
He got excellent results as a copywriter. Perhaps better than anyone else. But I believe his farewell seminar is why we’re still talking about the guy 15 years after he retired.
That “Why not the best” attitude gives Bencivenga a position in the mind. He remains the premier A-list copywriter, while other A-listers of his generation fade into obscurity.
Now here’s another positioning tidbit for you to mull over:
Jay Abraham won’t speak at an event unless he’s the keynote speaker. Jay positions himself as the world’s premier marketing consultant. Why would he ever accept anything less than top billing?
Rolex. Rolls Royce. Harvard. Like Gary Bencivenga and Jay Abraham, these are all premier brands. That means 1) they charge a premium over what their competition charges and 2) they occupy a clear position in the prospect’s mind. Why not the best?
Of course, there’s a problem.
You can’t simply wave a wand, claim to be the premier choice, and make it true.
Conditions have to be right. There’s got to be a soup of good options — you one of them – but nobody to claim the premier position yet. Or you can think of it as a war, with many warring parties, but no clear winner.
Now here’s the good news:
If those conditions exist, you don’t have to wait and hope for the “premier” label to land on your shoulders.
You can proclaim yourself the premier choice.
Start charging never-before-seen prices.
And adopt the attitude. Why not the best?
War is over. Your prospect finally has a clear winner to keep in his mind.
Ok, so much for the ritzy part of the marketing spectrum. Now for the down-and-dirty:
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