FREE Powerful Interview with Karen Waksman, Founder of Retail MBA Brands, and Joe Polish!
Joe Polish, the founder of Genius Network, recently interviewed Karen Waksman, the founder of Retail MBA. During the interview, Karen discussed the concept of doing challenges and contests to increase sales and engagement. She shared her experience working with Bill Phillips to create the EAS Physique Transformation Challenge, which was the FIRST large-scale contest of its kind. Karen also discussed how the contest was used to increase sales, engagement, and retention, as well as how it was used to create an audience and generate leads.
Karen also discussed how Bill Phillips used product packaging to engage customers, such as stickers that said “call this recorded message” and how he used direct mail to reach over a million people. She also discussed how Richard Branson was involved in the contest and how Beachbody was influenced by Bill Phillips’ work. Karen also shared how she came up with the concept of the “Theory of Evolution” ad, which was one of the most successful bodybuilding ads of the last four decades.
Engaging Clients
Karen emphasized the importance of engaging clients in order to get them to love what you sell. She discussed how hype can be used ethically to create enthusiasm for what you’re selling, but it must not be misleading or oversell something that you can’t deliver. She also discussed how David Ogilvy said that you cannot bore people into buying, so it’s important to create an engaging experience for customers.
EAS Physique Transformation Challenge
Karen discussed how Bill Phillips created the EAS Physique Transformation Challenge, which was the first large-scale contest of its kind. She discussed how the contest was used to increase sales, engagement, and retention, as well as how it was used to create an audience and generate leads. She also discussed how the contest was used to donate money to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, making Bill Phillips the single largest individual contributor in the history of the world to the foundation.
Karen also discussed how the contest was used to increase sales, as purchases doubled when people entered the contest. She also discussed how the more engaged someone was with what was being offered, the more they would spend, refer, and buy.
Product Packaging
Karen discussed how Bill Phillips used product packaging to engage customers, such as stickers that said “call this recorded message” and how he used direct mail to reach over a million people. She also discussed how she came up with the concept of the “Theory of Evolution” ad, which was one of the most successful bodybuilding ads of the last four decades.
Karen also discussed how she had Richard Branson come to one of her events and how she introduced the founders of Beachbody to Bill Phillips. She also discussed how Beachbody was influenced by Bill Phillips’ work.
Augmented Reality
Karen discussed how she is now using augmented reality to engage customers. She discussed how Clark Bartram, one of the top fitness models in the world, is using augmented reality to promote his new product. She discussed how customers can point their phone at his supplement and it will stir up a video of Clark saying how to use the supplement.
Conclusion
Karen Waksman’s interview with Joe Polish provided insight into how challenges and contests can be used to increase sales and engagement. She discussed how Bill Phillips used product packaging and direct mail to reach over a million people and how he used the EAS Physique Transformation Challenge to increase sales, engagement, and retention. Karen also discussed how she is now using augmented reality to engage customers and how Beachbody was influenced by Bill Phillips’ work.
About Joe Polish, Genius Network
Karen Waksman, founder of Retail MBA, interviews Joe Polish, a successful internet marketer and entrepreneur. They talk about his background and how he started his first business in 1990 as a carpet cleaner, where he learned marketing to survive. He fell in love with the concept and eventually transitioned to internet marketing after starting his first website in 1996. He now spends half his time helping high-level entrepreneurs through his group, Genius Network, which he created in 2007. He also spends his time helping people with addiction recovery through his addiction platforms, Artists for Addicts and Genius Recovery Foundation, which aims to change how people view and treat addicts with compassion instead of judgment. Joe likes connecting people with other individuals and strategies and emphasizes the importance of empathy, concern, taking care of oneself, and being connected with oneself to be able to connect well with others. Joe’s recipe courses and strategies are based on his own experiences and never sells anything he hasn’t used himself. He explains how he learned marketing through a newsletter by a guy named Gary Halbert and worked with Dan Kennedy, a renowned marketer, for the first nine years of his business. Karen is a member of Joe’s Genius Network, which was originally called the 25k Group.
Joe Polish Interviewed by Karen Waksman Outline
In the interview between Karen Waksman, Founder of Retail MBA and Joe Polish of Genius Network, they discussed the importance of creating deep connections with customers in order to establish bonded and engaged clients. They also talked about the ethical use of hype in marketing.
According to Polish, to get customers to love a business, what it sells must live up to its promise. Hype can be used ethically to create enthusiasm for a product or service, but it should not mislead or oversell something that cannot be delivered. David Ogilvy, the father of advertising, once said that “you cannot bore people into buying,” so marketing should be engaging and exciting.
Polish shared an example of how hype was used ethically to create a successful marketing campaign. Bill Phillips, the founder of Muscle Media 2000, initially started as a newsletter that talked about steroids and other contrarian topics in the bodybuilding industry. Phillips offered to give away a Lamborghini that was worth twice as much as the highest prize in bodybuilding to anyone who could transform their physique using his products. The contest became so successful that Phillips became the single largest individual contributor to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Polish gave Phillips the idea to donate money to the foundation, and that helped Phillips to create the Body for Life Challenge Contest, which became the basis for his book Body for Life.
Polish added that the success of Muscle Media 2000 was also due to the quality of the products. Phillips’ company, Experimental and Applied Sciences (EAS), sold protein powders, creatine supplements, and other products that were popular among bodybuilders. Although the company had retail stores, most of its profits came from direct-to-consumer sales, thanks to its successful marketing campaigns.
Polish also discussed how the use of influencers could help to promote a brand. Influencers are individuals who have a large following on social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Businesses can partner with influencers to promote their products to their followers, who are likely to trust their recommendations.
Polish noted that the use of influencers could be particularly effective in the health and wellness industry. Influencers who have achieved impressive physiques or weight loss transformations can be particularly effective in promoting products related to fitness and weight loss. However, businesses should be careful when selecting influencers and ensure that they align with their brand values.
Overall, the interview between Waksman and Polish provided valuable insights into how businesses can create successful marketing campaigns that build strong connections with customers. By focusing on ethical marketing practices and creating exciting and engaging campaigns, businesses can establish loyal customers who are willing to promote their products and services to others.
To learn more, watch the interview at the top of this page!
To your success,
Retail MBA
