“I thought I was going to kill people for a living.” – Ian Stanley, Confessions of a Persuasion Hitman (page 5)
Wtf is a Persuasion Hitman and who tf is Ian Stanley? I’m gonna start this review by answering the second part.
And rather than tell you, it’s easier for me to just show you. You may or may not have seen Ian’s parody videos around the interwebs.
Like Lie Topez:
Or Very Grinderchuk:
Or Cant Gardone:
If you didn’t notice, those are parodies of Tai Lopez, Gary Vaynerchuk, and Grant Cardone.
He’s got other parody characters as well, all of them from the online business/internet marketing space.
Ian Stanley is an entrepreneur, standup comedian, and copywriter (though he never calls himself that; I’ll tell you why in a minute.)
He’s been entrepreneurial since childhood, but since his start in the online business world, he’s made over $100 million dollars selling products and services.
He managed to do this in contrarian, innovative ways. And, most importantly, making a game of it and having fun along the way.
That’s what his book is about…
Get your copy here.
Confessions of a Persuasion Hitman
Across 17 chapters and 180 pages, Ian Stanley reveals 13 rules you can use to…
Persuade people to hand over their money to you…
In more copious amounts than they would if you did not.
And, he does this by telling you stories – from his childhood and adult life…
Where he used these 13 rules to make a lot more money than other people doing the same thing.
- Like the time when – as a 10-year-old – he sold cups of lemonade for $1 while other children were selling for 25c
- Or the time he strung tennis rackets for $25 a piece while other Stringers were charging $12 to $15… he was 12 years old
- Or the time after college when he coached tennis for $70 an hour while his friends were making $10 an hour up to $50k per year… and did this while making his own schedule and working whenever he wanted
- Or the time he was trying to decide whether to charge a client $20,000 or $25,000 upfront to write some copy… he went with $25k because “Why not?”
- … I could go on and on
Because there are so many examples of Ian making a crapton of money for very little work.
All because he chose to not follow the herd…
And decided, instead, to live life and do business on his terms.
Take the title of the book, for example…
What’s a Persuasion Hitman?
Ian uses copywriting as his primary mode of selling.
But he is not a “copywriter.”
Or, at least, he chooses not to call himself one.
Because calling yourself a copywriter means you attach yourself to all the baggage and preconceived notions that come along with the title.
- A copywriter only does certain things.
- They only charge a certain amount.
- They’re mostly introverts and anti-social.
- They miss deadlines.
- … And so on.
But what if Ian chose to call himself something else?
A title no-one’s ever heard before.
They don’t know what it means and don’t have any preconceived notions.
And so…
- Ian gets to define what it means.
- Ian gets to define what he does.
- Ian gets to charge what he wants.
- Because he’s the only Persuasion Hitman that exists.
- He’s created a Category of One.
If you’ve read the 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing…
You’ll recognize it as the 2nd law:
- 1st immutable law of marketing – it’s better to be first than it is to be better
- 2nd immutable law of marketing – if you can’t be first in a category, set up a new category you can be first in
And, while we’re on the subject of persuasion…
You can also look at it another way:
Frame Control.
When you “control the frame” in an interaction, the other person accepts your worldview and plays by your rules.
As you can imagine, in this state it is far easier to persuade.
If you only took away one insight from this book, this would be the most important.
And it’s right there on the cover and in the introduction of the book.
But what’s inside is even better.
Yours Beardly reading the pdf version of Confessions Of A Persuasion Hitman. Included with your purchase.
The 13 Rules In Confessions Of A Persuasion Hitman
I hope one of these will interest you enough that you’ll invest in the book:
- Rule #1: Set clear boundaries – The first sale I ever made (page 19)
- Rule #2: Get the highest average order value on every purchase – My second sale; the world’s most profitable lemonade stand (page 21)
- Rule #3: Time and money are not related – My third sale; how I got paid $50/hour to watch TV when I was 12 (page 41)
- Rule #4: You’re not charging enough – A short story to prove time and money aren’t related; $5k in 30 seconds (page 51)
- Rule #5: You’re always selling a feeling – How to use the 8 core emotions to make people cry and buy (page 55)
- Rule #6: Do the math – How I became the top salesman in the office in just 2 weeks (page 73)
- Rule #7: Combine short-term cashflow with long-term recurring revenue – The secret of turning one sale into countless sales (page 85)
- Rule #8: The first line is most important – The one sentence that can make or break any sales message (page 107)
- Rule #9: Use the same language your prospects use – My not-so-secret sales weapon (page 115)
- Rule #10: Identify your “click moment” – How to use unpredictability to make predictable sales (page 125)
- Rule #11: Sell them what they want, give them what they need – Two sentences to live or die by as a salesperson (page 133)
- Rule #12: Tell the stories that scare you the most – The most profitable story you’ll ever tell (page 137)
- Rule #13: Don’t let the stories you tell yourself define you – How to rewrite the stories we tell ourselves (page 141)
Some of these rules may look obvious or be something you already know.
Ian’s writing will help you understand them in ways you did not.
Some of these rules may look like they aren’t related to persuasion at all.
Ian’s writing will convince you otherwise.
And the stories from Ian’s life will keep you turning the pages from start to finish.
But you don’t have to take my word for it, because here’s some…
Praise For Confessions Of A Persuasion Hitman
By a few of the world’s greatest copywriters and marketers…
People whose business it is to persuade for a living:
“While I don’t know Ian Stanley, I’ve followed him for a while. I’m not a stalker… just obsessed with lively minds doing interesting things.
So… while ‘not stalking’ him I got my hands on his new book, Confessions of a Persuasion Hitman and loved it.
His take on subjects such as lifetime value, using the same language your prospects use and “telling the stories that scare you most” are particularly good… and he comes at the topic of persuasion as both a copywriter and a marketer which I really appreciate.
And his informal style, sense of humor and good summary (i.e. accentuation of the key points of each chapter) made it a terrific read and very usable.”
– Brian Kurtz, direct marketing legend and author of Overdeliver
“Ian Stanley manages to breathe new life into proven, time-tested marketing principles with these entertaining stories from his own life. I found myself looking at familiar principles with fresh eyes, and learned a few new tricks as well.
If you’re looking for a short, entertaining read that can also give you an idea or two about how to get more bang for your marketing buck, you’re sure to enjoy Confessions of a Persuasion Hitman.”
– David Deutsch, A-list direct response copywriter
“’God damnit, why didn’t I think of that?!?!?’ That’s what I always think to myself after listening to Ian speak, or after reading his ideas in his latest book.
Ian’s a clear, concise and clever thinker that makes me jealous of his every word! Read this book. It’ll make you smarter. And your bank account will thank you for it.”
– Joe Schriefer, publisher at Agora Financial
“Ian Stanley is one of the most creative, original, and effective copywriters I know. He combines a unique talent for storytelling with a superb understanding of fundamentals to create compelling, high converting sales copy.
Whether you are looking to create a new offer, make an absurd amount of money on an email marketing campaign, or to build your brand – there’s no one I would recommend more highly than Ian.”
– Stefan Georgi, A-list copywriter with over $700 million in sales
“When I first met Ian Stanley I thought to myself, ‘This dude is too young to be this wise.’ And ever since reading Confessions of a Persuasion Hitman, my reaction is the same. Ian is just too young to be this wise.
This book contains tons of great lessons that can help you sell a lot more stuff if that’s what you want. And who knows, if you’re open to it you’ll discover all kinds of lessons that will help you in several other areas of your life, too.”
– Doberman Dan, Serial Entrepreneur and Three-Time International Bestselling Author
“This is probably one of the easiest-to-read books about the stuff that really moves the needle when it comes to selling. Each chapter will make you money. And you can read like 3 pages at a time, which makes it great for finding little nuggets to implement in your business right away.”
– Justin Goff, 8-figure entrepreneur and copywriter
Obviously, I haven’t included all of the praise, or this review would be 5,000 words long.
But you can find more inside the book.
Confessions of a Persuasion Hitman is a timeless book…
Filled with enduring truths about human psychology and what gets people to take action.
It teaches you how to think about persuasion.
But not what, precisely, you must do to get people to take action.
And therein lies the…
One Major Drawback Of Confessions Of A Persuasion Hitman
In making a book evergreen, it’s necessary to focus on fundamentals over tactics.
My own book, Dragon Energy: The Tao Of Personal Branding, is also written in this way.
The problem is some people will read a fundamentals-based book and come away unfulfilled.
People love a clear action plan they can take and use to get immediate results (this is another fundamental of persuasion.)
So, to make sure you get your money’s worth…
And so you have no excuse whatsoever not to purchase…
Your very own copy of Confessions of a Persuasion Hitman…
I’m offering you an exclusive bonus gift:
My 10-Day “Special Event” Email Promotion Sequence
The holidays are coming.
Thanksgiving. Black Friday/Cyber Monday. Christmas. New Year.
What if you had a step-by-step email promotion you could use to…
Turn your email list into an ATM, make in rain, stack racks on racks, et cetera?
That’s what I’m offering you if you purchase a copy of Confessions of a Persuasion Hitman using my special link.
I’ve used this promotion to…
Presell 83 copies of my book before I wrote a single word:
And take an eCommerce store from 0% to 30% of revenue from email in 2 weeks:
And then do it again the next month…
For 26% growth in email revenue…
And 15% growth in total revenue…
With only 2 weeks of emailing:
How to claim your bonus gift
- Purchase your copy of Confessions of a Persuasion Hitman by clicking here.
- Take a screenshot of your receipt.
- Email a copy of that screenshot to nabeel@dropkickcopy.com with the subject line “CPH Receipt.”
- Once you’ve sent me your receipt, I will add you to a special list
- The 10-Day “Special Event” Email Promotion Sequence will be delivered to you via email.
And remember…
Confessions of a Persuasion Hitman is just $5.89.
You only pay for shipping.
Click the button below and get your copy of Confessions of a Persuasion Hitman today…
