Making Them Believe: The 21 Principles and Lost Secrets of Dr. J. R. Brinkley-Style Marketing, by Dan S. Kennedy and Chip Kessler (Glazer-Kennedy Publishing, 2010). My rating: 5 of 5.
You are good at what you do. You have the degrees on the wall. And the phone still does not ring enough. Kennedy argues that skill and credentials alone will not fill your calendar, and he makes the case through one of the strangest characters in American business history.
What the book covers
John R. Brinkley was a promoter in the 1920s and 1930s who got rich selling a goat-gland surgery that was supposed to restore male vigor. He used radio, mail and showmanship to draw patients from across the country. He also lost his medical licenses and died bankrupt, facing lawsuits. Kennedy and Kessler do not defend the medicine. They study the marketing and boil it down to 21 principles on authority, media, positioning, follow-up and systems.
What stayed with me
Credentials need promotion. “Credentials without aggressive, effective promotion languish in frames on the walls of many a starving professional’s office.” Kennedy adds that promotion without real credentials is fragile. Having both is best. Many professionals have the first half and skip the second.
Narrow focus. Brinkley picked one kind of patient, one problem and one solution. Narrowing feels risky, but it makes you easier to remember and easier to refer.
Put a person in front. At small-business scale, Kennedy argues, a visible person beats a faceless institution. People hire people.
Start with what they want. His question is “how can I help my target customers get what they want? Not: how the devil can I sell what I’ve got?” Most of us spend our days on the second question.
Prepare before you sell. Kennedy deliberately delays the sale so the prospect arrives informed. Newsletters and videos do this well.
Follow up, and belong somewhere. Steady, systematic follow-up and presenting yourself as part of your own time and community round out the principles I kept.
A few cautions
Read this as history and strategy, not as a model to copy whole. Brinkley was a fraud, and several of the principles do not fit a professional practice. Lawyers cannot promise a cure or guarantee results, cannot hold out self-granted credentials, and must be careful with dramatic testimonials under Washington’s RPC 7.1. The chapters on deliberate controversy and on the desire to believe can slide into manipulation, which has no place in advice a client relies on. Follow-up should stay courteous, and lawyers must stop contacting a person who says no.
Who should read it
Business owners and solo professionals who are shy about marketing, and anyone curious about the history of American advertising. Bring your judgment with you. The lasting lessons here are about clarity, focus and persistence.
Quotes are short excerpts credited to the authors. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. The price you pay does not change. I read this book on my own, and no one asked me or paid me to review it. See Disclosures.