Getting Legal and Squeaky Clean Sales Through the Same Principles That Political Campaign Opposition (“Oppo”) Researchers Use to Find Out Politicians’ Deepest, Darkest Secrets

Political opposition researchers have one goal in life, which is to dig up “by hook or by crook” the information that will critically damage and defeat their client’s election opponent.

They’re known for digging through a candidate’s or someone close to the candidate’s student records, criminal records, social media accounts, organization memberships, medical records, voting records, business records, and whatever else of importance they can get their hands on. And if they’re politicians, the oppo researchers will go through and find every political position they’ve ever taken, every interview, and every speech they’ve given in their whole life.

They know that if they dig deep enough, they will always find a weakness.

Just like Joseph Stalin’s chief interrogator used to say, “Show me the man and I’ll show you the crime.”

A good oppo researcher can say “show me the candidate and I’ll show you the career-ending secret he has.”

Not only that:

Candidates will usually hire an oppo researcher to dig up dirt on THEMSELVES!

Why?

To ensure that they can be prepared for whatever their election opponent or the media, or an activist might throw at them to try and tear them down.

Lesson: This kind of extreme vetting can be applied to your own sales and branding, too!

To start with, buy your competitors’ products and use them for yourself or give them to someone who they’re made for and see what they think.

Test them out, use them for a while, and write down what your experiences are.

Ask yourself questions like: What do you like? What don’t you like? How does it work compared to your product — better or worse? How does it make you feel when you use it? What’s the process like from purchase to getting the product? What are the bonuses that come along with the product? Do they deliver on their promise?

Write down or record your answers to the questions above plus any other useful ones you can think of.

And then do the same with your own products in a completely open and honest way, as if you were a totally skeptical prospect.

After you’re done, you’ll have a complete file of all the strengths and weaknesses of your product and your competitors’ products that you can draw from when you write your sales copy. Then you will know exactly how to sell your product to your prospect.

While researching for your copy, you should treat your competitors’ products the same way that opposition candidates treat their opponents. Dig up all the dirt you can!

David Lowenthal is an independent direct response fundraising serving libertarian and other freedom-loving nonprofits.

This chapter is part of his book 32 Jackpot Marketing Secrets from History’s Greatest and Craziest Persuaders! If you would like to discover more marketing secrets from some of history’s most successful entrepreneurs, copywriters, politicians, negotiators, lawyers, talk show hosts, actor/directors, political activists, and much more, you can download a copy of his FREE ebook, 32 Jackpot Marketing Secrets from History’s Greatest and Craziest Persuaders!, by signing up here.

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