Some books teach marketing but are not very good at selling themselves.
This is what author Tung Desem Waringin pledged to change: To use the marketing tactics in his latest book, Marketing Revolution, to sell it fast.
Starting right on the front cover, he promises the book is worth every rupiah spent. It teaches the way to "increase your wealth by 2000 percent within six months - or less - with marketing" and "to sell your product within three seconds". This type of language, he argues, sells products and services faster.
He ties his book in with his free coaching DVDs and free seminars - another tactic featured in his book. The results have been effective. The book has become one of publisher Gramedia's best sellers.
In one chapter he teaches inexpensive yet creative promotion, which he then went on to practice. In order to promote his book, he dropped Rp 100 million worth of paper money over a field and was featured in various national and international media.
Within the 245 pages, he highlights the importance of understanding customer behavior - wanting something extra yet low risk - and how to fulfill their needs.
The answers, he said, could be found in his 12 pillars of conveying trustworthy offerings and seven revolutionary marketing maneuvers.
Tung concentrates on practical, specific tactics that can be modified to suit different fields of business, rather than a general idea of marketing.
"Just like Deng Xiao Bing who said he did not care if a cat is black or white, as long as it is good at catching mice; I don't care if my marketing is hard selling or soft selling, as long as it sells," he writes.
He gives checklists - down to the last detail - of what to do and what to watch out for. For example, to convey offers through a press release, one should not forget to include the contact details.
He asks things like why some taglines work better than others, why a free gift is cheaper than a discount, why every award earned is meaningful and why you should completely avoid blind testing.
Understanding the human character is critical and the habit of returning a kindness can be a crucial point in selling, he says.
"My insurance agent was good to me and sent me a birthday present. When he fell short of a few insurance policies to reach his target, I bought my ninth insurance policy, although I did not really need it," he explainss.
"So effective is the method that it is dangerous because it may lead to subjectivity at work," he adds.
To make the book even more personal, the final chapter discusses how to get rich through marketing by questioning why the famous artist Van Gogh was poor while Pablo Picasso was rich.
Tung does not hide the fact his book gathers the knowledge of other marketing experts and uses examples of famous people and brings them all together. But he is better at showing people the way to do it.
"Many people tell others that they have to be this and that, have to sell fast and market effectively, but they do not tell people the way to do it. I show them the way. It is like a magic show. Nothing is magical, everything is scientific. People just have to know the science," he says.
Written in informal Bahasa Indonesia with stories and illustrations, the book is a fun read on the serious subject of money making. But he warns the reader from the start, as early as page 7, through an illustration of a kung fu fighter in training, to "read and practice".
"I think action is more important than just thinking about it," he says.
"Even with due consideration, without action there will be no result. With the right action, even without much consideration, there will be a result. The best way is to make the right decision to support the right action - it will result in something good."
