His Mom Said, “Don’t!” Thankfully, He Did…

At the bottom of this email, you’ll see a special invitation to hang out with John Bejakovic — one of the world’s great copywriters and author of one of my favorite books on the psychology of selling. Here’s a little taste of what makes John special…


In his book “10 Commandments of Con Men, Pickup Artists, Magicians, Door-to-Door Salesmen, Hypnotists, Copywriters, Negotiators, Political Propagandists, Stand Up Comedians, and Oscar-Winning Screenwriters,” John Bejakovic shares stories about how he applied some of the most powerful persuasion techniques known to ‘man…’


…to pick up women.


When his mom read the first draft of the book, she told John to get rid of those stories. They made her little boy sound like a “calculated seducer,” she told him.


Reminds me of the time I wrote an email about Charles Manson and how he persuaded young women to join his “family.”


Holy blow-back, Batman. I caught a lot of heat for that one.


Even my best buddy, Mike, wrote to say, “Not your best.”


Here’s what John’s mom, Mike, and the other naysayers miss:


John and I don’t tell you about pickup artists and mass murderers to encourage that behavior.


(John doesn’t apologize for his pickup artistry, but acknowledges that pickup artists have a certain reputation; and I’ll say this loud and proud: Mass murder is EVIL).


No, we share such stories to reveal the persuasion techniques which you, dear readers, can harness to grow your business.


John’s pickup artist stories reveal — among many persuasion techniques — a quick and powerful way to test whether your prospect is ready to buy — so you can consistently and confidently close more sales.


John’s con men stories reveal the “confidence trick” — and the simple psychological trigger behind it that will get more prospects to say yes before you’ve even made your offer.


And his hypnotist stories reveal how to take a skeptical, guarded prospect and move them from resistance to full commitment, using the same method that turned a man who only spoke gibberish back into a functioning member of society.


Move prospects from resistance to full commitment. Get prospects to say yes before you even make your offer. Consistently and confidently close more sales. Who wouldn’t want to know ALL of that?!?


Never mind that these are the same techniques used by con men, pickup artists, and such.


Get over that.


Persuasion techniques are not reserved just for the chaste and virtuous.


YOUR mission is to act with virtue. To be an ethical business person. To serve clients.


If you have products or services that will help the prospects you meet, you’re not evil if you apply human psychology to make the sale.


Marketing legend Jay Abraham said it best: “If you truly believe that what you have is useful and valuable to your clients, then you have a moral obligation to try to serve them in every way possible.”


You’ll serve more if you persuade better. And you’ll persuade better if you read John’s book and/or join us live on Thursday as we discuss it with him.


Ted Prodromou and I chose this book as the March 2026 selection for the Mastermind Book Club.

Grab a copy and join us TOMORROW (Thursday, March 26, 2:30 p.m. ET) live on Zoom with John as our special guest.

Every month, Ted and I choose a great book for Club members to read and discuss. When we meet, we explore ways we can apply lessons from the book to elevate our businesses.


Get the book here.

Join us tomorrow (March 26) here.