Should I Close my Biz and Try This…?

If this marketing thing doesn’t work out for me, I know what I can do when I grow up.

I can be a…

…Villain-for-Hire!

I got the idea from a guy in Malaysia named Shazali Sulaiman who launched his villain-for-hire biz earlier this month.

It works like this.

You pay Shazali $22 (weekdays) or $33 (weekends) and tell him the time and place you’ll be out with your honey.

Shazali describes in a social post what happens next:

“I show up to ‘disturb’ your partner, giving you the chance to step in as the hero and take me down.” (🥊 Pow!)

I haven’t seen Shazali’s service contract.

But if I get into the villain-for-hire biz, I’m going to lawyer-up my contract to define the limits of “disturb your partner” and “take me down.”

I also should probably check with my insurance agent to see if my workers’ comp rates are higher for this line of work.

Anyhow…

All of this reminds me of Charles Atlas and his famous comic strip ad: “The Insult That Made a Man Out of Mac.”

I break it down in Chapter 8 of my book Story Power Marketing (starting today, you can get a paperback copy for free; you just pay for shipping):

When I was a kid, I read comic books. And when I read comic books, I always saw the cartoon ad about the “97pound weakling.” Here’s the story as told in the ad, “The Insult That Made a Man Out of Mac.”

Mac is hanging out at the beach with a bikini-clad brunette. A two hundred–pound bully kicks sand in Mac’s face. Mac tells the bully to quit it, and the bully gets all bully-ish. He says, “I’d smash your face . . . only you’re so skinny you might dry up and blow away.” (Ouch.)

The weakling seethes and says, “The big bully! I’ll get even some day.” The brunette replies: “Oh don’t let it bother you, little boy!” (Double ouch.)

Mac is fed up. He cracks open a magazine and reads the ad for a book by Charles Atlas. “Charles Atlas says he can give me a REAL body!” Mac says. “All right! I’ll gamble a stamp and get his FREE book.”

Fast-forward to Mac’s next trip to the beach. He socks the bully in the jaw. The bikini-clad brunette grabs Mac by his very large, perfectly developed arm, and coos, “Oh, Mac! You ARE a real man after all!”

And there you have it. A classic American story about someone who transforms from boy to man, weak to strong, little to big, unloved to adored, humiliated to redeemed.

How did the weakling do it? He bought Charles Atlas’s book and discovered how “Dynamic-Tension” can make you a “new man.”

The story sold lots of books and courses. Boxing champions Rocky Marciano and Joe Louis were clients. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jake “Body by Jake” Steinfeld were too. Even England’s King George VI pulled a few pence from the royal piggy bank and purchased the Atlas course.

Not bad for a skinny Italian immigrant who says he was the real-life victim of a sand-kicking bully.

Back to Malaysia…

There’s a fine line between genius and MADNESS.

Posing as a villain and bully so your client can take you down? That may be madness.

But I have to hand it to Shazali for tapping into Charles Atlas’s marketing genius.

He understands his target market. He knows many desire that boy-to-man, victim-to-hero transformation.

When you understand the transformations your prospects and clients seek, you have the building blocks you need to assemble powerful stories that attract better leads and land more clients.

I show you how in my book.

I plan to dive even deeper in the “Tech-to-Profit Formula” training on Thursday.

Here are the training details:

When: Thursday, February 6; 8 p.m. ET, 5 p.m. PT

Where: Live online. You’ll get the link when you reserve your seat.

Details and Registration: Here.

Get a free paperback copy of my book:

Go here: https://storypowerbook.com/free-plus-shipping

Read about all the bonuses I’m offering. 🥳

Enter your contact info, address, and CC.

I’ll pay for the book. You pay only for shipping and handling.

When you get your book, turn to page 89 where I share the story of how Angelo Siciliano transformed into “Charles Atlas” (fascinating story loaded with business lessons).