Watchdog Nation received this letter from Johnny P. We share because, although not our usual topic, it really puts things in perspective:

“Dave, i believe you are a good man. i wrote you a while back, that is my only contact with you. i need something to do so i am writing you.

i am an independent trucker… i worry every day about the job i once had. tonight that seems so trivial.

you see march 27, 2000, my wife had a brain aneurism. it has been almost 9 years since that day. i am thankful every day to have HER.

tonight i am scared. my wife went to bed. i was not tired so i stayed in the office talking to people looking for work. she called out to me. she told me she did not feel well. there are things she says that tells me something is wrong.

you see she has [the symptoms] – when her eye misses up or she has a headache things change. tonight she has both symptoms.

so here i am writing to you because i need to. you see i have been so worried about not making a living and the economy i have forgot the most important thing. my wife.

i hope my prayers will get her through the night and i will have tomorrow and many more tomorrows with her. i will be here for her and i hope she does not need me. if she does i will be here. it will be a long night.

i know this is not what you normally talk about, but in this house of silence, and as i wait for daylight and hope all is well, i needed to write to someone. that someone was you. i hope you understand.

Thank you, Johnny.”

Note to Johnny. Watchdog Nation is praying for your wife and for you. Thank you for spending that night sharing.

Wendy of Wendy’s Hair Studio won the Watchdog Nation book sales contest. She beat three other businesses with more foot traffic – a busy postal station/self-storage retail outlet; a dental office; and a popular restaurant in a gas station. You better believe you can learn selling tips from this hair stylist. How did she do it? And what does her technique show us about the ways to make people connections in an increasingly high-tech, limited contact world.

Watchdog Nation: Congratulations on winning.

Wendy: Thank you.

WDN: You sold double digits and slaughtered the competition. If the book business is hurting, you could open a store right here. What was your sales secret?

Wendy: The book is right in front of my client while I work. And that starts a conversation. I say, “Have you read Dave’s new book? Sit and have a look at it.”

WDN: While you are cutting hair?

Wendy: While I am cutting hair.

WDN: So some of these books you sold have little hairs in their pages?

Wendy: Right. That’s like an autograph by me also. I’d say, “Here you go. Take a look.” People would actually sit here and read pages. Others would ask questions. I’d say, “Would you like it autographed?”

WDN: Did it trigger them telling you stories about their problems?

Wendy: Absolutely, and I’d point them to that subject in the index.

WDN: For advice on that problem?

Wendy: Yes.

WDN: What percentage of people would buy the book after holding it?

Wendy: About three-fourths.

WDN: After holding it?

Wendy: That’s right.

WDN: Is that key? Getting them to put the book in their hands?

Wendy: I think so.

WDN: So that’s maybe why the self-storage/post office, the dental office and the restaurant-in-a-gas-station couldn’t compete with you? They couldn’t get people to hold it?
Wendy: Right.

WDN: They also didn’t have a captive audience. Your client couldn’t go anywhere. So how do you avoid crossing the line and not becoming an obnoxious seller?

Wendy: Never obnoxious about it. Keep it light. Keep it simple. They either love it and want it for themselves or others – or they didn’t care for it.

WDN: What advice do you have for people selling products out of their element such as this?

Wendy: You have to talk about it. Start off simple. Then you put it in their hands. And then you play off how they handle that. You pretty much go by their vibes.

WDN: And then you ask if they want it autographed?

Wendy: Right.

WDN: Hundreds of people walked by the book in those other establishments…

Wendy: More so than here.

WDN: A postal station. At Christmas time! But just the display right by the cash register doesn’t result in the sale.

Wendy: You’ve got to chat it up. And I’m a terrible salesperson. I sell my retail products only if they ask for it. I don’t push any products.

WDN: Well, obviously you’re pretty good. You just won the $100 grand prize!

Noted book promoter Carolyn Howard-Johnson, who authors the Sharing with Writers e-newsletter, has brought national attention to the Battle of Rufe Snow.

In her Dec. 11 newsletter, she quotes a letter sent to her by Dave Lieber, Leader of The Watchdog Nation, and then comments:

“Carolyn: You spend a lot of time telling writers how to promote their books. I have a new book, and I have launched the quietest book opening in U.S. publishing history.”

“By design.”

“Everybody wants attention.”

“Not me.”

“You can’t buy my book on Amazon or in a bookstore. Not yet.”

“But you can buy it at my dentist’s office, my self – storage center, my restaurant in a gas station and, of course, my hair stylist.”

P.S. You last wrote about me after the Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop three years ago when you saw me carrying my oversized book cover around the airport, remember?

And Carolyn then comments:

“Editor’s Note: Ha! Dave, you don”t fool me. You’re promoting the heck out of your book and the methods you’re using happen to be listed in The Frugal Book Promoter. But the twist you’ve put on it is pure genius.”

“P.S. Dave gave me permission to use his letter to me when I promised to do it without promoting him. And, yes, I remember him well. Who wouldn”t remember a guy wandering around an airport with a huge – and I mean huge – book under his arm, telling people that it made great reading for travelers?”

Watchdog Nation is ready to release the mid-December standings for The Battle of Rufe Snow.

Wendy’s Hair Studiois in the lead with 15 books.

In second place, so far, is Rufe Snow Dental, which has sold 5 books.

Trailing are Chef Point Café and Rufe Snow Depot Self-Storage. Their sales are so slow, though, that Watchdog Nation hesitates to embarrass them by posting their numbers.

Let’s just say that Rufe Snow Depot has sold just as many books as there are members of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Dakota.

And let’s just say that Chef Point Café has sold as many books as the number of U.S. congressmen representing northern Canada.

Watchdog Nation isn’t sure what the problem is.

Watchdog Nation has sold 537 books in the first seven weeks of this venture. Obviously, there is a burning need to read Dave Lieber’s Watchdog Nation: Bite Back When Businesses and Scammers Do You Wrong.

So obviously, these exclusive retail outlets need a little help. OK, Wendy of Wendy’s Hair Studio – she’s doing fine. Just keep on cutting and dying hair and selling those books, Wendy.

But the others?

Here are some suggested sales pitches for them to use:

Rufe Snow Dental: “You have a choice. We can do this the old-fashioned way, or I can give you some anesthesia if you promise to buy Dave Lieber’s new book when we’re done.”

Rufe Snow Depot: “Please sign this rental contract, and remember that if you don’t pay your monthly bill we will sell all your belongings at a public auction. Oh, and if you want to get back at us afterward, here’s a book with a lot of ideas.”

Chef Point Café: “Buy this book, and you might get a free 3-night, 4-day trip to Cancun. But then again, as this book will show you, you might not.”