We’re all Selling Something

BEFORE I had what I now believe to have been an early mid-life crisis -and began publishing a magazine in Boston- I was part of the adventurous made-for-tv world known as direct to consumer marketing.

Those AS SEEN ON TV products you are always drawn to in the aisles of Walgreens? Yup, that was me.

The infomercials that always seemed to get you when aimlessly surfing channels for something to watch? You’re looking at him.

For 15 years, I traveled all over the country, listening to every pitch from wide-eyed inventors under the starry skies in Stanley, Idaho (population 120) to fast talking city slickers under the big lights of Manhattan (population 8.3 million).

No matter where I went, however.. no matter what time zone I may be sitting in a boardroom; eating at a diner; watching a demo; or having a beer at a ballgame; the person I was meeting with ALWAYS had the same message:

“This is the greatest product ever invented, it’s going to change the world!”

And so goes the cycle of the DRTV universe. Everyone has big dreams, but the reality is -not unlike most businesses- less than 10% of product developers and inventors ever get to see their life altering idea make it off of the cutting board. Most of the ones that do end up advancing to the next round are teetering that Mendoza line on the P/L report until their pockets -or their sanity- can’t take it anymore.

But then there’s that 2% that make it big. The ones who shows you see every which way you turn. And then there’s the ones that really make it big.

The ones like George Foreman’s Grill.

RIP GEORGE FOREMAN

The world was saddened on Friday evening, March 21st, as news traveled of the passing of Big Geroge Foreman, a man who was truly larger than life.

Beautiful stories and countless memories continue to be told and passed along as millions across the globe pay tribute to the boxing legend: author of a gold medal in the 1968 Olympics; a brutal knockout of Joe Frazier for the world title in 1973; the legendary Rumble in the Jungle with Muhammad Ali in 1974; and then -at age 45- a reclamation of the heavyweight championship, following a ten-year retirement from the sport.

Although not remembered with the same velocity as it is his career in the ring, Big George’s pivot to entrepreneurship in the mid 1990’s and throughout the first decade of the 2000s, in many ways was equally as hard hitting.

Like the thousands of would-be inventors and product developers I would meet throughout the course of my DRTV career, George Foreman too, had a product he believed could revolutionize an industry, perhaps the same way his vicious right hook had done for the sport of boxing.

You see, the “George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine,” was unlike anything you’ve ever seen before, George would excitedly tell potential direct response marketers during the product’s early stages.

Its ridged and slanted cooking surface, he explained, is designed to allow all of the fat to slide right off the grill!

“You can be mean and lean just like me!” he boasted.

And Big George was right. His product was different. His was one of a kind. The George Foreman Grill stood out from other potential DR products because his came with him. And that’s special.

At the end of the day, people buy people. And George Foreman selling The George Foreman Grill came with a more genuine, authentic, and warm exchange than the feeling potential buyers had with most other pitch men.

Forget the fame, sure that helps, but the magic with George Foreman was the way he connected with people. The way he could sell himself without even selling. A man that the American media (and Muhammad Ali) tried to convince us was this big scary, unhinged monster was actually the nicest, warmest and fun loving person in the room. Imagine that?

And because of that, we gladly -and lovingly- invited Big George first into our living rooms, through our television sets, and then into our kitchens and dining room tables with the purchase of a George Foreman Grill.

By the time I met Big George at the DRTV Product Summit in Pittsburgh in 2017, he had sold over 100 million units of his grill, netting well over $200 million in sales in the process.

While the largest purse George ever received for a single bout in the ring was $12 million against Evander Holyfield in 1991, he was now regularly topping that paycheck monthly through his infomercials.

“It’s about time another man showed up here dressed as sharply as me,” said George Foreman with a warm greeting as I extended my hand to shake his massive paw. George and I were two of the only men among the thousands at the convention that were dressed in suits that day -and he was quick to let his entourage know about it.

“You fellas, need to take notes,” he said playfully to the men around him.

Still shaking my hand, George then offered me a little advice to enhance my attire as well:

“I love that watch,” he said pulling my Brietling out from underneath my shirt cuff. “It’s similar to mine,” he continued while showing me his. “Don’t hide that thing! We’re all selling something here!”

Big George and I then chatted for the next few minutes. I couldn’t resist gushing over and asking him about the same boxing stories millions of others over the years probably have asked daily. But George, gracious as he is, smiled and engaged with me as if discussing them for the first time.

We then took a picture, of which George made a point to enforce the new style tip he had just bestowed upon me.

“Pull that watch out, and let it face the camera,” he instructed while pointing to it. We snapped a couple shots on my phone and George had me send the one he liked best to the underdressed gentleman he had take it.

I felt like a million bucks in Pittsburgh that weekend thanks to George Foreman. And it wasn’t because I had met THE MAN. It was because the man, somehow made me feel like I was THE MAN.

That will always be the magic of George Foreman. That is why his product –himself– truly was life-changing for so many.

RIP Big George, there will never be another like you.