Ask: The Counterintuitive Online Formula to Discover Exactly What Your Customers Want to Buy...Create a Mass of Raving Fans...and Take Any Business to the Next Level by Ryan Levesque (21-Apr-2015) Paperback

by Ryan Levesque

THE “MIND-READING” SYSTEM THAT IS REVOLUTIONIZING ONLINE BUSINESS

Do you know how to find out what people really want to buy?(Not what you think they want, not what they say they want, but what they really want?)

The secret is asking the right questions - and the right questions are not what you might expect.

Ask is based on the compelling premise that you should NEVER have to guess what your prospects and customers are thinking. The Ask Formula revealed in this book has been used to help build multi-million dollar businesses in 23 different industries, generating over $100 million dollars in sales in the process.

You ‘ll discover why the Ask Formula is arguably THE most powerful way to discover EXACTLY what people want to buy and how to give it to them - and in a way that makes people fall in love with you and your company.

In this tell-all book, expert online marketer Ryan Levesque (featured in CNBC, Yahoo Finance, The Miami Herald, The San Francisco Chronicle, Mass Market Retailer, Bloomberg Businessweek and more) turns everything you know about customer surveys on its head.

You ‘ll discover how Ryan Levesque developed his proven system for creating survey-based, customized sales funnels. And you ‘ll also learn how YOU can implement the same system in your own business - no matter your market. The Ask Formula blueprint is laid out in clear and detailed steps for anyone to use and adapt.

Whether you ‘re an aspiring Internet entrepreneur, advanced online marketer, or established business owner, this book will both inspire you and show you how to skyrocket your online income - while creating a mass of raving fans in the process - simply by asking the right questions in a surprisingly different way. For people looking to scale up their business, Askwill utterly transform how you think about consumer behavior and selling online.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Entrepreneurship, Startup, Self Help, Personal Development

Paperback

First published January 1, 2015

Reviews

[Alexander Temerev · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots and lots of BS, with some scattered advice here and there. And in the very end, there is a "formula", given w/o any explanation. The most important piece of advice seems to be this one:

Don't ask customers about what they want to see in your product — this is hard to answer. Ask what they hate in existing products, as it will give you much more feedback.

Here, I saved you $4.

[Daniel · Rating 1 out of 5]

This review will CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Trust me. I've been using this review to CHANGE LIVES for years. But before I CHANGE YOUR LIFE, there is something you need to understand: I used to just be really smart, but ever since I overcame adversity in the hospital and wrote a really, long letter to my mom when I should've been working, I'm now really smart AND really important. Because, as it turns out, if you just email the hell out of people—without any concern for them—and keep asking them for money, over and over again, some of those people will be dumb enough to break down and give you some money. And then you can swing this moderate success at being an internet spammer into a career tricking people into giving you money for hearing your REALLY IMPORTANT advice. At this point, to lend credibility, I'd like to mention the word "neuroscience." I don't need to share anything about the brain or how people work, I just like using the word. Thanks for letting me CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

[Heidi Wiechert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up because I was looking for some pointers on creating online surveys for the public library. It has some excellent ideas, but they're buried beneath the coils of a very aggressive marketing formula. Levesque coaches businesses to send twelve follow up emails to customers, whether they purchase the product or not. Can you imagine? It's no wonder that people don't like giving their emails out, if that is the manner in which they will be used. I have to give it to Levesque- the man certainly doesn't take no for an answer.

He describes the unique circumstances that gave him this fierce business drive and, unlike other reviewers on this book, I actually liked the autobiographical portion of Ask. It made me view Levesque as a regular guy before he presented his over-the-top marketing strategies. I mean, perhaps if you were running your own business and needed absolutely every customer who strayed to your webpage, Ask would be invaluable to you. As it is, if the library were to employ this system, I think it would just seriously piss everybody off.

So, anyway, the some gems I pulled out of the mess:
"...people essentially are only good at answering two basic types of questions when they don't know what they want: what it is they don't want and what they've done in the past." pg 10

Bring clarity to your business through stat analysis: "We discovered that by paying attention to the right information (provided by the market), you could not only identify what sub-segments exist in your market, but you can also identify which ones are worth focusing on." pg 53

Put the important questions first: "Generally speaking, you should expect to see a degradation in response the deeper you get into your survey. So, for this reason, it's essential to prioritize the importance of your questions beyond the initial questions in your survey." pg 87

When evaluating survey responses: "The reason why response length is vitally important is because it's an indication of hyper-responsiveness, which is a leading indicator of how likely someone is to purchase a paid solution for the problem or challenge about which we're asking." pg 92

Why to use an "open-ended Single Most Important Question": "To determine what buckets naturally emerge in your market. To identify what people's hot buttons are. To identify what their objections are. To identify what their biggest challenges are. To use in concert with their demographic information. pg 97

So anyway, to get all of these tidbits in context, pick up Ask and dig through it. But please, if I ever, for whatever reason, give you my email, do not send me 12 follow up emails. Please. Thanks.

[Kalle Reunanen · Rating 1 out of 5]

"I, Me and myself did this and that blah blah..." Most of the book is about author and his promise to reveal the magic formula and promises how it will change everything. Uniqueness of the formula does not seem to bee to unique. Reading this was waste of time.

There are better books about how to understand what your customers need or want. You might want to try for example "Talking to Humans" by Giff Constable. You can find it here: http://www.talkingtohumans.com for free.

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely awful. I would not have finished it if it wasn't required reading for class. Reads like an infomercial, because it is. He is actually applying aspects of his formula in the book to try to persuade you to buy more of his products. While some valuable points are made regarding market segmentation and seeking continuous customer feedback - 99% of this book is garbage. Don't waste your time.

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author says repeatedly "the devil is in the detals" but he doesn't show you the details.

The book is used mainly as a free "hook" to get you to sign up for one of his premium products (survey software, paid membership group, consulting services).

This seems to be basically just an overview of what we can actually learn about if we paid for his premium products. He used his own tactics on us, readers :)

As an example of the crucial details that are missing: He gives you a rough copy of an email to send but he doesn't mention anything about what to write in the Email subject. That's the most crucial element for getting people to even open your email.

Other than that, the book contains a really interesting concept that I will try nonetheless. But, as the author said, without giving us those details where "the devil is" It's basically a shot in the dark... so we'll see how effective it is..

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers a very clear, step-by-step process to follow to find out what your customers want and tailor your offerings to match. It seems like it would clearly work very well. Tons of juicy details--way too many to take notes on. Just buy this and follow it if you decide to do it.

One funny sidenote: I first encountered this author's work when he was a presenter at an online conference on publishing, talking about this book as a success story. The conference was hosted by a guy with a slight Southern-ish accent, who interviewed everybody. Because of his accent, every time he mentioned the book, it sounded like he was saying "Ass." Yes, I'm a child: I found the whole interview hilarious.

[Jim · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first half of this book is the Author's autobiography where he spare's no modesty. The second half leads you to get his special training for a mere $497. Yes, that $500 less than the regular price. Save your time and money - don't read this book.

[Jean-luc Brisebois · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of BS in this book. You know, the "you will see later in this book how to become rich", and that moment never come. Don't waste your time on this book.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ask is an interesting book for a few different reasons.

First, the book is split into two very different parts. Part 1 is all about the author's story, which includes his personal business story and a near-death experience. Part 2 is all about the Ask Formula methodology. Both parts of the book can be read by themselves. If you want to read the story, then the methodology, you can. If you only want to read about the methodology, you can skip Part 1 altogether. Part 1 is 59 pages; Part 2 is 119 pages.

Second, the description of the Ask Formula is fairly detailed. It includes the step-by-step process, including how to set up the landing pages, the surveys, and the follow-up email sequences. Because of the limitations of explaining how to do something in a book format, I felt like I wanted more detail on a couple of steps. This is partially intentional since the author offers a full video course that goes into more depth than the book does.

Either way, this is a solid business book that's worth your time to read. I like how methodical the Ask Formula is. It feels like it can be implemented in most (all?) markets. In fact, I have a client right now for which I feel the Ask Formula would be very valuable, so I may try to implement it with him as a first step to testing it out.

[المهند السبيعي · Rating 1 out of 5]

a lot of useless text and personal story
the part of asking questions was not realistic nor scientific ... not as per Marketing Research standards ... I didn't like this book at all

[Alexander Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant.

This book is worth much more than what I paid for it.

I had enormous blind spots when it came to my online business. Ryan Levesque does a fantastic job of revealing those blind spots and discussing solutions.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ask., as it should go without saying, is a marketing book. Not only is about marketing, but it's also a large scale marketing effort for Levesque's methodology and highly priced programmes.

And, let's just say after the first half was a complete waste of my time, I'm really happy I got this book for free instead of spending the $13 to get it since it took me so long to get to the good stuff. Unless you want to read about how Levesque worked really hard under pressure, set his sights on something, then busted his ass to get it, then got his dream job early in life (but not as early as he wanted), got bored and disillusioned with it all, then burnt himself out trying to become an entrepreneur to the point of ignoring his health and nearly dying, just skip it. After all, I just gave you a synopsis of the first 62 pages of this book.

The only good message in the first part of the book, in fact, is that anyone with a brain shouldn't trust a business person that hasn't successfully owned their own business to consult you on any aspect of running your business. And, in today's culture of consultants without any experiences, this is a valuable lesson to have so you don't waste time, money, or any other resources.

The second half of the book is far more useful. It's not earth-shattering, but it's really useful for those that don't know much about marketing and need to be a slave to numbers. (And, sometimes you need to measure and be a slave to the numbers in order to get more results.)

Levesque walks you through his marketing method. It can be summed up like this:

1.) Ask targeted questions in the form of a survey, segment out the results for the best sales message. Repeat process, asking them for their email and trying to sell to them at every step.
2.) Try to woo them with discounts that aren't really discounts, since you price the product or service to factor in these discounts, but it makes the mark feel good about themselves.
3.) Set up a 12-part automated email series to continue to try to convince them of the awesome deal. First with stories, then with more surveys to segment them out further in case your original survey put them in the wrong "bucket".
4.) Repeat process until you can't figure out a way to get their money.

Yes, this seems a little harsh, but I believe in service first, not slaving away over data and segmenting out only those that I think I can make the most money out of and will buy. What I do like are the surveys and how they are structured to understand the market and audience, which can be useful for serving them more fully.

In the end, it's a great method, but it's the intent behind how you use it that will give you the results you are looking for. Read the book (starting with the methods) to see how you can use the Survey and Divide method for your needs. That is where the true impact of this method is going to be. It won't answer all your questions, like giving you an exact list of questions to ask for what you goals are -- that is why there is a shameless "what to do next" marketing chapter at the end that directs you to Levesque's services. However, with a bit of intuition, a lot of patience and iterations, you can figure out how to use this method for your own ambitions. For that alone it is worth the $13+tax.

[Andy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book simply is not worth your time.

I can't believe it took me to chapter seven without telling me anything other than pompous words about this "way of making money" and "the great idea of investiong in an internet project".
Also, around chapter 2 or three it gets really serious explaining how the author went to the bathroom 5 times a night to pee and he stuffed his face with doritos only to give you the cliffhanger: he's got type 1 diabetes and this changed his life. And the next chapter is about how he makes the greatest decision of his life to move to China but then he's unsatisfied even though he earns a 6 figure paycheck and he's got himself a maid and a luxury apartment there."this can't be it" he rambles on ...
The author comes off as an amateur who likes to "not follow the rules" in life, apparently that rubbed off on the rules of narration as well.
Sorry mr Ryan, I really expected more from this book, which I must say wasn't worth my time.
I tell you what. I'd read your next book if you'd do me the favor of just skipping to the point (don't drag out every promise of "trade secret to be revealed" for 50 pages only to explain how you like your coffee) and consider whatever you wrote in this book as a 200 page preface to the next one (I mean it, don't write another preface).

[Doug Branscombe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the concept of this book, finding the best way to ask people what they want, but the application of it for developing products and websites (which it provides excellent details and examples of) doesn't really apply for my job. I was intrigued by the overall concept, which says when you ask someone what they want (for dinner for example) most people will reply "I don't know", but if you ask what they don't want most will have an answer, and if you follow up by asking what they've had/eaten/tried recently you get a clearer picture of what they would be interested in. I'll try to find ways to use that in other areas of my life.

[Taylor Ellwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fairly solid explanation of Levesque's Ask methodology, and how surveying can be used to discover what your audience wants, so you can sell it to them. Of course the author is trying to sell his services, so there's some of that, but regardless you get a lot of good information and if you're already doing online marketing, this will help you understand how to use surveying to help you with your marketing efforts. I recommend it, in general, as a way of discovering what your audience really wants. I used this methodology for two of my businesses and it helped me know what people wanted, instead of making assumptions.

[James Petzke · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book but was disappointed. The author gives very little actual value, and the entire book is crammed with sales pitches for his more expensive products. It had a very scammy, get rich quick type of feel and promotes a highly aggressive sales strategy. I really like the principle of leading with questions to sell and surveying your customers, but this book just didn't resonate with me.

[Artem · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a formula at all. Pushy BS upsell technique at its best, although may deserve further research and could be useful on markets that are easy to manipulate, I guess. Mostly an infomercial for authors products.

[Guilherme Zeitounlian · Rating 3 out of 5]

"People essentially are only good at answering two basic types of questions when they don’t know what they want: What it is they don’t want and what they’ve done in the past."

This is the premise upon which the book Ask is built: how to craft questions strategically to discover what people need - so you can create that, and sell it to them.

The book starts with the author's personal story, which was frankly absurd and a torture to read. The author may have many qualities, but modesty is certainly not one of them.

The worst part was including a multi-page "letter" (actually an email) that he supposedly sent to his mother before quitting his dream job. I can only hope to never send anything so ridiculous to my mother (sorry, mom).

After you get past this horrible reading experience, he explains a bit about marketing and email funnels, and hands the reader a few templates to use/swipe.

If you are just starting out, this part may be useful, because it takes the guesswork off writing automation sequences, what to write, what points to emphasize, etc.

The main point of the book is to sell the author's funnel software, as well as his courses and coaching services.

This reminded me of Russel Brunson's DotCom Secrets: The Underground Playbook for Growing Your Company Online, which I enjoyed.

Even the automation funnel is similar: story, social proof, urgency, etc. (Brunson also uses his book to sell his software and his programs.)

By the way, I don't think there is anything wrong with selling stuff in the book. I just wish the actual content of this book Ask would be better. For me, it's a 3/5.

[Katelyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this for my blogging business. I think it is a great strategy to use but seems so simplistic. And he never ever touches on how to actually create the thing people say they want, let alone upsells and future products. Because, well, I am not always an expert at the thing people say they need help with, as I asked my email list and they need help cleaning with disabilities. I am a 30 year old mom with no mobility or health issues. I don't know anything about their issues!! So to create a course or product would require a lot of research. A lot of time. And I am still not sure it would really help them with this issue as each disability and every home is different.

But I digress. The system is good but I do worry about just selling so aggressively. I know he is not really saying to be agressive as you are giving them what they want, blah blah blah, but really you are. He never once mentions bounce rates or unsubscribe rates or how to really write the emails that aren't sales emails.... But they are all kinda sales emails.

He seems like a super smart guy and I personally know several who have found good success with him and his ask method (and his super expensive course). But it all boils down to asking what people need help with and then delivering said products with upsells and downsells and custom email sequences for them based on actions they take. It isn't rocket science.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good technically but part one is dull.

[Cheri Flake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my style, but I’m sure if you got into it it could totally work and maybe even be fun.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because I wanted to learn about the method, as it can be impactful for marketing. I’ve also read Russell Brunson’s books, for comparison. There are 193 pages in this book and most of it didn’t serve my purpose. I wish I had skipped Section 1 entirely, and that a good editor had cut out so many unnecessary sentences, in which this survey expert who knows his customers so well, includes phrases like “Now, you may be wondering...” I wasn’t ever wondering that, rather just wishing he would get on with saying what he wanted to say. Don’t act like you know what your reader is thinking and tell them so. <> That said, I do intend to make some notes, maybe a page or two of takeaways, which I will apply to my own new business marketing efforts.

[Michael Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is probably the most thorough book I've read in a while. It reads almost like a manual, except that as the steps are given and the system is described you are also given examples of success from others who have used the sales funnel system and started "asking" their costumers what they want. There are principles that can be applied to any business, but the system itself probably isn't going to work it's magic unless you have a business that sales mostly online and has multiple options of merchandise or services.

The basic principle is to use surveys to ask costumers what their needs are and then match your offers with their needs, and realize that every costumer doesn't have the same needs, so every costumer shouldn't need the same offer. Segmentation is the name of the game because then the offers are custom fit to the costumer. It's really gets complex, but reading slowly and marking up the pages as I went, I think there will be lots to apply later.

Anyone seeking to serve others with a product or a service who plans to use email and websites as the primary means of communication will gain much from reading this book.

[Dustan Woodhouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book stimulated some useful thought around my own processes for sure.

However I struggle with the opening pitch and its repetition at the end that 'these ideas are so powerful they can be used for evil' topped off with 'everything I charge others thousands for is right here in this book practically for free'. Sorry but both claims are hyperbole.

I am acutely aware of the difference between sharing my ideas in a book vs. a one-to-one coaching environment and what comes through in a book is a watered down, one size fits all, DIY solution. Whereas the power of small group lessons or one-to-one coaching is exponentially more powerful at affecting change and ultimately creating results.

Those two claims weakened the book for me, when something is pure gold we don't need to be told so. Chet is a great example of this.

[Bashar Mahasen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is in 21 chapters. The first 10 chapters are about biography of the author and warmup about the secret sauce that would make you move from zero to one regardless the value of the idea itself.

The second half of the book is about asking people certain type of questions, arrange answers in excel and use the secret formula which should turn soil into gold and make you multi millioner.

For me it gave no value as the principle the book uses does not make sense and it contradict with itself. If you can't ask people what they want as they won't be able to tell,then, by reversing the question and asking them what they dislike or hate should not lead you to the goal; it might fine tune but definitely won't help startups built with wrong assumptions.

[Fred Cheyunski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non-profit and Scholarly Possibilities? - Having read several books related to digital business (e.g., see my review of Rogers “The Digital Transformation Playbook”), I was interested to see this one concerning the author’s on-line survey method. To “Ask” or get data seems to be key in devising and/or positioning a viable product or service. Levesque’s approach is clearly very commercial, but it may also offer a process that could be adapted for those with less profit driven motives even though it may require some deciphering for this purpose.

More specifically, the book’s contents include 22 chapters in two parts. Namely, Pt. 1. conveys Leveque’s Ask Story: (1) You: Who, What, & Why; (2) Strange Questions ... and Strange Answers; (3) The Discovery; (4) My Crisis; (5) Working Hard for the Dream; (6) An Unexpected twist; (7) The Letter; (8) Standing on the Shoulders of Giants; (9) Taking the Leap; (10) Things Finally Come Together. Whereas, Pt. 2. relates the Ask Methodology: (11) Getting Started: How to Read the Ask Formula Methodology; (12) The Process: Prepare, Persuade, Segment, Prescribe, Profit, Pivot; (13) Prepare: The Deep Dive Survey; (14) Persuade: The Prospect Self-Discovery Landing Page; (15) Segment: The Micro-Commitment Bucket Survey; (16) Prescribe: The Post-Survey Sales Prescription; (17) Profit: The Profit Maximization Upsell Sequence; (18) Pivot: The E-mail Follow-up Feedback Loop; (19) Case Study #1: Tennis Training, Zero to $250,000 in 6 Months; (20) Case Study #2: Water Ionizer Market, $750,000 in 5 Days; (21) Why: The Reason for Writing This Book; and (22) Next Steps: Now It's Your Turn to Ask.

Although of interest to see the author’s background involving neuroscience, Goldman Sachs, and his desire to be more of an independent entrepreneur, parts that stood out for me were the ideas underlying method (getting data), the flow chart of his process, and some of his examples. As Levesque explains early on (in Kindle Location 268), “. . . the Ask Method is a system to ask intentionally-designed questions to help you figure out exactly what your customer wants—and the exact language to use to communicate with them.” As he goes on to elaborate (in Location 275) that “[one applies] the Ask Method online is by using a unique combination of surveys in a very specific sequence, and acting on that data in a very specific way . . . “ Additionally (in Location 292) he says “[with the survey funnel you] start by asking big wide questions at first, and then those questions narrow, and narrow more, as you ask your customers simple, more precise questions about their situation”(similar to the ‘sales funnel’ in Rogers’ book). That rationale (from Location 974) is that “[It seems] much easier to find a market and figure out what to sell them than to have a product and have to create a market for it” (see my review of Pulizzi’s “Content, Inc.”). Finally (Location 1300-14), the author shares an “. . . Ask Method flowchart which graphically illustrates how the process works. . .” and that "The secret [to being successful] . . . starts behind the scenes . . . finding out everything you can before you create . . . your Survey Funnel . . . [and conducting a] Deep Dive Survey . . . [the] most important step in the entire process.” Still further (Location 1320), he clarifies that there is a “distinct difference between this type of survey work . . . [/]analysis” and “academic medical research.” Later (Location 2310) Levesque also clarifies on-line approach efficiencies and ways it differs from what often happens in person (see also my review of Citroen’s “Control the Narrative”). Near the end of the book (Location 2890-91), he gives an example of an “ . . . innovative website wherein tennis players from across the world could come to learn how to play tennis online for free, discuss the sport, and socialize” that employed his method which brought its possibilities home to me.

Aspects that I found to be detractors were the curious degree of denials in the copyright portion of book, parts like “The Letter” chapter which seemed like padding, and the blatant commercialism throughout where “ method narrative is employed to subtly push the use of the author’s software platform under the guise of supplementary material. For example, from that start (in Location 162) he mentions “. . . a secret bonus section of the Ask Method website . . . designed to go hand in hand with this book” and alludes to this site no less than 5 or 6 times afterward in the text. Just be aware that there are alternatives that one can also check out such as smartsurvey, blocksurvey or surveysparrow, where one can experiment with such online tools at little or no cost. With that said, such a method may offer the prospect for proceeding with efforts more like those described in Halpern’s “The Nudge Unit” and in the author’s words “building a better mousetrap” (but more in the sense of Egger’s description in my review of Vonnegut’s “Complete Stories”).

Even with drawbacks to those such as me, Levesque’s book could clearly have value for not only for those who are business minded, but also may be of use to others in the public sector or in more scholarly pursuits. As he suggests (Location 3001-09) perhaps use of methods such as his can help “change the digital landscape” for the better.

[Alex Devero · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want to know what your customers really want, the best thing to do is to ask. The trick is to ask in the right way, using an organized system that pulls actionable information from prospects while also building trust and intrigue. In other words, you need the Ask Formula.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful sales advice--I learned a thing or two!

[Helen Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zero hype. 100% substance.