Part II: The Unbelievable Publicity From The Bachelor Book

My last post left me in San Francisco in 1982 on the eve of a party where I was to be included in a list of the town’s 100 most eligible bachelors.

It was the day of the big party. I must admit, I was getting more than a little nervous about this marketing campaign to find myself the ultimate woman. I put on some fancy duds and cruised down to the Embarcadero. It was 4:30 in the afternoon on a bright sunny day. It seemed a little early for a party, but the organizers wanted to have it early to get more media attention. (Based on what I’d heard on the radio, they weren’t suffering from any shortage of media attention!)

At the disco, there was a red carpet and several television cameras. Radio guys were trying to get interviews as guests walked down the red carpet. I was getting even more nervous about this.

At the end of the red carpet a woman greeted me. “Welcome. You must be Jim Du Molin.” She pinned a yellow rose to my lapel and told me to go on in.

I walked into the disco. It was a bright sunny day out, and walking into the dark disco was like walking into a theater and waiting for your eyes to adjust to the dark.

I stood awkwardly in the entrance for a moment. As my eyes slowly adjusted to the low light, I noticed the place was crawling with women. Lots of gorgeous women, all looking at the book, looking at me, looking back at the book. I realized they were searching The Bachelor Book to find out who I was. They had pages marked with grading systems, point systems, paper clips, you name it. And it came to me, all of sudden, that for the first time in my life I was the “meat” at a meat market! It was great!

Let me tell you, I have never been to a party like that, not before or since. Loads of women came up to me to give me their business cards and ask me out. It was overwhelming; the ultimate marketing plan was working! After about the tenth business card it occurred to me to put a code system on them so I could remember who was who.

I met two unbelievably beautiful women at this party; I went on to date both of them. Unfortunately, a year later they had each married rich older men. So I was on my own again.

I had rented a post office box just to deal with the mail from this book. I had received about 200 letters but hadn’t answered any of them. Then I got one particular letter at home. It was from a woman who had read the book, and it was a great letter, intelligent, well thought out, interesting. She also sent a great photo highlighting her curly blond hair and blue eyes.

I said, “Well, I’m going to give this woman a call.”

Later on my partner saw her picture. “Wow. Who’s this?” he asked.

“She sent me a letter. She read The Bachelor Book.”

When he read the letter, he said, “You know, Jim, this woman is perfect for you. I’ve known you now for five years and she’s just what you need. Have you called her?”

I said, “I’ll call her next week. My friend Ralph is coming to town this weekend.”

My partner reiterated, “You have to promise to call her!” So I promised.

That weekend, Ralph, my best friend, came to town and we were having a beer in my apartment. He saw the photo and asked about it. I told him the story and showed him the letter.

He read the letter. “Jim, this woman is perfect for you. I’ve known you since kindergarten. I roomed with you in college. She is everything you need. Have you called her?”

I said, “I’m going to call her next week.”

Fifteen minutes later (with God as my witness!) the telephone rang. It was Suzanne. She asked why I hadn’t answered her letter.

Nine months later she and I were married. I was a mail-order husband picked out of a catalogue. (Not that I have any complaints about that!)

Stay tuned to see how my marriage marketing campaign worked out in the long run!

Jim Du Molin

Part I: Marketing Myself Through The Bachelor Book

So what is the greatest marketing program I’ve designed over the last 20 years? I’m going to lay it out for you as an illustration of exactly the power of the marketing strategies we promote at The Wealthy Dentist.

Let’s start with me in 1982. I had hair then and was a good 20 pounds slimmer. I had a beautiful red E-type Jaguar convertible.

It’s the kind of car you have when you’re single: tan interior, wire wheels, two tops, twelve cylinders. My life was just where I wanted it.

I was running a marketing company and living on San Francisco’s Telegraph Hill.

Every day I’d run down the steps, around the Embarcadero, to the club to work out, then back to my place for a shower.

One day I was working out at the San Francisco Bay Club (the ultimate yuppie workout place!).

A friend of mine said, “Jim, come on over here. The bulletin board says you can sign up to be interviewed as a candidate for a book.”

“Well, what’s the book?”

“They’re looking for the 100 most eligible bachelors in San Francisco.”

So I asked, “How much does it cost?”

He said, “It doesn’t cost anything. Just sign up, and if you qualify, they’ll put you in the book.”

I didn’t have anything to lose. I put down my name and number and forgot about it. A few weeks later, I got a call from an editor with Random House. Here’s what happened:

EDITOR: I’d like to talk to you a little bit to see if you qualify as one of the 100 most eligible bachelors in San Francisco.
JIM: Fine.
EDITOR: Some of my questions are a little personal.
JIM: No problem. You can ask me anything you want.
EDITOR: Well, are you single?
JIM: Yes.
EDITOR: Have you ever been married?
JIM: No.
EDITOR: How old are you?
JIM: Thirty-seven.
EDITOR: (pause) Are you open to the concept of marriage?
JIM: Yes. To be honest with you, I’ve come to that point in my life when I think it’s time that I get married.
EDITOR: Fine. I only have one more question for you.
JIM: Lay it on me.
EDITOR: Are you straight?
JIM: Absolutely.
EDITOR: Congratulations, you qualify!

Basically, they were having a very hard time trying to find 100 straight and eligible men in San Francisco for this book. So I qualified.

I had an interview with the author of the book. I took a hot picture next to my E-type Jaguar convertible. She said, “I’m going to send you my write-up. If you don’t like it, just correct it and send it back the way you want.”

A month later, my partner opened an envelope in the mail. He exclaimed, “Jim, I’m reading this bio this woman wrote about your life and what you want in a woman – and it is total #@%&!!!”

“Oh,” I said.

He said, “I think we need to rewrite this in detail.”

I said, “What do you mean, ‘we’? It’s my life.”

And he said, “Look, I think I can help you on this. I’ve known you for quite some time, and I know what kind of woman you need.”

So we rewrote it as a direct-mail marketing piece. We outlined just what I wanted in a woman and sent it in.

Remember to be very specific in your marketing and to ask for exactly what you want!

A few weeks later the Random House editor called. She told me, “We’re going to have a launch party for the book. It’s going to be a good time, and we want you to come on down. It will be at a disco on the waterfront, not far from where you live.”

I said, “Fine. I’ll be there.”

A week before the party I was driving down the street in my Jag listening to the radio when an ad caught my attention. “Win a chance to meet the 100 most eligible bachelors in San Francisco!”

All of sudden I realized this was getting a little bigger than I had thought. The event was being publicized all over town: in the newspaper, on the radio and television, there were ads to meet the 100 most eligible bachelors. They were even raffling off chances to meet the 100 most eligible bachelors.

Want to hear about the big party? Stay tuned!

Jim Du Molin