The Private Equity Podcast, by Raw Selection

Marketing That Delivers: Direct Response Tactics for Private Equity with John Dwyer

Sep 2, 2025

John Dwyer, Founder of The Institute of WOW, specializes in direct response marketing aimed at driving measurable results. He discusses the revolutionary concept of getting prospects to fall in love with products through direct engagement. John explains the untapped potential of incentives in marketing and how businesses often overlook these strategies. He also emphasizes the importance of creating high-value content and shares a successful case study involving a dental Facebook contest that generated over 1,000 leads in just a week.

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INSIGHT

Flip Brand-Building With Direct Response

Direct response flips the usual model by getting prospects to try the product so they fall in love with the brand.
This prioritises immediate, measurable responses over long-term brand affection.

INSIGHT

Incentives Beat Price Wars

Incentives shift attention away from price and create perceived added value, exemplified by Happy Meals and cereal toys.
John notes 97% of businesses never use incentives effectively, leaving a major opportunity.

ADVICE

Use Freemium Content To Qualify Leads

Use freemium formats like webinars and educational content to demonstrate expertise and generate leads.
Give prospects free, high-value experiences so they self-select and trust your services.

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🕒 Episode Timestamps & Show Notes

00:00 – Introduction
Alex welcomes John Dwyer, Founder of The Institute of WOW, to explore how direct response marketing can drive real results for private equity firms and their portfolio companies.

00:53 – What is WOW Factor Marketing?
John explains his flipped model: get prospects to try your product so they fall in love with your brand—not the other way around.

02:16 – The Power of Incentives
Examples like McDonald’s Happy Meals and Kellogg’s cereal toys demonstrate how incentives remove focus from price. Yet, 97% of businesses still fail to use them effectively.

03:35 – B2B Application of Incentives
John shares how “freemium” strategies—like webinars and educational content—can help service businesses generate leads and build trust.

05:25 – The PE Blind Spot: Marketing
Marketing is often underutilized at the PE firm level. It’s left to portfolio companies and only becomes a priority at scale ($100M+ revenue).

06:21 – Creating High-Value Content
Instead of always documenting, John recommends delivering structured, high-impact content like digital resources to demonstrate expertise and create authority.

08:36 – Giving Away IP to Build Trust
Sharing ideas freely (within reason) helps firms position themselves as experts. Private equity firms can do the same by publishing their value creation playbooks.

09:33 – Case Study: Dental Facebook Contest
A $30/day contest targeting parents of kids with crooked teeth generated 1,000+ leads in a week—demonstrating the power of a well-crafted incentive-based campaign.

12:43 – PE Deal Origination via Events
John recommends PE firms host webinars or in-person events to share their expertise and attract business owners—selling “once to many” like Tony Robbins.

14:11 – Thinking Beyond Traditional Marketing
John suggests PE firms partner with data providers or influencers to host educational events. Joint ventures and revenue-share models can scale reach efficiently.

17:27 – Turnkey Marketing & Strategic Partnerships
From travel vouchers to million-dollar contest giveaways, John shares how creative incentives combined with strong partnerships can produce scalable campaigns.

19:10 – Using AI for Lead Generation
John discusses how AI-powered voice bots deliver high-volume outreach, sharing relevant data like estimated home values—ideas that can inspire new B2B tactics.

21:57 – Hiring Great Marketers
John stresses the importance of case studies and results over resumes. Look for marketers who can think outside the box and prove success with real-world campaigns.

24:21 – Purple Cow Thinking in Action
A standout example: A building society offered free holidays for mortgage customers and later added Jerry Seinfeld to the campaign—resulting in billions in new loans.

26:42 – Books & Resources
John recommends The Purple Cow by Seth Godin. He prefers audio content and real-world business insights over fiction.

28:04 – How to Contact John
📩 Email: john@theinstituteofwow.com
🌐 Website: theinstituteofwow.com

🔗 Connect with Alex Rawlings on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexrawlings/
🌐 Visit Raw Selection: www.raw-selection.com

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