(The text of the above image is reproduced below for those who cannot view images)

“Dear Reader:

On a beautiful late spring afternoon, twenty-five years ago, two young men graduated from the same college. They were very much alike, these two young men. Both had been better than average students, both were personable and both — as young college graduates are — were filled with ambitious dreams for the future.

Recently, these men returned to their college for their 25th reunion.

They were still very much alike. Both were happily married. Both had three children. And both, it turned out, had gone to work for the same Midwestern manufacturing company after graduation, and were still there.

But there was a difference. One of the men was manager of a small department of that company. The other was its president.”

Talk about a good example of a perfect introduction!

You’ve probably come across the above example introduction before. This is because it is the introduction used in what is widely regarded as the greatest sales letter of all time. The sales letter that used this introduction sold over $2 billion worth of Wall St. Journal subscriptions and ran for 28 years!

You might want to read that again: that’s 2 BILLION (with a “B”) as a result of a single sales letter, mostly thanks to a sold introduction.