Rolex vs. Timex... Feeling Groovy, How About You?... Getting Beyond Small Talk When Networking... and Much More
By Michael Masterson
Today, I tell you why, when it comes to luxury items, price doesn't mean quality to buyers. It means something more intangible. And I show you how to apply that secret to your marketing. I also discuss what you should and shouldn't be buying "on credit," the rise of organic junk food, and a marketing trap that is all too easy to fall into. Here's what's on tap for the rest of the week... Rich Schefren, who is appearing at ETR's Info-Marketing Bootcamp, lays down the four stages of learning. Before truly mastering any skill, you must go through these steps. AWAI's John Wood shows you how to meet powerful people in your industry. A simple "Hi, how are you?" could change your career and life. Comedian, copywriter, and professional speaker Peter Fogel explains why self-confidence is not necessary to be a great public speaker. You just have to pretend you have it. And finally, success mentor Brian Tracy explains the Law of Indirect Efforts. The quickest way to raise your self-esteem, says Brian, is to focus on making others feel good about themselves first. -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended ----------------------------------------------------- Chicken, Oranges, Eggs, Apples, Beef, Lettuce, Cereal Bars, Tuna, Peaches, Spinach, Pork, Strawberries... You want to keep your family healthy. But if you feed these foods to your family because you think it's GOOD for them, you've been horribly misled. MaryEllen Tribby has produced a special report that reveals why the products you buy may not be as healthful as you think... and what you can do to regain control.
In this free report, you'll discover: - 3 pesticides used illegally in scores of foods...
- Why following the USDA's recommendation of eating 5 daily servings of fruits and veggies could be damaging your body...
- 13 foods that are chock-full of harmful chemicals...
- A sneaky trick Big Business plays to get you to buy products that AREN'T organic...
Plus, you'll discover the best defense against pesticide abuse in the foods you and your family eat. Take charge of your health and the health of your loved ones. It's simpler than you think. Your first step is to read this free report.
"My yachts were, I suppose, outstanding status symbols." Paul Getty People like to feel superior. As a marketer, understanding this universal desire can help you do an awful lot of selling. By appealing to your prospects' pride, you can persuade them to pay more -- sometimes much more -- than what you could get by appealing to any other emotion. Let's talk watches. For $10, you can buy a handsome digital sports watch that will outperform and outlast virtually any luxury watch made. When these watches were first introduced (over 20 years ago), they were so good and cheap that everyone predicted the demise of the analog timepiece. Well, it didn't happen. The new technology revolutionized the watch industry and changed the market forever. But analog watches survived. In fact, according to one estimate, sales of $1,000-plus watches have more than doubled since the 1970s and continue to grow every year. It's Not Simply a Matter of Dollars and Cents Why do people pay thousands for watches when a $29 one works just as well and looks great? (By the way, have you taken an objective look at some of the fancier Rolexes lately? Tack-eeee. Piagets? Like a muscleman in a tutu.) I like the look of the expensive watch I bought in Paris, but I've had to have it repaired twice in two years. And boy did they charge me for that! It's not reliability. It's not durability. It's not precision. And it's not beauty. So what does all that extra money buy? In a word, prestige. Slap on an Ebel or a Cartier and you have instant credibility with the fashion police. Thrust out a Rolex-clad wrist and you announce to all those around you, "I have arrived." You need not say a word. What could be better than that? The idea that price equates to quality is a myth. But price does relate to value. In the case of luxury goods, that value is prestige. If You Understand This, You Can Outsell Your Competition In Boca Raton, Florida, almost 30 years ago, a very smart entrepreneur bought a large parcel of land west of the Interstate in what was considered to be a very undesirable location. It was unpopulated and miles from the beach. There wasn't a store or supermarket in sight. Instead of trying to compete with the frantic homebuilding going on east of the freeway, this savvy marketer spent the money to build an 8-foot stucco wall around the property. In front of the wall, he planted trees, shrubs, and flowers. And he created a very elaborate entrance with pillars, pergolas, and arches. A guardhouse with a uniformed gatekeeper finished it off. This was Boca Raton's first "gated community" -- and the first development to purposefully sell the promise of exclusivity. While other developers were emphasizing quality and value, our friend was selling prestige. ("Wait until your friends and relatives see this entrance and have to get permission from the guard to get in!") The result? Lots the developer bought for $5,000 sold for $20,000, while lots on the "better" side of town were selling for less than half that amount. Today, those same lots cost a quarter of a million dollars apiece. The point? People will be happy to pay more for your product or service if it provides them with prestige. The more prestige you can offer them, the more they will be willing to pay. You Can Pay Pretty Much as Much as You Want for Anything When the Miami Heat basketball team opened its new arena years ago, it created a super-premium level of seating. It consisted of about eight seats that were practically under the basket. The price: a mere $50,000. Did they sell out? In about 24 hours. In any marketplace -- from watches to tractors -- you will find luxury products selling for extraordinary prices. Production cars range from $15,000 to more than a quarter of a million. Off-the-rack suits can be purchased for as little as $100 or as much as $5,000. The same holds true for just about everything. If you make 20 grand a year, you are happy to get your macaroni for 89 cents a pound. If you are a millionaire, you search for handmade pasta at 10 times that price. When I was first married, I bought used furniture, including a dilapidated couch for $25. When I started making a decent living, I came into the marketplace of $500 sofas. As the years went by and my lifestyle "improved," I've had the pleasure of paying $5,000 and $10,000 for essentially the same thing. I know $500 sofas still exist, but I can't find them. They are not in the stores my wife drags me to. What I am confronted with, instead, have fancy names: divans, chesterfields, chaises, and settees. All priced at what I used to pay for my yearly rent. Prestige Is Expensive Whatever it is you are selling, there is a way to charge more for it -- by throwing in a little prestige. This may not be something you want to do right now. Now might be the time to grab market share by underpricing aggressively. But sooner or later, you should think about how to apply this very fundamental and powerful marketing strategy. Remember that people with money want to pay you more -- so long as it buys them a little prestige. And by charging them more, you are actually giving them a psychological boost. Think about it. P.S. Figuring out the right price to charge for your products is essential. It can make or break your business. In my book Ready, Fire, Aim, I give you dozens of pricing strategies. Some for start-ups... others for businesses that are floundering or stagnating... and even some for businesses that are doing okay but want to do much better. And that's just one part of this complete guide for entrepreneurs. Check out Ready, Fire, Aim here. -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended ----------------------------------------------------- Eliminate One of the Major Business-Building Hurdles - Pricing products doesn't have to be difficult. Bob Bly can give you a quick two-step technique for figuring out exactly what to charge. From low-cost e-books to high-end coaching, let Bob show you how to price for maximum profits...
Credit card companies were given 15 months to clean up their act and eliminate unfair and predatory practices. But they've taken that time to speed up the process of screwing over consumers. Interest rates, already high, are up an average of 20 percent industry-wide. Even customers who pay on time are seeing higher rates. That was not unexpected. And it shouldn't be affecting you, if you've been following my advice all these years. Here's the deal: If it's going to be worth less after you buy it, or if you'll have forgotten all about it by this time next year, pay cash. That includes stereos, vacations, dinners out, clothes... you get the idea. Use credit only for things that are going to appreciate in value -- such things as houses, investments, or an income-producing side business. This goes back to the one way you can possibly hope to become wealthy: Earn more than you spend. Then save and invest the rest. You won't get rich with debts and liabilities hanging over your head. We're seeing more and more junk food passed off as health food these days. Manufacturers have learned that they can increase sales (and justify significant price increases) simply by putting the word "organic" on the label. But "organic" doesn't always mean "healthy." You can buy organic sugar, white flour, potato chips, corn chips, donuts, waffles, sugar-added cereals, pizza, and frozen dinners at your local health food store. All of these products are highly processed. They contain little to no nutritional value, and they have a high glycemic index. My advice is to skip the same aisles in the health food store as you would in the regular grocery store. Avoid the baked goods, snack foods, cereals, and ice creams. Stick to whole foods and fresh produce. In all forms of expression, summarizing is lethal. But that's what many copywriters do. At the end of a sales letter, they methodically recount all the important points they just made. What happens is that the energy of the copy is dissipated, the blood drained off. A much better approach is to take a single strong element of the sales argument and present it in detail. This has a much greater emotional impact on the reader. And it often conveys some of the rest of the whole -- even without talking about it.
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In ETR, you get everything you need to help you become healthier, wealthier, and wiser. Well, almost everything. We don't get into investing as much as we'd like to. There just isn't enough space! But our sister publication, Investor's Daily Edge, is all about on-target analyses of the markets and advice that will help you make sound investment choices. Check it out today.
"Today's Gloom or Doom article was timely. I'm in the interior design business, and getting ready to send out a mailer to a small neighborhood where I already have some clients. While I think the copy for it is good, I'll do some modifying based on your article. "Thanks so much!"
Dianne Clay
San Antonio, TX -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended ----------------------------------------------------- So Where Do You Invest Your Money? - Traditional investing is a bit haphazard these days. If you haven't noticed... But certain "off the Street" investments are booming. Why? Because there are ways to play the markets to make money whether they go up or down. Find out more about it here.
Today's Words That Work: Pergola A Pergola (PUR-guh-luh) -- from the Italian for "arbor" -- is an open lattice structure, usually covered with roses or other climbing plants, that forms a decorative, shaded passageway. Example (as used by Michael Masterson today): "[This] savvy marketer spent the money to build an 8-foot stucco wall around the property... And he created a very elaborate entrance with pillars, pergolas, and arches."
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