9 Speed Wealth Laws (Part 2)

Learn These Laws - Apply Them and You can Become Incredibly Wealthy

November 1997

By Mal Emery, Director of Milestone Marketing. Mal is a Marketing Consultant specializing in the development of small business. He also owns a Direct Mail company and leads business seminars. Mal may be contacted on +61 08 9201 2122

Do you want to be rich? It sounds ridiculous. Of course you’d like to be rich, wouldn’t everybody? But do you really? Your words might say you do, but your thoughts and actions very often say something entirely different.

Dear Friend and Subscriber,

We are living in one of the most exciting periods civilization has ever known ¾ the information age. It is a period of astounding and radical change. Frontier land all over again, only now with computers, spaceships, lasers and fax machines at our disposal.

However small or large that spark of hope that exists within you, the right thoughts coupled with the appropriate action, every single day, will ignite that desire into a blazing inferno of determination.

And all the great men and women achievers of the past have shared one overwhelming similarity ¾ a burning desire to achieve their objectives.

In this, the second in the trilogy of newsletters dedicated to the 9 Speed Wealth Laws, my aim, once again, is to give you information designed to further fuel your desire to achieve incredible success

Lets begin!

Speed Wealth Law No # 4. Timing

This particularly ties in with the Baby Boomer concept.

Most have heard this one - Timing is everything!
What many don’t realize however, is that business opportunities are very much like cars. There are racing cars that travel at 400 kilometers per hour, and there are jalopies that putter around . . . and there’s everything in between. And the key question is - what are you trying to create wealth with, a jalopy or a racing car??

Most people are so stuck in what they’ve been doing they don’t realize that there are cars whizzing by them at every second of the day.

There are vehicles out there, which are making ‘gazzillionaires’ as we speak and the question is - what is your vehicle? Is your vehicle one that is so timely, right on trend, right where the market wants it? OR are you putting all your energy and time (your most valuable commodities) into something the market doesn’t want?

You owe it to yourself and to your family, to consider carefully what you’re doing. Please don’t take unnecessary risks. Get the knowledge and information you need to make the right choices.

What I am talking about here is getting to a ground floor opportunity.

Let me give you an example, which I think will illustrate it perfectly. When the Internet became popular, many rushed out to become Internet providers, meaning they would sell time on the Internet to other people. And immediately it became a commodity, because it was driven by - “I can give you a lower price than everyone else”.

But some very canny people came along and said “Forget that, there are millions of providers. What we need is to figure out a way of making the Internet more easily accessible to people”.
And they were the only ones who thought about that angle. At the time these ‘opportunists’ were stone broke, however their lateral vision led to the birth of the Navigator and today, a few years later, they are worth millions.

All those people in the ‘jalopy’ of “I’ll be a provider of services” and somebody hopped into the Ferrari of “I’m going to make it easier for people to get on to the Internet and to understand what they’re doing”.

So . . . How do you choose your racing car?

Timing and the Baby Boomers. (What to do next) This may help you to decide.

Due to the number and the fact that baby boomers are reaching the height of their earning and spending capacity (born 1945 - 1965) inflation will drop and possibly to negative inflation due to the following factors . . .
High productivity of baby boomers
High demand of baby boomers
Age driven spending (influenced by falling interest rates and low inflation)

Consider for a moment, the habits & traits of a baby boomer. . .

Knowledgeable, informed buyer.
Quality consciousness
Highly participatory and experiential
High discretionary income
Convenience oriented
Highly individualistic
Strive for self improvement and excellence
Value leisure and creative pursuits
Conscious of health & environment
Self help oriented
Highly experimental
Value passion, care and the personal touch

Put simply, for the first time in history and there are charts going back centuries, we have our largest population between the ages of 40 and 60 years with the fastest growing group being over 80 years and the slowest being 0 to 9 years.

And there are some fairly obvious reasons for this. In days gone by people had many babies but these babies often failed to survive past infancy and of course, adults didn’t live for any where near as long as we do today.

Well, do you know any couples around the age of twenty, who are planning to get married and have nine or ten children? I don’t think so. You see something called the ‘pill’ came along and dramatically changed things forever.

Do they want to live in the outer suburbs and commute long distances?

No! They want to live near the University, near the good (and/or cheap) restaurants and have entertainment facilities nearby.

They’re going to put off having children until their 30’s or over, they’re going to have FUN! And even when they do have children, he’s going to stay at home and look after the kids because he’s a school teacher with a great maternity package and she’s in the banking industry, on $40,000 more than he is and her maternity package is nowhere near as good.

Guess what! These people will have two incomes and lots of money to spend. Before the patter of little feet are heard at least. (D I N K S) Double income, no kids.
These are the baby boomers’ kids growing up . . . and there have never been so many.

Back to the baby boomers themselves. Their life expectancy has increased substantially. He will, on average, retire at 57 and live for another 27 years. She will retire at 55 and live for another 32 years.

So what does all that mean? It means that they will live in retirement for almost as long as they have worked and what do you think they will want to do? Not tend the roses any more. They will (and do) want to travel and go to restaurants. No longer will they want to live in the outer suburbs. They will want to sell their big house with its large maintenance requirements and that son and daughter will have to find somewhere else to live. (That’s another story).

In most cases, they’re going to sell their 30 square house in the suburbs, spa, pool, open spaces and everything that opens and shuts and trade it for a 50 to 100 year old house in the inner suburbs for more money! And they will absolutely love it. They might even describe it as the best thing they ever did.

So what else do we know about them? Well, in the last 15 years of their lives, 80% of the money they spend will be on their health. Wow!

What’s Going to be HOT!

Home Services for both groups, pre cooked meals delivered to the door, cleaning and ironing, home care (too expensive to do it yourself and who wants to anyway) and home maintenance, gardening, car detailing and car wash outlets, travel agencies, caravan sales will increase and caravan parks will be hot spots. Tour operators, financial services, optometrists, high quality, reasonably priced ethnic food, club memberships, golf clubs, medical and dental, life insurance. Home computers and software, junk food. (remember the 14 year old children of the 40 plus group), banking and mortgage lending and the list goes on.

So, are you targeting these groups . . .

Baby Boomers (35 to 55)
DINKS - Double income no kids (25 to 35)

Was it all that long ago that, as young people we were going to conquer the world, earn heaps of money and work our bums off to get it.

Well, I am in my forties, and when I get together with my friends now, we are not talking about conquering the world any more. What we are talking about, is how we can get 10 weeks off a year, how we can spend more time with our families and friends, and still have enough money to have the life style that we desire.

Things sure are changing, aren’t they?

So, the message is, redefine your business based on what you know to be the wants and needs of these massively powerful markets. You will be handsomely rewarded for making the effort to focus and get clear on their wants, needs, desires, fears and frustrations.

Speed Wealth Law No # 5 Modelling & Mentoring (A proven winner)

The best way to get the results you want in your business (and in your life) is to model somebody who is already doing what you want to be doing. To model somebody who is already successful who is already super healthy, wealthy and wise. (You may need to model several individuals, as all of these qualities may not come from just one person).

So if you’re not successful right now, or you want to improve on what
you’re doing, find yourself a mentor and model them.

About the fastest and easiest way I know to get rich, - take something that’s already out there and already working. You don’t have to be number one, you could be number two or three and make a fortune. Let them make all the mistakes, go to school on them, look at their blueprints. See what worked and what didn’t work then determine what is already working and do it. Do it in your territory, in your region, in your industry.

Remember that successful businesses, and marketing strategies that are duplicated from a particular country, area or industry to another may not always give the same results . . .

. . . often they’ll work much better!

Many successful marketing concepts from the USA work better in Australia because people here haven’t seen them before.

Would you believe that research has shown only 9% of popular US and Canadian products are ever exported? Amazing. There’s a tremendous opportunity there to take the right vehicle at the right time and move it to another market.

I suggest that people look at Entrepreneur Magazine and Success Magazine for success stories. Made in Japan and Made in Europe are the types of magazines, which show products that are coming in and out of the country. There are tons of products, keep your eyes open for success clues. Look at places that are doing well and study strategies that are working and do the same thing.

This concept works in reverse as well if you have a system that produces a profit every time. Why not run it out around Australia or even the world, for that matter?

As I have said before, the object is to get your product or service to a lot of people, if you truly want to get rich.

So, take a look at what is happening in other industries, not just your own, then cross pollinate what is working. You will be amazed by the results if you take the necessary time.

If someone has set up a way to get customers for a lawn mowing business in Adelaide, the same technique will probably work in Sydney. If someone starts a business delivering singing telegrams or making hamburgers in the USA, it’ll probably work in Australia. (Both of these businesses actually did better here.)

That’s how the smart (and wealthy) people do it.

Those I see who are struggling, are usually trying to be a “world’s first”, trying to ‘reinvent the wheel’. Well that’s OK if you like working like a slave or have an abundance of cash, but if what you’re after is maximum results in minimum time, modelling is definitely the way to go in your business.

So, don’t try to create something new and different. It may work, but you have the advantage if you find something that is already successful, copy it and ADD VALUE (greater value that do your competitors).

MODELLING OTHERS WORKS

We all ‘model’, constantly. As children we model our parents and that is how we learn how to walk, how to speak, how and what to eat, how to behave appropriately and how to perform such cognitive acts as tying our shoelaces. When you learned to drive your car, you modelled someone. Think of any of the great sports men and women and the hundreds or thousands of children who aspire to their level of skill and achievement. These children are ‘modelling’ their sports heroes.

Trouble is, we often tend to model those who are close to us, though they not be the most appropriate. Look for the best. It’s not enough to take the advice of certain ‘handy’ individuals just because others (parents, friends) choose to.

Almost everyone ends up “modelling” what in reality doesn’t work

At least not as well as it could. Coupled with the fact that most businesses don’t measure their results and have no written goals or a plan, the potential is for business failure. Consumers are smarter; the economy is tougher . . . no wonder 80% of businesses that exist today will be gone in 5 years time. Don’t be one of them!

Information (the right kind) is power. Model the successes of others. Don’t be too proud to follow in the footsteps of someone else. I personally, would rather be a ‘wealthy business copier’ than a broke, original thinker.

According to Anthony Robbins (the US personal development guru and lifestyle coach to Presidents and other famous people) if you want to be supremely healthy, then seek out those people who already are and ask them what it is that they are doing and thinking to be so healthy.

If you want to make your business fire find the most successful people
in the business world and ask them how they do it!

There is another aspect of modelling that I would like you to consider and it is not about modelling in the conventional sense. Instead of copying someone else, why not join forces with them in an attempt to achieve a win-win situation, with little or no investment. This is known as the ‘piggy-back’ process or host and beneficiary and it makes a lot of sense.

You see, they have probably made a huge investment in terms of time and money, in getting to where they are. So, why not leverage off that and play win-win instead?

The secret is to make sure that they have everything to gain and nothing to lose by doing the business and that’s the way it should be with these people.

This time, instead of copying a proven winner, your tack might be “You’re already doing great things, why should I try to reinvent the wheel. By affiliating with you, we will both benefit”.

This is the most cost-effective way to get your product or service to a large number of people.

Ask yourself, “Who has my customers before me? Who wants my customers and what do my customers want?

So, to succeed in business, all you really have to do is . . .

Take a proven system and duplicate it - or better still improve it.

Speed Wealth Law No # 6: Marketing (USP) & Innovation
Because the purpose of a business is to create a customer, it has two - and only two functions.

Marketing and innovation:

“Marketing and innovation produce results. Every other cost is an expense against your business.” Peter Drucker.

As we approach the year 2,000, the only tools businesses have to set themselves apart is marketing and innovation. Otherwise your product or service is on danger of becoming a commodity. (Bought on price alone).

Things sure have changed! In the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s your competitive advantage was technology, geography, legislature, capital and cheap labour costs.

In the 90’s, it changed again to cheap technology, global competition, communication explosion, privatisation, deregulation and open money markets.

With the coming of the new millennium, the equation has become:

Marketing + innovation + distribution + production capability = Competitive advantage.

Money is rarely an issue.

Contemplate this formula and Mc Donald’s come to mind. They have all these bases covered.

So, what is marketing?

Marketing is educating your customers and prospects to understand, appreciate
and desire the BENEFIT your product or service gives them.

. . . . then convincing them to desire it only from you!

And if you really want to be a marketing Guru, all you have to do is - understand, empathise, educate, relate to, love, help, appreciate, advise, indemnify, contribute to and add value to - your customer!

To be successful at marketing today, requires a change in strategy, purpose and mind-set, to see your business through your client’s eyes - ask yourself “If I were a customer, would I buy from my business and why or why not?”

The key is to fall in love with your client, not your product or service.

U.S.P.

In a nutshell, having a Unique Selling Proposition means is: -

That your company or your practice,
has a unique and distinctive benefit or advantage to offer your customer or prospective client.

. . . One that is greater than that of your competitor, otherwise the customers have no motivation to do business with you (instead of your competitor).

Let me make a very important point at this juncture:

Your goal is to make your business distinctive - positively distinctive - to get your prospective customers and clients to see your business or professional practice as offering them a superior benefit or advantage that no other competitor offers them.

Something very valuable, very desirable, very important, very precious and meaningful to them that’s not available to them anywhere else.

This is the essence of a Unique Selling Proposition.

When I ask business people this question - “Can you tell me why your customers or clients buy from you instead of buying from your competitors?” - most of them don’t really have an answer. Some might say service or quality of product, however anyone in the same industry could make the same claim.

You need to be able to articulate a short and precise statement that sets you apart.

If you don’t have an answer to the question of why people should buy from you and not somebody else, that means one of two things. Either:

You do offer a client a unique set of advantages or benefits, but you’ve never identified it yourself, so you’re not clear on it and neither is your customer.
You offer your client no unique advantage or result and you’re just lucky that you have the business in the first place. There’s no basis upon which you’re keeping it.

Any time your competition offers your client an advantage that you don’t offer, they have the potential to take your client away from you.

I want to help you to determine the most powerful benefit or advantage you can possibly offer an existing client and any future client you ever appeal to. So appealing a benefit that it would be irrational for your client to choose anyone but your company or practice to deal with in the future.

And here’s how to do that:

You identify just what advantage, benefit, result or protection your client wants the most. Identify what it is that they’re not getting from anyone else they might be dealing with and perhaps what they’re not even currently getting from you.

And then you offer it to them! Don’t just suddenly offer it to them . . .

You incorporate the fact that you are now offering them this unique advantage or benefit,
into everything you say and everything you do!
t me give you some real examples you can relate to.
We’ll start with one that you’re undoubtedly familiar with - Federal Express. When they say “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight, Federal Express it!”. That’s a U.S.P.

When Domino’s first appeared, do you remember what they said? “Hot, juicy, delicious pizza - delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less - or it’s absolutely FREE”. That’s a U.S.P.

Back when they started, no company was delivering pizza in half an hour - guaranteed. Few companies were delivering pizza that was hot. If it was delivered late and cold, you lived with it. There was no protection or guarantee or risk reversal attached.

Domino’s was the first and the only to do that. And guess what? Their USP was so distinctive; they virtually owned the market for years and years.

When Avis got started, they struggled to come up with a marketing that would gain them the market advantage they desired. They needed a USP that was very powerful. After all, Hertz was heads above them in size and in market share.

What did Avis do? They came up with the USP “We’re number two, we try harder”. And they extended themselves by working harder, by giving better rates, by being more cordial and courteous.

They made incredible progress because of that USP.

Nordstrom built their department store success through one basic, unique selling proposition:

“You have a problem - for any reason - at any time in the future, bring it back for a no questions asked 100% money back refund. Any time in the future, not in three days, not in seven days, not in thirty days. If a year later you’re dissatisfied, if in 5 years later you’re dissatisfied, IT’S NO PROBLEM”.

Paddy Lund, a dentist, distinguished himself by having a dental pracice that was different from any other practice in the rest of Australia.

He locked his front door, removed the conventional waiting room and replaced it with a series of ‘salons’, which are actually booths such as you would find in a restaurant. He installed tables there and employed a full time chef, so that the first aroma that his clients smelled, when they walked in, was of rolls being baked and delicious gourmet foods cooking.

Before patients got near the examination room, Paddy would sit down with them and have a friendly talk, sharing a cup of tea and a biscuit or breakfast roll with them.

He changed the entire image of the conventional dental relationship.

You must ask this question: What superior benefit or advantage or improved result am I, or is my business or practice, in a position to give to my customer?

Here’s another question. What superior benefit, or advantage or result am I actually providing or supplying my customer or client with? But . . . is it so subtle that they aren’t even aware of it, so I’m doing both them and myself a disservice? I’m not making it known, they don’t appreciate it, I’m not getting credit for it. Neither of us is benefiting fully.

Your goal is to identify your USP and telegraph it to every customer or prospect or client you ever deal with from this point forward. One which they can expect to receive on an on-going basis, when doing business with your company or practice.

In my experience, most people in business are doing a good job, providing quality products and friendly service. They’re receptive to the needs of people and ready to fix a problem.

So, why isn’t every business booming?

Because most of these people in business fail to influence the client to choose them above anyone else. They are “me too” businesses.

Don’t design your USP or marketing around the 2% of customers who will attempt to take advantage of your unique promise or risk reversal.

These days you can take anything back to Target or K Mart and receive a full refund. It doesn’t even have to be in a box and neither do they insist on a receipt.

They understand that the disproportionate amount of sales that are made far outweigh any loss due to the dishonesty of just a few.

To finish up, USP is the most important thing you must develop and then articulate. Not for your clients, not for your staff, but for yourself. It will play an enormous part in determining the direction that your company takes.

Next issue, we will complete the trilogy with Systemisation, Duplication and Leverage / Cash out.
I recommend that you keep the three of them together and read them all again. This is a wonderful formula that has worked for me, over and over again.

Until then, I want to encourage you to keep a close watch on how you’re thinking . . . are yours the kind of thoughts that will support the lifestyle you aspire to and do your actions reflect them?

Start creating!

Warm regards

Mal Emery