Everyone spends like a millionaire in at least one category. I heard that somewhere and it stuck with me.
Maybe Robert Plant said it best: “People say that I’m a millionaire, but that’s not true – I only spend millions.”
This is a great lesson for salespeople.
My husband and business partner Richard and I are considered, “foodies.”
We will spend a lot of money on a great meal. You could say, when it comes to food, we’ve been known to spend like millionaires.
In particular, although we’re eating more vegetarian these days, we are known by friends and family as legendary steakhouse fans. (We have collected steak house experiences all over the US and in a few other countries, too.) One of the more expensive dinners for the two of us was at Strip Steak in Las Vegas which passed $500.
There is a sushi place we love in Orlando Florida. If we get all of our favorites and order a bottle of wine, we can spend close to $300.
I know a woman who will easily spend a few hundred dollars on a pair of shoes. That could be said for many women I know and some guys, too! I sprung for a $300 pair of Stuart Weitzman black patent heels a few years ago but usually, you can find me at Macy’s or the DSW sale racks. I’m a “millionaire spender” in one category, but not in others.
Did you know you can spend $43 on one cup of instant noodles from Harrod’s?
How about a concrete doorstop for $3,500?
If spending money on outrageous clothing is important to you, there’s a $10,000 diamond studded hoodie.
Tennis anyone? There is a Tiffany brand sterling silver tennis ball can is just $1500.
What about nutrition — do you take supplements? The most expensive Ginseng plant ever purchased cost $400,000. The 300 hundred-year-old wild plant was the most ever paid for any ginseng and it weighed in at 366 grams. At $1092 per gram, a 50-gram bottle would be about $54,000.00.
One of my favorite examples is one Richard shares with audiences when we speak.
I wanted to buy a cake from a catalog. It was pretty fancy and I gasped when I saw the price.
When I mentioned this to Richard, I asked him to guess how much it cost. He was a little surprised too because, as he puts it, how much could a cake cost?
This was one special, designer cake. $180. I passed on the cake.
Here’s the point… people spend money on crazy things that matter to them.
Everyone spends like a millionaire in one category.
As salespeople we never know, that category may just be the one we happen to represent. The key is we can’t let our preconceived notions of what people normally buy, usually choose, or typically spend on our products and services.
Be careful what spending limits you are placing on other people.
You may just be selling to a “millionaire” and you don’t even know it!
Comments? Please let me know your thoughts. And if you liked this post, please share! – AW
Have you read Go for No! yet? Pick it up at our store here or on Amazon if you prefer. If you like audiobooks, you can find all of our books including Go for No! and a fable about money mindset called, The Diamond Line on Audible.