How To Sell A Mid Life Crisis....aka..Selling The Past

[VegasVince]

There's an old cliche that goes like this: "You'se Can Never Go Home Again."

Here's another: "Even the greatest of all time....the richest man of all...can not remain....forever young."

I disagree.

You as a marketer should disagree too!

Sell him a ticket HOME!

Case in point...a vintage 80's blast, now reincarnated from the past in all its glory...a car called The DeLorean.

Brought back to life because us X'ers have grown up and now have money to buy it..and cuz it brings back a time when life was good. Understand?

The DeLorean. The quintessential ride of the 80's....ready to purchase 3 decades later...for all of us who missed out the first time. Capiche!

A cool ride, that was ahead of its time...forever engraved in the minds of many of us Generation X'ers...who desperately would love to go home again...if someone would just step up and book us the ticket. Someone just did.....and they are getting RICH because of it.

The DeLorean....not just a car....but a fast ride back to our past...our prime....when we kicked ass and took names...when we Generation X'ers were young and full of vision and life and those sexy girls with big 80's hair were stripping to that nasty funky Prince song.....

So the next time you pitch some dream for the future....remember that it's often easier to SELL A SURE THING......cuz the past has a proven track record.

Something that your client knows for sure...and can instantly relate to...and it doesn't need a whole lot of hype cuz believe me...he will sell himself.

Sell him or her a one way ticket "BACK HOME." Cuz few other marketers bother doing so. It's a wide open market...I assure you. It's the fountain of youth...and that always sells, Warriors. Believe me.

Get your customer.."home."

"Home." ...... A place he remembers fondly.... and desperately wants to go back and visit!

And he'll glady pay you'se TOP DOLLAR for booking that flight. And he'll thank you for it too.


xxx Vegas Vince

Legend.

P.S. What can you dust off and sell someone...to get them back home????

Think about it..and sell accordingly. xxx

[Ken Preuss]

You are a phenomenal marketer sir. Whenever I see a Vegas Vince post I can't wait to read it.

As someone who has made a ton of money, lost a ton of money and knows what's what in business, let me just say you'se "get it" my friend.

Brilliant post.

Ken

[traces2757]

That was truly inspiring. I think I've developed my first crush on Warrior.

[Ernie Lonardo]

Great stuff Vince

and you're right....I have spent thousands of dollars on Nintendo NES games over the years...because I was too young to afford them when I was younger.

Everyone wants to go back to their younger years....or "home" as you call it - HECK..lets just say the 80's.... we all know that was the best decade

[VegasVince]

Thanks to you'se brave Warriors...Ken, Traces, and Ernie for the cool comments. Your careers are effectively over....endorsin' anything I write. lol But much appreciated.

The short version...the one that sums up my OP...in one sentence or less would be this:

SELL SOMETHING THAT TURNS BACK THE CLOCK FOR YOUR CUSTOMER...SOMETHING THAT TAKES HIM OR HER BACK TO A HAPPIER TIME AND PLACE IN THEIR LIFE TIME........A PLACE THEY BURIED THEIR HEART AND DREAMS....MANY LONG YEARS AGO.

Show them past Utopia..and get rich. Pitch them some future dream..and you end up competing with marketers most likely better equipped then you. It's true.

What do I know for sure?

Selling proven Nostalgia....is a hell of a lot easier then selling the same people...the "unknown."

And there's a lot less competition.






xxx Vegas Vince

[affiliateppc]

Vince,

Great post. And true. I've read that the cosmetics industry was build during the great depression. It took women back to a time when things where good.

AffiliatePPC

[Don Schenk]

Brilliant Vince, simply brilliant.

When my parents were still on this planet they LOVED watching the Lawrence Welk Show... with its "old" music from their youth.

Come to think of it, my in-laws love that show too.

Think "Hits of the 60s" and Hits of the 70s and Hits of the 80s.

Someday "rap" will be played in elevators (lifts for my British friends).

:-Don

[Chuck Evans]

The only thing cooler than the car was John Delorean himself! Forward thinker, left GM to start his own car company with this design that GM did not like! Had a hot wife and on all outward appearances had life by the tail! Investors did not come easily but he did see his dream come to life and didn't take no for an answer!

His ending was sad but common among people that get desperate about trying to protect their company and products.



Back in those day my father was a partner in one of the largest Chevy dealerships in the US. I bought a DeLorean and drove it to the dealership to show him and he asked, "What is that? It's a DeLorean Dad isn't it cool! He said, It's not a Chevy and we don't sell those, take it back!"

chuck

[Steven Wagenheim]

Goes back to another old saying, "Everything old is new again."

I can't begin to count the recycled stuff that I see everyday, even back
from when I was a kid.

Retro is more in than ever. Our local paper even has a section devoted to it.

Vince, you are the king.

[Chuck Evans]

Steven and others, some of us are old enough to remember the tie-dyed shirts and bell bottoms! I think I'll get some of those out, still wear the same size, and see if I can set a "new" trend!

chuck

[VegasVince]

Originally Posted by Chuck Evans

The only thing cooler than the car was John Delorean himself! Forward thinker, left GM to start his own car company with this design that GM did not like! Had a hot wife and on all outward appearances had life by the tail! Investors did not come easily but he did see his dream come to life and didn't take no for an answer!

His ending was sad but common among people that get desperate about trying to protect their company and products.



Back in those day my father was a partner in one of the largest Chevy dealerships in the US. I bought a DeLorean and drove it to the dealership to show him and he asked, "What is that? It's a DeLorean Dad isn't it cool! He said, It's not a Chevy and we don't sell those, take it back!"

chuck

Thanks for that follow up, Chuck.

John DeLorean....is a story unto himself. Dude was a visionary with a big set of wavos, capiche.

What a hell of a legacy he left.....a supermodel wife...a car they still buy 30 plus years later..and one of the only guys who beat the United States Government in court...with a genuine entrapment defense.

DeLorean's catch phrase back in the day... LIVE THE DREAM.

He did. His own way..in classic Sinatra style.

That's more then most do.


xxx Vegas Vince

[warriorprocessing]

Hey I've got my mid-life crisis up for sale. It was pretty rough so I'm selling it cheap. Any takers?

[kumar]

Originally Posted by VegasVince

SELL SOMETHING THAT TURNS BACK THE CLOCK FOR YOUR CUSTOMER...SOMETHING THAT TAKES HIM OR HER BACK TO A HAPPIER TIME AND PLACE IN THEIR LIFE TIME........
And there's a lot less competition.

Something like an anti-wrinkle cream or a path breaking hair rejuvenation system or even an old Alexander Graham Bell styled dialing keypad telephone?

Excellent post, Vince. That's why, retro-styled Harley Davidsons and VW Beetle still sell like hot cakes. I would have loved to live during the Flower Power era. Anyone enjoyed that time?

[Chuck Evans]

That's why, retro-styled Harley Davidsons and VW Beetle still sell like hot cakes. I would have loved to live during the Flower Power era. Anyone enjoyed that time?

Only Steven and myself! Love ins, outdoor concerts, platform shoes, peace symbol necklaces, micro mini vans, and flower power. Ahhhh....the good old days!

Of course we've all aged a little since then...



chuck

[Justin Mandel]

Damn Vince, great post!

I remember walking past John Delorean as a kid on the street in NYC with my father.

Expanding on the "home" concept it's all about selling what people remember to be so whether it's a something people have fond memories (look at retro Jordan sneakers sold by Nike all over again for $100 plus per pair) of to people remembering how they used to feel - young, healthy, and energetic.

And that's why and how I found my way here.