By Kerwin Rae
When you hear the terms wealth creation or investing most people think of property or shares. Few people would think of marketing as a wealth creation or investment tool.
When you consider the word 'investment' it implies there will be a return—after all that's why people invest. We want to put some money in and get our money back and then some.
Most people are happy to average between 3-10% return per annum in the property market.. This does not take into account holding costs, which vary depending on how leveraged you are. To gain these modest returns, much of the time, people have hundreds of thousands of dollars, sometimes millions, at risk.
The same can be said for shares. You will find 'most' traders and share investors generally have similar returns.
Now, I am not saying don't invest in property or shares, however, when you know what you are doing with marketing it is possible to get returns ranging from double digits to triple digits (cash on cash return) or more and, in many cases, within weeks, not months or years.
It seem crazy to me that so many people are investing thousands of dollars every month into their mortgages to make their five points per annum. If that same money was invested in learning how to become powerful marketers and that knowledge was applied to the products or services you offer, then there is the potential to accelerate your wealth creation.
I have made good money with property and shares, however where I have been able to quickly create large amounts of wealth for myself and my clients is through marketing as an investment strategy.
My advice is to invest in marketing for shortterm cash returns, then take your earnings and invest in property and or blue chip shares for the long term.
Marketing, for me, has been a short-term cash flow investment strategy that produces returns I can then drop into property and watch grow over the longer term.
Marketing is not just an investment strategy it is a business.
In my opinion, it is the key to wealth through business. If you look at everyone from Richard Branson to Bill Gates they have made their money because they know how to get people interested in what they do and then sell them on it—that is the basis of good marketing.
Good marketing is like great food. Not much thinking is required. When we taste something great we simply react with an 'oh my god that tastes amazing'. We react. Great marketing is exactly the same. It removes the need for people to think and they respond to the offer being made.
Remember this, thinking is the enemy of marketing. The more marketing bypasses people's need to think, the greater the chance it has to get people to respond and succeed.
Robert Cialdini, author of the best seller Influence—The Psychology of Persuasion said it best: "The best form of influence is the one that bypasses all need for thought, it taps into people's existing habits by getting them to do what they would already do."
Creating wealth through marketing comes down to understanding the following eight keys:
One of the most important things to remember when marketing any solution is something that was written in one of the greatest sales books I have ever read, Helping Clients Succeed by Mahan Khalsa. Mahan wrote, "solutions have no inherent value, solutions only derive value from the problems they solve."
If solutions only derive value from the problems they solve, that means that the real tangible value is in understanding the problems. Make sure you clearly understand all the problems you solve.
Do you know what every single one of the RICH 200 has in common? Apart from the fact they have loads of money, they all own a business that markets a solution to someone, somewhere.
So if you have aspirations to be wealthy, I mean very, very wealthy (the kind that gives you access to private jets and your own personal Island) you either must learn how to market your business better or get into business in the first place and become an expert in marketing..
Marketing is the key to wealth creation in business. Richard Branson would not be where he is today if it were not for his ability to market his businesses better than nearly all his competitors.
The best place to start is exactly where you are right now. Every single successful businessperson and entrepreneur I have ever met constantly invest in themselves and in their business. There is never an end point as things are always changing.
In 2000, I invested $80k in my marketing education (that was for one program) and it was the best investment I have ever made.
Go to seminars, read books, listen to audio CDs and make sure whoever you are learning from has the results on the board. Most importantly make sure you can relate to them. Learning from someone you like can mean the difference between staying in there and making it work and quitting because even though the information may be there, they rub you the wrong way.
And remember, marketing is all about people. Unlocking your understanding of people will unlock your fortune.
Kerwin Rae is the founder of Business Mastery International, and one of the world's #1 experts on influence.
businessmasteryinternational.com
