…today’s secret…Why we buy.

Today I’m going to share the reason people openly give other people their money.

It’s been said that we buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.

But, regardless of whether we are giving our money to the Mother Teresa Foundation or Candy Sue who is dancing for dollars at the local strip club, the reason we give strangers our money is the same.

Ready?

VALUE.

Yes, VALUE.

Stay with me here.

Yes, I know this is one of the most cliched words in the English language… “I value your friendship…This is a great value. You’ll value this…yada, yada, yada.

The word means so little today that hearing it creates no emotion at all.

That is, until you dissect the word VALUE mathematically.

Once you understand the math behind the word you will see how wealth is created.

Here goes…

V=PE – P.

VALUE = PERSONAL EXPERIENCE MINUS PRICE.

VALUE is the space between the asking price of the product or service and the personal experience gained from that product or service. The greater the space, the greater the VALUE. The lesser the space, the lesser the VALUE.

Your morning McDonald’s coffee costs you $2.69. Subconsciously that works for you. However, when at the window she says, “That will be $9.79 this morning…you realize the VALUE between the coffee you drink every day and the new price is non existent. You got McDonald’s hosed at $9.79.

So, here’s the deal. When the PERSONAL EXPERIENCE is greater than the asking PRICE, you have a satisfactory exchange. Mathematically it reads like this… When PE > P…everyone is happy.

“But Willie, if something is of value, price doesn’t matter, does it?”

Wrong. The asking price is the fulcrum by which the math formula is judged. It must be included in the formula.

Most retailers are lazy and dumb. They create the VALUE space by lowering the PRICE as opposed to raising the PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. There is always a sale somewhere, right?

Kohl’s Department store works this formula perfectly. The sweater was $19.99. Now it is only $9.99. They created the VALUE space by lowering the perceived price, plus they provide a pleasant shopping experience to reinforce their VALUE offering. The sweater never sold at $19.99.

Please, remember this…every time you give your money to someone else, you subconsciously work through this VALUE formula…V=PE-P. You then decide if your purchase was good for you.

You can’t print money. You can’t steal money. But, there’s nothing keeping you from creating as much VALUE as you can. Want to make a lot of money? Create a lot of VALUE.

There is a time and place for media. A time and place for ad writers. A time and place for sales people. The secret, however, is in the PERSONAL EXPERIENCE you provide.

Candy Sue at the strip club understands this math perfectly.