Book Description
"As usual, Tom Stanley hits the nail squarely on the head. No one better illuminates the 'who, where, and how' of the affluent market in America."-J. Arthur Urcioli, Chairman and Chief Executive, Merrill Lynch, Business and Financial Services, Inc. "This book is the best guide to success that I've seen."-Mary B. Lehman, Managing Director, Banker's Trust Company, The Private Bank.
Customer Reviews:
Very Illuminating.......2004-01-16
I never realized how easy it is to network with the high profile people. Like anythingelse, it can be learned.
Networking With The Affluent is a must read for all entrepeneurs, sales and business people. This is the book that your most successful competitors are reading, using and applying.
Especially good for people in financial services.......2004-01-16
I work for one of the big 3 insurance companies and getting to know the affluent and working their nests is critical to my success.
In Networking with the Affluent, Dr. Stanley shows how to get into this market and offer quality financial products and services. To serve the affluent and others in their network.
You won't find any tricky techniques. But you will find some powerful ideas on how to substantially increase your production.
I have recommended this book to dozens of people over the years. And I can tell by their productivity if they have actually read it.
Get this book. It's great.
Excellent book to penetrate the affluent market.......2004-01-16
Dr Stanley goes over and above the call of duty with this great work. Networking With The Affluent will show you how to penetrate the affluent market...network with it's members and key players within their group.
This book will create relationships that many have heretofore, been unable to penetrate.
Great book by Dr. Stanley.
A very under-rated book! Where are the readers?.......2004-01-16
I cannot believe that there is not at least three pages of reviews for this great book.Being able to link up with "Mr/Mrs High Credibility" is so essential to successand this is the only book that shows the why, who, where and how.Severall years ago I joined toastmasters and as a result was invited to join other organizations as well. I have to admit that I was [initially] very uncomfortable sitting with some of the top CEO's, Board Members and social elite of my city. This book was recommended to me then and I have never looked back.As a result, I have been able to increase my client base, penetrate the affluent market and network with their associates.As I said in the heading, I cannot believe that there are not more reviews here. Perhaps readers are hoping to keep this their secret. I know that when I first heard about this book, I was hoping that none of my competitors would find out about it.I also recommend Dr. Stanley's excellent "Selling To The Affluent" and "The Winners Circle" by Robert Shook.
Some good advice on how to be useful to the affluent.......2002-07-19
If you need to rub elbows with the affluent, who better to learn from than the man who made a career of studying the wealthy? Thomas Stanley, bestselling author of "The Millionaire Next Door," teaches us the networking methods of individuals who cater to the rich in "Networking With The Affluent And Their Advisors."
Stanley writes: "...always remember that you will succeed in marketing if you focus on the needs of your targets." What are the needs of the affluent? Stanley focuses upon eight valuable services that individuals can provide to the affluent.
According to Stanley, the "Eight Faces of Networking" are:
* Being A Talent Scout
* Being A Revenue Enhancer
* Being An Advocate (to your clients' industries)
* Being A Mentor
* Being A Publicist
* Being A Family Advisor
* Being A Purchasing Agent
* Being A Loan Broker
Noticeably missing from Stanley's list is walking poodles. What sort of pets do the rich have anyway? Are they largely cat people or dog people? Or do they tend to avoid pets altogether due to the cost of caring for the furry little fellows? Stanley is silent on the issue.
But, I guess offering to walk a potential client's poodle wouldn't enhance the image of a serious business professional anyway. So, we'll let Stanley off the hook on this point of omission. Each of his other networking suggestions would tend to enhance a businessperson's reputation as a savvy businessperson with the client.
Being a talent scout means providing your network with information about reliable suppliers and people who might be able to provide valuable services. For example, Stanley notes that the majority of the wealthy are business owners, so they are constantly looking for sources of supply for their businesses.
Suppose the fat cat you want to do business with owns a bakery chain. If you've focused your attention upon the food industry, you might just know a good supplier of doilies. That information will come in handy when fat cat laments the lack of reliable doily suppliers. By asking fat cat about his most important goals and concerns, you learn how you can be of service to him.
Of course, if the doily supplier delivers deformed doilies, you might lose the goodwill of the fat cat. Stanley tells us to only endorse people who provide quality services and products, otherwise we compromise the value of our personal network.
Stanley says that it's often wisest to focus upon networking within a few industries because positive word-of-mouth flows more rapidly through inter-industry communication than through intra-industry communication. We learn that one of the best places to learn about an industry are the industry's trade publications and associations.
So, while you're browsing through "Gingersnap Today," in addition to learning about the industry, you'll learn about the movers and shakers of the baking industry. More people to add to your potential food network.
What do most bakers really care about? In fact, what do most wealthy people care about? Dough, of course! Business owners, especially, are always looking to grow their revenue. So, if you enhance a business owner's revenue, you will become a valuable member of his or her network.
Would doily supplier dare drop doing business with you in favor of your competition if you are providing many referrals and enhancing his doily revenue? Especially, if other people providing the same core service don't enhance his revenue at all?
Stanley gives us the example of a financial advisor who was talking with the wealthy owner of a welding company. Rather than focusing upon the financial advisor's "me, me, me" interest of getting as much money under his grubby management paw as possible, the advisor focused upon his potential client's real concerns and priorities.
Upon meeting the wealthy welder, the financial advisor immediately said that he had several clients who owned oil rigs which needed welding services. He put the welder in contact with the oil riggers. The welder received much business and opened a multimillion dollar account with the financial advisor.
Of course, savvy networking is sometimes derogatorily referred to as "The Old Boy's Network," where members only tend to do business with other members. But, everyone has the opportunity to create their own network. Building networks is an equal opportunity endeavor. Unfortunately, sometimes, people have network envy.
Also, notice that financial advisors and others offering core services to the wealthy tend to benefit most from such networking. This is especially true if the basic service provided is largely undifferentiated, as it typically is with accounting services or financial advising, for example.
Stanley argues that the core service provided clients must be worthwhile to secure and retain business. But, core services being equal, the provider who excels at revenue enhancement will probably win.
While revenue enhancement is crucial, maybe, top dog's greatest concern is building his new home. He's a successful doctor who hates negotiating and doesn't have the time for it. But, it so happens that you know the building contracting business and are a strong negotiator. By acting as a purchasing agent for members of your network, you can save members money. And, as they say, a penny saved is a penny earned.
Stanley relates the story of a successful CPA who saved his wealthy client about [money] on the purchase of a new home. When the successful doctor told Mr. CPA about his new home plans along with its 15% builder's fee and extra fees and commissions here and there, Mr. CPA offered to negotiate the final purchase on behalf of his client. Knowing construction, Mr. CPA knew that a 10% builder's fee was fair. But, the commission, paid to the builder, on the sale of the lot, owned by the builder, had to go.
Saving members of your network money on expensive purchases is one more way to benefit them.
Overall, if you provide a service to wealthy individuals and you wish to increase the value of your networking skills, you might find this book useful.
Peter Hupalo, Author of "Thinking Like An Entrepreneur" and "Becoming An Investor."
Amazon.com
Three uniquely targeted guides by Thomas J. Stanley--bestselling author of The Millionaire Next Door--have been released in paperback for those specializing in sales to the wealthy. In Marketing to the Affluent, Stanley defines the moneyed population and outlines the traits it takes to reach them. In Selling to the Affluent, Stanley discusses the true needs of the well-to-do and ways to effectively meet those needs. And in Networking with the Affluent, he explains how to reach this elite audience by securing word-of-mouth endorsements from their peers.
Book Description
"Dr, Stanley's prospecting techniques saved me thousands of hours of tedious work normally given to cold calls and mailer leads."-Ken Catanella, Senior Vice President, Shearson Lehman Hutton. "This is a must-read book for anyone involved with strategic planning for businesses serving the affluent."-Seth Poppel, Vice President, Director of Corporate Planning, Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A.
Customer Reviews:
Great info from a top marketer!.......2005-09-30
If you want to know the real truth about marketing to the affluent, and especially want to hear about creative networkers, this is THE book for you!!!
Only relevant to a select few.......2005-08-06
This book would be great to those marketing financial services. Example after example is spent determining how to market securities and finding out about how to find them. Unfortunately, if you are in any other line of business, there will be precious little for you to take away with this book. It was a waste of my money, but again, if you are selling financial products go for it.
Mark
Succesfully marketing to the rich........2005-04-06
This book is a "how to" guide to establishing a solid marketing strategy in an affluent market. A great read that provides a clear indication of who has the money, what they spend it on and what you can do to get it.
A must have.......2004-03-10
As a strong believer in the concept that there are defined qualities that produce given results I was further impressed with this book. When you consider other books covering the millionaire subject such as the Instant Millionaire or the Millionaire Brain, you can start drawing up your own set of criteria that define this important segment along with the parameters that will allow you to reach out and conduct business with this important market.
Outstanding Book, First of its kind.......2003-02-11
Dr. Thomas Stanley has become a big name since his book "The Millionaire Next Door" but some of his have been tracking his work since his days as Georgia State Professor.
This was his breakthrough work. Lots of original research and tremendous insights.
I work as a financial consultant to people who receive personal injury awards and found Dr. Stanley's writing extremely valuable.
Anyone who works with high producers or who wants to be a high income producer should own this book.
Don McNay...
Book Description
This book shows marketing professionals how to position their products to take advantage of the $77.7 billion luxury market.
In &I, readers will get the first research-based study of the 15 million truly affluent households that make up the leading edge of the new luxury market. Pamela Danziger notes that the luxury market is changing radically from the conspicuous-consumption consumers of the 1990s. Danziger conducted a two-year research study of luxury consumers with incomes of $75,000 and above and discovered a totally new type of luxury consumer. Called the ""butterflies,"" these most affluent of affluent consumers have emerged from their luxurious cocoons and are turning their focus from the home to the outside world.
Designed to give marketing practitioners an insight into what luxury means to the consumer, &I covers the natural evolution as today's luxuries become tomorrow's necessities, as products move ""from the classes to the masses.""
Readers will learn:
* How to ""get it right for the masses"" and how to ""get it right for the classes"" with profiles of companies that exhibit best practices in luxury marketing.
* Why luxury isn't about material things or how much something costs. It is how the product or service connects with the dreams, desires, and passions of the consumer.
* The different drivers and motivators for luxury consumers.
Danziger outlines the purchase behavior and preferences in the nine categories of home luxury products (e.g., furniture, art, antiques), four personal luxuries (e.g., automobiles, fashion), and six experiential luxuries (e.g., luxury travel, spa/beauty treatments). As businesses compete in an increasingly crowded marketplace, Danziger also describes the six key consumer trends in luxury marketing and strategies that marketers can implement to build their luxury brands.
Customer Reviews:
Very Organized, Great Ideas! .......2007-07-17
This book was full of interesting and thoughtful info. I was quite impressed. It is a great compliment to Vondre and Andreaetta at Sell Cakes Like Crazy on the internet!
Very disappointing.......2006-07-24
This is one of the two books that I purchased about luxury products, the other being Trading Up. After seeing the recommendations on this book I thought it would be an insightful read, instead it regurgitates the form and data of "Trading Up." The author also makes note of the book.
I was dissapointed by this book and the way it was written. The author presents a deluge of data and consumer opinions. There are numerous charts that present surveys and polls but the book fails to extrapolate on the data. In numerous occasions, references to specific years in which a certan luxury good had higher growth or lower growth are cited but the author failed to site why and if this trend would continue. It also fails to describe why luxury goods companies have done so well. Only a brief page or two is written about a company and it's products but fails to establish what drives demand for luxury goods.
The book scratches the surface of the psychological buying factors for luxury goods, other than for the "experience." For a much better read, read Trading Up.
More than a simple "marketing" book...very impressed!.......2006-02-22
According to this author, it can be tougher than ever to sell luzury goods to the American consumer. In the past, factors like snob appeal and appeals to class and "taste" were enough to get people to buy certain items. They wanted to appear to be "in the know" or to be like certain people who were.
These days, it is much harder to get people to buy luxury items, to drop the bucks and make the purchase seem worth the price. The difference between the past and the present? Creating a total and even MEANINGFUL experience, convincing the buyer that purchasing a particular item or experience will enhance his or her life. They might even want to feel that spending a zillion bucks is a PRACTICAL decision.
The author not only explains why buyers purchase luxury items today but will show you how to go about convincing them to buy YOUR items. If you aren't in the business of selling luxury items, you'll still find this a fascinating read - as it shows you WHY you might fall prey to the appeal of certain "luxury" goods, for better or worse.
Thorough and Well Organized.......2005-11-14
In this book, the author gives a thorough analysis on the contemporary U.S. luxury market and presents principles to the marketers who would like to capture this market successfully.
In the first two chapters of the book, the author defines today's luxury market and the term "new luxury." In short, new luxury is more about experience than about money or expensive things, although such an experience cannot be obtained without money. As Americans, especially the baby boomers, have more disposable income to spend, what they crave is the experience of self-actualization and expression of individuality. This is different from the old snobbish and arrogant concept of luxury, which emphasizes exclusivity. For example, having some quietness for taking a cup of good coffee while enjoying the view of the city is counted as a luxurious event by some people.
In chapter three, the author defines the consumers in this luxury market with basic demographic information. In subsequent chapters, discussion continues along the four traditional Ps in Marketing: Product (what different luxury consumer groups buy and why), Price, Promotion, and Place (where they shop). One interesting finding is the fact that, these shoppers are frugal and they are bargain hunters. They buy everything on sale unless sales are not common in a category, such as fragrances and beauty products. They do not need to shop this way but do so because they are wise and value-conscious.
Then the author's writing turns to the marketers with important advice derived from the nature of this market, distinguishing the myths from the facts. The last chapter is a summary of the book.
The contents of this book are based on empirical research performed by the author and her colleagues. In addition,
it includes the personal opinions of many people doing business in the luxury market. These interview excerpts add valuable practical information to the book and enhance the validity of the contents. The writing style of the author is clear and easy to understand.
I see this book as another step beyond Trading Up. It gives an even more focused treatment to this social trend of consumer spending. The title of the book, Let Them Eat Cake, is derived from the author's statement "Let your consumers go to Wal-Mart to get their plain white bread, but when they come to you, `let them eat cake here!'"
WalMart Owns the Bottom Market, Move Upscale.......2005-01-28
The up-scale market is where you almost have to go in face of WalMart. It's also where the money is. The affluent consumers have incomes two-and-one half times larger than the average and their households spend twice as much on all kinds of consumer goods and services. This book, based on original research conducted by the author defines exactly this consumer, how to market to them, and how this market has changed as the Baby Boomers have evolved into this segment. The research was conducted on the top 25% of US households with an income of over $75,000.
The author is a nationally recognized expert specializing in consumer insights and president of Unity Marketing, a marketing consulting firm she founded in 1992.
Book Description
In this classic of marketing literature, best-selling author Tom Stanley explains the mindset and buying patterns of wealthy individuals. Stanley shows salespeople how to approach this enormously attractive market, open doors, appeal to the "hot buttons" of the affluent, and sell to extremely successful people.
He provides insights into different affluent groups including:
- Business owners
- Sales professionals
- Women
- Asian Americans
- Retired millionaires
Stanley also discusses how to sell both tangible products, such as luxury cars and real estate, as well as intangibles, such as financial services. Selling to the Affluent is the most authoritative and comprehensive guide available for selling products and services to the affluent market.
Customer Reviews:
A Ph.d in selling.......2004-01-16
This book by Dr. Stanley is equalivent to a Ph.d in selling. No matter how many books you have read on selling, this book will teach you many things you have never heard before.
Must reading for all serious sales people
Very good information.......2003-09-29
Like every book on the subject of selling, this one has lots of stuff that will not apply to any one individual reader however it will have some stuff that will prove to be of great value to nearly anyone that sells for a living.
While it is true that it is a long work and covers a lot of data, it is also true that the reader can skip over sections that don't apply.
I found the work to be both readable and thought provoking and I am looking foward to other books by the same author. A strong recommendation to those that are working in sales or considering it for a career.
Very good book but read others Dr. Stanley has written.......2003-02-11
This is a good book and part of a series that Dr. Stanley has written.
Dr. Stanley has become a big name since the tremendous success of "The Millionaire Next Door" but all of his books on marketing and selling to the affluent are great.
I prefer the book "Marketing to the Affluent" if I only had one to read but if you are someone who deals with high income people, all books in the series are a must. He is ground breaking in his research and writes in an easy to read style.
I am a financial consultant and structured settlement consultant for injury victims who receive large settlements. I quote Dr. Stanley's research often and try to read everything he publishes.
I would recommend this highly as well...
Packed with information - Very Useful.......2002-08-22
This outstanding book by Dr. Stanley took my sales to a new level.
I was introduced to Dr. Stanley via his mega best sellers "Millionaire Next Door" and "The Millionaire Mind", both outstanding reads.
I also recommend 'marketing to the Affluent" also by Dr. Stanley.
Selling to the Affluent will take your sales to a new high, just as it did for me. Great book.
Outstanding - A treatise on how to sell to the savvy.......2002-08-19
Aside from being a followup to Marketing to the Affluent, STTA shows you how to sell the savvy. It tells you when the best time is to approach them and also offers dialoques and examples.Having read many sales books, it is refreshing to read one that deals with facts and teaches techniques that don't insult your client.Selling to the Affluent reveals the three most important things you can do to land afluent prospects and encourage wealthy clients to buy and make repeat buys.Stanley shows how to:Create lists of affluent prospects who are "riding high" because they've suddenly come into money or improved their socioeconmic status.Approach prospects at the moment when they are most likely to buy.Find and utlize critical information that will help you prospect, communicate, and clos sales more successfully.Chapter profiles two of America's most successful sales professionals and chapter 13 goes into apostles vs. antagonists. Which one do you want to be?I highly recommend this book along with Marketing to the Affluent. Two other worthwhile reads are Earning what you are Worth and Advanced Sales Strategies.
Product Description
RainMaker: Strategic Partnering with Attorneys and Accountants to Create a Pipeline of New Affluent Clients
RainMaker provides a detailed, empirically derived methodology for creating a steady stream of new affluent clients that has been refined and perfected in the trenches. You'll learn how to create strategic partnerships with attorneys, accountants and other advisors to the affluent.
Customer Reviews:
Good info for designing a Financial Planning practice.......2006-12-11
As a Registered Investment Advisor planning my own Financial Planning practice, this book was an excellent source of marketing data and potential marketing strategies.
Based upon survey data with significant sample sizes, the best way to land high net worth clients is through their lawyers first, and accountants second.
I enjoyed the alternative methods for encouraging lawyers.....and/or accountants to refer high net worth clients to financial planners.
All-in-all a good source of marketing strategy information for financial planning professionals.
Book was easy to read and written well.
High net worth investors might enjoy the book, in order to understand the various marketing strategies and relationships between financial planners, lawyers, and accountants.
I would suggest companion books to supplement this book including:
The Richest Man in Babylon
Bogle on Mutual Funds: New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor
The Millionaire Next Door
The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio
A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing, Ninth Edition
Index Mutual Funds: How to Simplify Your Financial Life and Beat the Pro's
The Coffeehouse Investor: How to Build Wealth, Ignore Wall Street, and Get On With Your Life
The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing
Wealth: Grow It, Protect It, Spend It, and Share It
All About Asset Allocation.
Book Description
This is the first book to explain how the fundamentals of marketing strategy must change in response to this broad-based increase in wealth
The authors specifically addresses how to fine tune a mass marketing approach that captures the value created from greater consumer affluence.
After years of expensive and largely ineffective attempts at one-to-one marketing and other complex varieties of microsegmentation, the business environment is ripe for a switch back to the relative simplicity of a mass marketing mindset
Flouts conventional wisdom: the authors in-depth research uncovered that today’s “moneyed masses” are completely different than the mass market of decades past in terms of how much they have to spend and what they are willing to spend it on. Reveals the mass marketing strategies a range of companies have already successfully used to hit pay dirt with products ranging from oral care to laundry detergent to exotic automobiles.
Customer Reviews:
Serving the super-modern customer.......2006-10-24
Mass Affluence complements The Dollarization Discipline (Fox and Gregory)by explaining the emotional needs of today's mass-market customer (the end-user to our broadcaster customers). Put the two together to see how product development and sales should work in the coming decade.
(Review based on reading a commercial executive summary of both books.)
Ideas you can use to reach affluent customers.......2006-06-30
So many books about marketing or business are long on high-minded concepts, but very short on ideas you can use when you go to work the next day. Mass Affluence happily breaks that mold and offers up useful ideas in almost every chapter.
Nunes does a great job of breaking down how to approach the large demographic of relatively wealthy consumers into different functional areas and makes a chapter out of each. He explains how something, like billing, was typically done in the past and how it should be handled now. Beyond that, Nunes has found pertinent real-world examples of every concept he discusses and gets helpful input from the business people out using the strategies on a day-to-day basis.
The result of all Nunes work (I'm sure it would've been easier to write the book without running down real-world examples) is a highly practical guide to setting up or improving upon a business that caters to wealthy, but not mega-rich, customers.
Highly recommended.
Why this one is a standout..........2006-02-22
There are zillions of books out there on marketing moderate to high end items, most of them repeating the same old principles (yawn). You certainly don't need to waste your time or money on those.
Happily, this one is different, showing sellers how to reach the elusive buyers who may fall somewhere between high end and moderate end...perhaps prefering items that fall somewhere between the High end of Moderately priced...or, if you like, the low end of Luxury. They'll spend plenty...but they have definite needs.
This book shows sellers how to appeal to those needs and to market the same (or similar) items in a way to appeal to diverse buyers.
By the way, it is always a plus when a publisher takes advantage of the "Look Inside the Book" feature on Amazon - and this publisher does. So don't take my word on the benefits of this book. Take a look at a sample page or two and see if it appeals to you.
I will add that there is a LOT of info crammed into this book and I learned quite a bit. I'd also recommend Let Them Eat Cake.
A ground-breaking, seminal work.......2005-01-03
A collaboration between Paul F. Nunes (Executive Research Fellow at the Accenture Institute for High Performance Business in Wellesley, Massachusetts) and Brian A. Johnson (Senior Research analyst at the New York City based investment research and management firm of Sanford C. Bernstein & Company), Mass Affluence: 7 New Rules Of Marketing To Today's Consumer reveals that there is a pendulum swing in marketing from "one-to-one" customer strategies back to mass marketing. But there's a problem -- Today's more affluent but cautious consumers aren't responding to the strategies that worked with their middle-class predecessors. Mass Affluence lays out seven new rules of mass marketing specifically directed for use with the increasingly affluent populace and shows how innovative companies are implementing these novel strategies with high-end products that fill a heretofore ignored middle-ground in ordinary product categories ranging from clothing, to oral care, to house hold cleaning, and more. A ground-breaking, seminal work, Mass Affluence should be considered mandatory reading by any corporate manager charged with the responsibility of marketing his company's services or products in today's increasingly volatile, global, and competitive marketplace.
A Marketing Book Than Can Make a Difference.......2004-09-30
It's not just the rich who are getting richer; it's also a broad swath of some 22 million U.S. households who have gained significant levels of wealth, income and discretionary spending over the past 30 years. In a meticulously well-researched and well-written marketing best seller, researchers Paul Nunes and Brian Johnson document the phenomenon of mass affluence. They then describe the tremendous opportunities marketers have in crafting innovative new products and services to serve the top 20 percent of households that have some 60 percent of the nation's discretionary spending power.
The timing of this important work could not be better for retailers and brands struggling to increase share and margins in a Darwinian marketplace. I've been involved in consumer marketing for more than twenty years and I've seen only a handful of marketing books that can really make a difference. "Mass Affluence" is one of them. We were so impressed with the book that we bought copies for all our associates. I highly recommend it.
Book Description
By any measure, the affluent sector is growing exponentially, and is far more diverse (in terms of ethnicity, education, location, and professional background) than at any time in the past. In 2004, there were 8.2 million households in the United States with net worth over $1 million, excluding primary residence. Meanwhile, between 1995 and 2001, the number of families filing tax returns for income exceeding $200,000 doubled. This market represents lucrative opportunities for companies that understand how these consumers think, act, and make purchasing decisions. Applying primary research, including demographic and economic data, and expertise developed from decades of studying, teaching, and consulting in marketing and consumer behavior, Ronald Michman and Edward Mazze present a comprehensive approach to analyzing affluent consumers--and creating, promoting, and selling innovative products and services to them. Illustrating their principles through dozens of examples, including Armani, Mercedes-Benz, Brooks Brothers, Neiman Marcus, Merrill Lynch, Tiffany, and even discounters, such as Target and Wal-Mart, the authors deconstruct how a complex market segment works. Dispelling popular myths and misconceptions about the composition and behavior of this segment, they provide not only a practical guide for marketers and students of marketing, but a fascinating glimpse into a culture driven by materialism, status, and aspirations to luxury.
Book Description
Economic downturns and terrorist attacks notwithstanding, America's love affair with luxury continues unabated. Over the last several years, luxury spending in the United States has been growing four times faster than overall spending. It has been characterized by political leaders as vital to the health of the American economy as a whole, even as an act of patriotism. Accordingly, indices of consumer confidence and purchasing seem unaffected by recession. This necessary consumption of unnecessary items and services is going on at all but the lowest layers of society: J.C. Penney now offers day spa treatments; Kmart sells cashmere bedspreads. So many products are claiming luxury status today that the credibility of the category itself is strained: for example, the name "pashmina" had to be invented to top mere cashmere.
We see luxury everywhere: in storefronts, advertisements, even in the workings of our imaginations. But what is it? How is it manufactured on the factory floor and in the minds of consumers? Who cares about it and who buys it? And how concerned should we be that luxuries are commanding a larger and larger percentage of both our disposable income and our aspirations?
Trolling the upscale malls of America, making his way toward the Mecca of Las Vegas, James B. Twitchell comes to some remarkable conclusions. The democratization of luxury, he contends, has been the single most important marketing phenomenon of our times. In the pages of Living It Up, Twitchell commits the academic heresy of paying respect to popular luxury consumption as a force that has united the country and the globe in a way that no war, movement, or ideology ever has. What's more, he claims, the shopping experience for Americans today has its roots in the spiritual, the religious, and the transcendent.
Deft and subtle writing, audacious ideas, and a fine sense of humor inform this entertaining and insightful book.
Customer Reviews:
A glorious state of denial.......2006-01-16
This deserves three stars, at least, for its wit. Even as I disagreed with Twitchell, I found myself wanting to read more.
There are several things terribly wrong with his argument, such as his ignoring the mindlessness of much consumption. He thinks consumers are aware, but that doesn't hold water, or advertisers would not make or spend so much to influence everyone, and they would not be so successful.
The real trouble I have with this book is that Twitchell never, ever connects the growing consumption of "unnecessary" luxury goods with the incredible destruction they are causing all over the world. Even a passing acknowledgment of the environmental catastrophe related to our consumption would make this a better book. At least he could admit he's only interested in luxury as a construct, as something to play with philosophically.
Still, it's definitely worth a read.
Terrible.......2005-01-11
The author has no familiarity with his subject and routinely provides the reader with incorrect information.
A Guilty Gordon Gekko.......2005-01-01
Living it Up starts with the premise that consumption--even overconsumption--is good for the economy and good for your community. Twitchell makes a coherent argument that those who pay ridiculous prices for things they don't need make it possible for the rest of us to pay lower prices for the same things. Then, what used to be a luxury to one generation (indoor plumbing, cars, computers) becomes a necessity for the next.
But somehow, Twitchell seems guilty about all this. He even quotes Gekko (from the movie Wall Street), a bit sheepishly. He praises "first-users" (those who buy the first VCRs, etc. at high prices) while sneering at the stereotypical yuppie with all his toys. Professor Twitchell mocks the voluntary simplicity movement by picking the most hypocritical example he can find, of a back-to-nature advocate who buys acres of her neighbor's land. But he ignores such aspects as not spending more than you have, reducing the amount of stuff you own, enjoying the occasional luxury rather than shopping as a habit.
Interesting reading if you are fascinated by our consumer culture, but a bit confusing as the professor tries to decide where he stands on over-consumption.
Luxury, a new religion analyzed.......2003-08-31
This is a landmark book. The author analyzes in very detail the mechanisms behind selling luxury to the public, including the religious attributes affixed to those products.
"Probably it shouldn't get into the hands of consumers", because they might find out they are spending too much money for ordinarily manufactured goods with high status affixed by advertising. On my trips to the US, I wondered how big, luxury only shopping malls could survive, this book tells the reason why. Europe is still more conservative with luxury spending.
I wanted to give it 5 stars, but the language used is very difficult to read. To exclude most luxury spenders?
Posh LUST.......2003-02-26
Entertaining book, well written, thought provoking, ultimately absolving us of our sins of posh LUST.
Average customer rating:
- Very practical if you have what it takes to use it.
- How to Network Your Way to the Top
- Best information on this subject
- 8 STRATEGIES TO SUCCESS via networking
- Big fan of Tom Stanley but this book was big disappointment
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Networking with Millionnaires
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster Audio
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Similar Items:
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Networking with the Affluent
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Marketing to the Affluent
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Selling to the Affluent
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The Millionaire Mind
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The Millionaire Next Door
ASIN: 0743507940 |
Book Description
In The Millionaire Next Door, Tom Stanely identified the millionaires around you. In the Millionaire Mind, he told you how they think. Now, he tells you how to get their business.
NETWORKING WITH MILLIONAIRES
The affluent market segment is growing seven times faster than the household population in this country. Dollar for dollar the most productive way to penitrate the affluent market is to network with its members, their advisors, and the key members of their important affinity groups
DR. STANLEY IMPARTS HIS EXTENSIVE KNOWLEDGE BY EXAMPLE:
- Learn how to attract hundreds of affluent business owners as clients and never make a sales call
- Learn how top producing marketers generate business by employing eight key networking themes.
- Learn how to personaly access the top business owners in your community.
Networking is the essence of high performance marketing. It is professional selling at its highest form. Networking is about influencing the influential.
Customer Reviews:
Very practical if you have what it takes to use it........2005-08-08
I found this audio program to be highly practical. I agree that there may be plenty of repetition, however if appreciated, can offer a lot. I wonder how many of the people who complained that this audio was worthless have actually utilized the info on the level of the examples. More than likely none of them have. I can tell you that I have and I can attribute many new ideas to it. I put two highly successful individuals on the phone together(both of which I took on as mentors in the same manner that Stanley shows how to approach them), and in less than 25 minutes, they were discussing doing a joint venture worth a couple million dollars. I've been generously compensated for something that took no more than 45 minutes of work.
As for the comment about being dependent on the benevolence of these decision makers, I have to disagree. Intelligent people will understand how to place themselves in a position where they are invaluable, thus taking away that excuse.
How to Network Your Way to the Top.......2005-01-05
Networking with Millionaires is the audio version of Stanley's book "Networking with the Affluent." It is not a "word for word" audio book, but rather a partially scripted interview with Stanley where he covers the same points with same stories he uses in the book.
The basic concept is that successful sales professionals build referral business by offering services beyond their core product(s). Stanley offers some new and creative ways of using the principle of "going the extra mile" for building a network of affluent and influential people who have the ability to help you if they are so inclined. Even though there are some helpful specific suggestions of how to connect with your target group(s), what is most important is having a mindset that thinks outside the box.
One aspect of the recording that I particularly appreciated was providing specific reference materials that can help you learn more about how to identify concentrations of wealth. For example, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, and some directories of trade associations. These references go by very quickly in the recording, so you may need to look at a copy of the book to identify them all. These reference materials are rather obscure, so I doubt I would have ever heard of them had I not listened to/read "Networking with Millionaires."
One reviewer made a valid point that it appears that Stanley is suggesting that we completely rely on the benevolence of the decision makers. While it is true that he does not discuss the downside in the book, I think it is important to use some common sense. There is a risk that you won't directly receive any benefit from helping others. You have to be judicious and not go crazy. There are clues you can look for to identify takers rather than givers. There will be times when you do not appear to receive any specific benefit from the help you provide. If you come across an obvious "taker," simply cut your losses as quickly as possible and move on. The benefits of Stanley's approach FAR outweigh this possible downside. Stanley's objective was to outline a workable approach, so I don't fault him for not including information on the downside. His materials are for professional people who should be able fill in that gap on their own.
Best information on this subject.......2004-12-27
I'm a Stanley fan.. loved the "next door" books and learned much.
I heard this title through Audible.com.. half the price for the full unabridged interview. I highly recommend audible.com for many other reasons, but this title makes it worth a trial membership.
The true measure of lasting value for me is how often I refer to it in coaching conversations. I've listened to it multiple times, and believe it's responsible for a paradigm shift in how I look at networking and selling.
If you intend to sell or market to anyone, especaily anyone with enough money or activity to be hard to reach, you MUST get this!
8 STRATEGIES TO SUCCESS via networking.......2004-01-16
I have read all of Dr. Stanleys books and/or listended to his work on audio, as I did with this one.Networking with millionaires is as the title indicates a book to show you how to penetrate into the market of the affluent and offer them your services. It is not intended to be a continuation of Stanleys poplular The Millionaire Next Door or The Millionaire Mind.Since I am in financial services and also network marketing, I found this book invaluable to attract clients in both businesses.I first became acquanted with Dr. Stanley's work many years ago when I joined toastmasters and started to rub shoulders with the affluent. Somebody suggested Networking With The Affluent and that book helped me immeasureably. I have since added other books/audio programs by Dr. Stanley.Highly recommend Networking with Millionaires.Good program. Highly recommended.
Big fan of Tom Stanley but this book was big disappointment.......2003-03-06
I am a huge fan of Tom Stanley's. The Millionaire Next Door had a profound impact on my consumer behavior and personal finances and my life in general. I have read the Millionaire Mind as well, and its a good book.
The information in this book could have been covered in total in the first audio tape (there are 4 tapes in total). I agree with other reviews saying the information in this book is highly repetitive and slanted towards accounting and finance-- almost to the exclusion of other areas of business.
The other problem with this book is that its almost completely anecdotal. Stanley strays from his core strength shown in Millionaire Next Door. Stanley became a bestseller in MND because he was able to synthesize and capture data based on research and present it in a beautifully coherent fashion. On the contrary, this book is full of stories and anecdotes and is all over the place in the presentation of material.
This book is in an interview format, (Tom Stanley being interviewed by a guy with obviously scripted questions) which I didn't like as much.
One major thrust this book holds is that you need to be a complete problem solver for your customers in all aspects of their lives and business enterprise in order to sell your product to them. An example he provides is a CPA who helps a client's kid get into a top college.
The problem with this approach (that Stanley doesn't acknowledge or address) is that you completely rely on the benevolence of decisionmakers at a given business when you solve all of their other life problems and not overtly sell them anything.
What Stanley proposes is not new to Salespeople like myself. Salespeople like myself have always expanded our job descriptions to help our customers solve all sorts of problems. The problem with Stanley's approach is that it's not as workable as he advocates because there are more takers than givers in the business world. By and large, business decisionmakers in real life don't return favors as the book portrays they do to his "Ace of Aces" examples. Especially when decisionmakers yank you around on price and price alone. Stanley does not have an answer for networking to that type of millionaire.
If businesses and business decisionmakers were as benevolent as Stanley suggests they are -- returning favors as they are given out -- personal concierge services would overtake the planet and salespeople would cease to exist.
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