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Create Your Own Gold Rush with Sales


Ever heard of the gold rush of '49?

Of course you have. It's where the NFL team the San Francisco 49'ers get their name!

Have you heard amazing stories of who got rich during the gold rush though?

Maybe you have. Maybe you haven't.

So let me tell you one.

Once upon a time there was a guy name Sam Brannan.

Sam Brannan was a merchant in San Francisco who lived during the California Gold Rush days. It was an exciting time and everyone in the city was going absolutely bonkers over finding gold...

It was nuts!

So, one day, Sam came up with an astonishing idea that would form the basis for the most lucrative lesson ANY entrepreneur should learn...

He went out and bought all the shovels in San Francisco and set up shop. After he was done

hoarding all the shovels, there wasn't a single shovel to be found in the entire city!

Then he grabbed some gold-dust, and ran through the streets like a crazed lunatic yelling...

"There's gold in the American river! There's gold! There's gold!"

Brilliant idea?

Undoubtedly.

Sneeky?

Perhaps.

Dishonest?

Definitely.

But brilliant.

Believe me, this created mass hysteria in the city! Everyone rushed out to buy shovels to dig for gold!

Well...guess who had all the shovels?

As you can imagine, Sam Brennan made a killing selling shovels to this insane mob... way more that he would have ever made if he set out to dig for gold himself!

And that's how Sam became San Francisco's first millionaire...by selling the shovels!!

Now, there are LOTS of powerful, powerful lessons behind this story, but perhaps the best and most important is this MONUMENTAL lesson for anyone selling stuff anywhere:

Despite Popular Opinion...

You Want To Become A "Shovel Seller!"

A few years ago one of my favorite guru's Dan Kennedy coined this term for people who become rich by "teaching people how to get rich."

Because of this it's received a negative connotation.

BUT...

If you look outside of the "get rich quick" realm, you'll see that in almost EVERY industry, the people making the MOST money are making money selling some types of shovels!

So what are some of the other lessons we can learn from good ol' Sam Brannan and his shovel/shouting skills? Well, there are at least 3 more that will benefit you if you pay close attention.

Lesson No. 1 – He Understood His Market

The first thing that Sam did right, is that he understood exactly what his target market wanted. He knew that they all had gold fever. He knew that at the time everyone was talking and wishing that they could find gold and strike it rich.

I’m sure he saw people leave everything and move across the country to follow the dream that they may find gold. He heard them talk about their hopes and dreams and he figured out a way to capitalize on it.

This first process is extremely important and almost always overlooked by new marketers. It’s important to get a good understanding of what it is your target market wants.

Lesson No. 2 – He Created a Plan

It's surprising to me how many aspiring online entrepreneurs come to me with an idea, but have no plan on how to execute it. The idea isn’t what makes the money, it’s how you exploit the plan that makes you the money.

The late Gary Halbert has a famous quote:

“Properly exploited, one good idea that occurs to you while walking on the beach is worth more than 10 lifetimes of hard work.”

I think Sam’s plan went something like this:

1. Find the need

2. Position yourself correctly 3. Agitate the need 4. Supply the solution

Lesson No. 3 – He Sold the Shovels and Rope

This is the most powerful concept of Sam’s story. He didn’t make his money digging for gold. Sam made his money selling other people shovels they needed to dig for gold.

So as a sales person or a marketer what’s the lesson you can learn here?

The lesson is that the money isn’t in doing the thing… It’s in selling the tools (information and tools) needed to do the thing.

Robert Kiyosaki is brilliant for his knowledge of real estate, but he became most rich from SELLING INFORMATION on real estate.

Do you get the idea?

So what's your gold? How are you creating a buying frenzy? And do you have your shovels ready?

If you understand your market, find their need, position yourself correctly, help them find a way to relieve their pain (agitate the need), and supply the solution, you're gold.

[I hope you got the joke there!]

Here's to wishing you a Sam Brannan Success Story in your near future!

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