I don’t get my kicks on Route 66. I get them chasing value. Wherever I go.
Friends had a kitchen in a summer-camp conference center in Virginia, which burned down recently when a neighbor’s bonfire got out of control. No insurance. I saw an eight-foot stainless-steel triple-compartment sink ($1,500 retail) in a construction dumpster. I called my friends; they said “Perfect!” I hired a buddy with a pickup for $50 to move it into my back yard until they can pick it up.
Value proposition solved. Even good for the environment.
I bought silver below $18. It’s now $28.50
At McDonalds, I get a snack and like the App offer for free fries when I buy a $2 burger. The fries would cost more than the burger and I get an additional 10% in points.
In Vegas, whether it’s LVA newsletter tips, Member Rewards Book coupons that have given me a 10-to-1 return for 20 years, American Casino Guide’s free downloadable coupons, VPfree2 for the best video poker, Jean Scott’s Video Poker Scouting Guide that’s returned 1500% to me, I’m always chasing value.
Downtown Grand is great value. Rainbow is great value.
Then there’s spending $10,000 taking 15 people to Stadium Swim for the Super Bowl when one ticket at Allegiant cost that much.
And renting a 6,000-square-foot Villa in the 5-star tower at Encore instead of a trade show booth, saving my corporate client $100,000 over what they paid every year before —completely blowing the clients’ minds and generating $1 million in new product sales in 90 days.
Or discovering, attending, and partying at the opening of Bruno Mars Pinky Ring lounge for $75 a night. An ultimate experience and an insane value.
My 17 days in Vegas for the Super Bowl and a week at the Pinky Ring cost $3,400. I made $8,000 on new-client orders in 45 days. That’s value.
Researching, devising, and implementing a value Strategy are fun for me. Doing match play or coupon runs while cashing in free food is fun. And don’t think I survive on burgers and fries. My freezer has lobster claws bought on sale and Washington State oysters at $14 a pound.
A favorite book by Malcolm Gladwell, called The Tipping Point, shows how fads, phenomena, and new-product launches happen. He identifies two key players in this process: information mavens (that’s me) and connectors (that’s Anthony Curtis).
I get my kicks researching, analyzing, and discovering new information and sharing it with others. That’s you people. Hope it helps.
Then I hand it to a connector. Anthony gets it out wide.
Coupons are a form of money. If you can’t “lower” yourself to utilize it, go ahead and pay retail.
If you can’t see value in 50%-off Seniors Day at Siegel’s 1941 on Wednesday or getting a free $8 ice cream cone sometime in your birthday month at Ben and Jerry’s, its fine by me. But I like free. Free is fun.