Direct Response Marketing is Dying: What You Need To Know with Perry Belcher

Summary

Special Ops Podcast Episode Summary

Episode: Direct Response Marketing is Dying: What You Need To Know with Perry Belcher
Release Date: November 12, 2024
Hosts: Emma Rainville & Travis Gomez
Guest: Perry Belcher, Co-Founder of Shockwave Solutions

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Introduction

In this compelling episode of the Special Ops podcast, hosts Emma Rainville and Travis Gomez sit down with marketing luminary Perry Belcher to discuss the evolving landscape of direct response marketing. Titled “Direct Response Marketing is Dying: What You Need To Know,” the conversation delves deep into the challenges and opportunities facing marketers today, offering actionable insights for entrepreneurs striving to grow their businesses through strategic action rather than mere rhetoric.

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The Current State of Direct Response Marketing

Perry Belcher begins by addressing the provocative statement that "Direct Response is Dying." He clarifies his stance:

Perry Belcher [01:07]: "I don't think Direct response is dying. I think that Direct response as an information delivery vehicle is certainly wounded, and if not, dying close to death."

Belcher explains that the saturation of information platforms—YouTube, podcasts, books—has transformed how information is consumed. Historically, direct response marketing thrived by providing "useful but incomplete" information, enticing consumers to seek more comprehensive solutions. However, the abundance and accessibility of information today have disrupted this model.

Perry Belcher [01:19]: "Today, man, there are YouTube channels that the presentations are wicked. Better than what you can buy on how to do a thing."

This shift necessitates a reevaluation of how marketers engage with their audience, moving beyond mere information dissemination to fostering genuine action and engagement.

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Transitioning from Information to Action

Belcher emphasizes the importance of inspiring action over simply providing information. He outlines a new paradigm where marketing content should be predominantly inspirational:

Perry Belcher [02:23]: "More like 90% inspiration. 10% information."

He argues that even the "hacks" or lesser-known tips are becoming readily available through tools like ChatGPT, diminishing the unique value that traditional direct response strategies once offered. The real challenge now lies in motivating consumers to take meaningful actions despite the ease of accessing information.

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Overcoming Fear as a Barrier to Action

A significant portion of the discussion centers on the psychological barriers that prevent individuals from acting on the information available to them. Belcher shares anecdotes illustrating how fear of rejection or failure inhibits people from leveraging valuable leads or opportunities.

Perry Belcher [02:44]: "But so why aren't people doing more... It's because of fear. A fear of embarrassment, a fear of public failure."

He relates this to everyday scenarios, such as sales professionals hesitating to follow up on leads due to the anticipated pain of rejection, likening it to the primal fear responses rooted in our evolutionary history.

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Confidence vs. Competence in Leadership

Belcher brings attention to a prevalent issue in business leadership: the discrepancy between confidence and actual competence. He notes that some of the highest earners in the industry may not necessarily possess the deepest expertise but compensate with unwavering confidence.

Perry Belcher [04:34]: "You find some of the people that are the best paid in this business... are the least competent."

This observation underscores the importance of building genuine skills and expertise rather than relying solely on charismatic leadership to drive business success.

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Innovative Marketing Models: From High-Ticket to Accessible Workshops

Addressing the changing dynamics of information sales, Belcher discusses his strategic pivot from high-priced informational products to more affordable, high-value workshops.

Perry Belcher [07:33]: "Right now we're doing a lot of like hundred dollar workshops that I used to would have sold for 2,000, $3,000. I do them for a hundred bucks. I just deliver the snot out of it."

By reducing price points and enhancing value delivery, Belcher aims to attract a broader audience while maintaining profitability. He emphasizes the necessity of creating a "blue ocean" by offering unique angles and hooks that resonate with current market needs.

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The Power of Live Experiences in Marketing

A significant portion of the episode highlights the enduring value of live interactions over recorded information. Belcher draws parallels between the music industry's shift from recorded albums to live concerts to explain why live marketing experiences remain invaluable.

Perry Belcher [08:46]: "But old information stinks like bananas. It's going to render that stuff valueless."

He points out that while recorded information becomes obsolete, live experiences foster a sense of community and authenticity that information alone cannot achieve. This aligns with his focus on live workshops and events as a cornerstone of his current marketing strategy.

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Emerging Trends in Entrepreneurship and Marketing

Belcher identifies three major trends shaping the future of entrepreneurship and marketing:

1. Surge in New Business Filings:
   He notes an unprecedented increase in new business registrations, pointing to a historic influx of entrepreneurs entering the market.

2. AI and Robotics Integration:
   Belcher discusses the growing importance of integrating AI and robotics into business operations, emphasizing the need for entrepreneurs to adapt these technologies effectively.

3. The Silver Tsunami:
   Addressing demographic shifts, Belcher highlights the challenges and opportunities presented by an aging population, particularly in markets like Japan, and the potential for businesses to cater to seniors' needs through automation and smart solutions.

Perry Belcher [21:31]: "There are so many people going in. The only thing that might save direct response is the amount of people entering entrepreneurship for the first time."

These trends collectively indicate a transformative period for marketers, requiring adaptability and foresight to stay competitive.

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The Crucial Role of Supply and Demand Timing

Reiterating fundamental economic principles, Belcher underscores the importance of timing in business success. He shares insights from venture capitalist Bill Gross, who emphasizes that the key to successful investments lies in anticipating market trends and aligning them with supply and demand dynamics.

Perry Belcher [24:08]: "He finally figured out later in his career... it was the timing."

Belcher’s own experiences in the early days of internet marketing serve as a testament to the critical role of timing and adaptability in achieving exponential growth.

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Execution Over Ideation: The Importance of Action

Concluding the discussion, Belcher stresses that innovative ideas alone are insufficient without effective execution. He highlights the synergy between ideation and operational execution as the true driver of business success.

Perry Belcher [28:56]: "A visionary without the ability to execute lives on a street in a box. It's just true."

Belcher credits Emma and Travis for their exceptional ability to transform ideas into tangible results, emphasizing that execution is as vital as the initial creative process.

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Key Takeaways

• Evolution of Direct Response Marketing: The traditional information-centric model is being disrupted by information abundance, necessitating a shift towards strategies that inspire action.

• Importance of Overcoming Fear: Psychological barriers like fear of rejection significantly hinder consumer action, highlighting the need for marketing approaches that build confidence.

• Balancing Confidence and Competence: Effective leadership requires genuine expertise alongside confidence to drive sustainable business growth.

• Innovative Marketing Strategies: Affordable, high-value workshops and live experiences offer a competitive edge over outdated information delivery methods.

• Adapting to Emerging Trends: Entrepreneurs must stay attuned to macro trends such as AI integration, demographic shifts, and the surge in new business ventures to remain relevant.

• Timing and Execution: Success hinges on the ability to anticipate market trends and execute ideas effectively, ensuring alignment with supply and demand dynamics.

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Conclusion

This episode of Special Ops provides a nuanced exploration of the current challenges and future directions of direct response marketing. Perry Belcher's insights offer valuable guidance for marketers and entrepreneurs aiming to navigate an increasingly complex and information-saturated landscape. By focusing on inspiring action, overcoming psychological barriers, and adapting to emergent trends, businesses can position themselves for sustained growth and success.

For those seeking to implement these strategies, don’t forget to download the free playbook available at SpecialOpsPodcast.com and subscribe to Special Ops on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube to stay ahead in the ever-evolving business battlefield.

Transcript

[A]

Hi, and welcome to another episode of Special Ops Podcast, where we bring actionable steps to direct response marketers. Today we're joined by the godfather of marketing. Travis and I are fortunate enough to be attending Driven Mastermind, A mastermind that we belong to, that we love. It's obsessed with growth, like we are. So we're here in Mexico doing the Driven Diaries. So, Perry, you are the godfather of marketing. You're a mentor, you're a friend, you're a father, you're a leader. People call you Uncle Perry. Perry. Perry Belcher, you are a force to be reckoned with. And so I am so thrilled that you're here today because those are the.

[B]

Only nice things you've ever said to me.

[A]

That is not the only nice thing I've ever said to you, but I'll say something. Don't worry. It's coming. So today I'm super excited because our topic is Direct Response is Dying. What you need to know. And you and I have spent a lot of time planning and your companies and thinking through, and I think you have some of the most brilliant insights on the topic. So I'd love to hear your thoughts.

[B]

I don't think Direct response is dying. I think that Direct response as an information delivery vehicle is certainly wounded, and if not, dying close to death.

[C]

Right.

[B]

Because the problem is, like, today, you can get the steps to any damn thing. You know, YouTube's amazing right? Now, if you want to mine information, between YouTube and scribed and the books that you can read and the podcast you can listen to, there's a glut of information, and it's not even incomplete anymore. It used to be really incomplete. So Direct response marketers were really good at, we used to say, useful but incomplete.

[C]

Right.

[B]

You want to give somebody something they can use, but not quite enough to finish the recipe.

[C]

Right.

[B]

Today, man, there are YouTube channels that the presentations are wicked. Better than what you can buy on how to do a thing. They're not always perfect on how to monetize a thing, which there's still some opportunity there.

[C]

Right?

[B]

Because like I always say, if you write a book, that's how to grow earthworms versus how to grow earthworms for fun and profit. The second book's worth infinity times more. Right, Right. But. But the problem is you still got to make the guy go, grow the damn earthworms.

[C]

Right?

[B]

And I think that there's a lot more. There's still a lot of opportunity in moving people to take the action that they need to take. More like 90% inspiration. 10% information.

[C]

Right.

[B]

So maybe, maybe the 10% information are the hacks that you don't quite commonly find. And believe it or not, I'll give a giveaway, a secret here if you go ask Chad GPT give me 10 hacks in the earthworm farming business that are little known but really effective. I'll be damned if it won't give you the 10 hacks.

[C]

Right.

[B]

Which is crazy. Right. So even the hacks don't matter. It's all out there.

[C]

Right.

[B]

But so why aren't people doing more, you know, why aren't. If information is the freest it's ever been, the most abundant it's ever been, the best it's ever been, the most detailed it's ever been, how the hell aren't people doing it? It's because of fear. A fear of embarrassment, a fear of public failure. I told you a story once about. I was consulting with a large real estate company and they, they sell leads and their leads cost about $125 a real estate lead. And they brought me in because 83, I think percent of the leads people are paying $125 a lead for were never being followed up with. It's the most illogical thing, but common, but incredibly common that you can imagine. And it's because on the other end of that phone there's a potential for opportunity. But they already know that the odds are the potential is much higher for rejection. If the potential. It's like a girl in the bar, right. If you guys, I've been out with so many dudes, they'll look at it. Oh man, that girl's so hot. I want to go dance with them. I wish I could do. But they'll never approach the girl because the pain of being rejected by the girl is greater than the potentiality of a relationship with this beautiful girl that they just think is the greatest in the world. It's just the way that we're built and it goes back to like caveman behavior because we, we don't take risk. Your brain is designed like if you start walking out in front of a bus and it's going by, you're, you know, you're going to big adrenaline thing. It's going to be super. The, the, the potentiality of pain, injury. But nobody thinks that that exists emotionally. But it does. And it's probably even more prevalent.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Frankly. So getting, learning the skills to get people past that, not necessarily teach them how to do the thing which does build their confidence.

[C]

Right.

[B]

We take the trainings to build our confidence, to maybe reach out and do the thing when we feel totally competent to do it. When you can look around the market, you find some of the people that are the best paid in this business, as you well know, are the least competent.

[C]

Right.

[B]

Hey.

[A]

I wasn't going to say it.

[B]

Who's got two thumbs and knows this guy? You know, but sometimes they're the least competent, but they're. They're the most confident. Right.

[A]

Wow, that's really good.

[D]

You talk about that idea of being able to distinguish like that confidence and like that mindset and just getting over that hurdle, that fear.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

And you know, your brain doesn't make any distinction between emotional pain and physical pain.

[B]

No. And emotional. The potential of emotional pain is much more common.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

You don't walk in front of a bus every day. Right. You know, but if you're a sales guy on the phone calling people all day long, you know, you're getting your brains beat out. It's a negative. It's like bodybuilders. They amaze me. Somebody was talking about that the other day. This meatheads, somebody calls them meatheads. Meatheads make really good business people a lot of times because they're not that small, you know, but they go to the gym every day and they do something that's absolutely against our human condition. No caveman did push ups. There was no such thing. They didn't exercise for the benefit of exercising.

[A]

They did it to live.

[B]

They reserved, but they. Not the opposite even. They would go hunt and then they would sleep for three days. So they would reserve their strength and reserve their energy for bursts. And that's where we talk about, like in driven, about hunters and farmers. Right. Hunters. As an entrepreneur, if you're a true hunter entrepreneur, you tend to work in bursts. You don't get up at 9 to 5 and go to work and plow the fields. That's a farmer activity. To wake up at 2 o'clock in the morning and write 100 slide, 104 slide presentation like I did a couple of days ago. That's a hunter activity.

[A]

I had the same. The same day the presentation was.

[B]

I had the. But I had the energy to do it in the. And a lot of times, you know, that's why hunters procrastinate. Right. The hunter didn't go hunt till they were out of meat in the cave. No shit. They didn't say, hey, you know, I'm gonna go hunt on Tuesday. Cause we need to stockpile our meat. Cause there was no stockpiling of meat you hunted when you were out of meat. And we've evolved like this much from caveman status. We think that we're all sophisticated and everything. We're not. The vast majority of our decision making comes from this little bitty, tiny reptilian brain in the back of your skull. It's about the size of a walnut.

[A]

I want to come back to topic. If the information part of information sharing, part of direct response is wounded or dying, and I'm a direct response marketer who's selling information, where would you point me? Where do I go? Where did you go? Cause that's what you do.

[B]

Yeah, I still do sell information, right. I sell it for a lot less than I used to.

[A]

But you're making more, so tell us.

[B]

Yeah, so, yeah, I sell it for a lot less. Uh, and I think less is more. So a couple things. If you cause an effect, right? Sometimes I'll look at something and oh, oh, this is why that worked. But I'll. I usually don't figure it out that way. I don't usually see a trend and then work to the trend. I do something in total experimentation and then attribute it to the trend.

[C]

Right.

[B]

So like right now we're doing a lot of like hundred dollar workshops that I used to would have sold for 2,000, $3,000. I do them for a hundred bucks. I just deliver the snot out of it.

[C]

Right.

[B]

That'll really only work if the topic either is or appears to be brand new. Does that make sense?

[A]

Yep.

[B]

So like, if it. If you're talking about AI and robotics and biohacking and things like that, that people are just discovering there's still room for education. If you're talking about list building, like I just did a workshop that was sold out on list building, but it wasn't called list building, was called lead laundering.

[A]

Right, Brilliant.

[B]

So it was. So you had to create a. You have to create a blue ocean and have a different slant and hook to the thing that they need. You're selling them what they need.

[C]

Right.

[B]

But they're not going to, oh, I've already heard of that. Or you know, that, you know, it doesn't work that way. So I think a. Getting more people into your. Getting more buyers into your funnel. Not more people, not more prospects with more actually people giving you some money. And it's still a variation of the tripwire, weirdly enough.

[C]

Right.

[B]

But then offering a live or a near live experience. And if you look at the music industry, right, what's happened in the, in the last 20 years in the music industry, recorded music is fundamentally valueless.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Just like recorded information today is fundamental values. Because you know why? It's old. Even though we like old music, but it's not worth a lot of money. But old information stinks. It rots like bananas.

[C]

Right.

[B]

It can hurt you to have old information.

[C]

Right.

[B]

So I think that people. But people. But concert tickets are at an all time high. They're the most outrageous, most expensive they've ever been.

[A]

Yeah. Outrageous.

[B]

And if you, if you apply that, I do look back and I think, oh, that's. Yeah, I could sound smart and say I identified this trend and I followed the trend. I didn't do any of that. I just kept throwing a lot of shit against the wall to see what would stick.

[C]

Right.

[B]

And it just turned out that these live workshops have really worked. And I think that it models the, it models the trajectory of, of where other things have already went.

[D]

Do you think it's like the experience of it? Because like, people want to be participating in an experience, Right. Not necessarily just buying a product or a service.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

There's a, there's a journey that goes along with it. Do you think that's part of it.

[B]

Or you think I don't have a freaking clue? I really don't know. I mean, why would, why would you pay. It is amazing to me.

[C]

Why would you.

[B]

Because look at these concerts now. They're in stadiums, right? You're watching them on tv.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, you're literally sitting in Cowboy Stadium watching Britney Spears on a big tv and you can see a dot down there. Or not. Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, whomever. You can see a little dot of a person down there that you couldn't possibly make out. That could be me and a tutu. And you wouldn't know it from your seat.

[C]

Right.

[B]

Unless you had that big Megatron. So why do people feel the need instead of just listening to Taylor Swift music in their car?

[A]

I think that that is such an easy thing to answer.

[B]

I don't know what it is.

[A]

I there. If I sit and I listen to it in my car, that's great. I get this feeling of like singing poorly down the street to myself. Or I can have this experience with these other people. What do people want to do now? You've said this to me. They want to have fun and they want to feel like they belong to something. And so if we can be at this concert in Wrigley field Together with 50,000 people, I have 50,000 friends for the night.

[B]

Yeah, that's fair. Enough. I think too. The live thing. I've done a lot of ad hoc in my life. I'm a spontaneous guy, right. I noticed for the most part, good or bad.

[C]

Right.

[B]

But we do these things when we do events, we always do a thing at the end called unplugged. And as everybody's breaking down the room, we sit up front and we just take any question, you take it and we'll run with it.

[C]

Right.

[B]

I think those are popular largely for why people like to learn live. They know that if you're willing to stand up in front of a bunch of people, live and teach a thing, you probably know what the hell you're doing. Cause it's. If you don't, you look like shit quick. I mean, you really gotta be good.

[A]

We've seen it.

[B]

But you don't see a lot of low level, entry level, poor marketers, poor teachers, poor gurus do live because they can't, you know, if you gotta be pretty doggone sharp about your topic, just like you gotta be sharp, be a great re requested podcast guest. You know, if you're going to be on podcasts. You mean a lot of podcasts? Podcast guests are chosen by podcast producers who have seen podcast guests on other podcasts, right. For the most part.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And they know, wow, I'm going to get that guy on my podcast or that girl on my podcast. So she really knows what she's talking about. Where a podcast isn't a pre recorded event, you know, where you can just get stumped, you know, right now we're in a presidential thing and I know this is dated, but one of the candidates has been criticized for not taking a lot of live appearances because it's a lot easier to trip up. Right. So I think that that's part of it. I think part of it is involvement. I have mastermind groups and other business groups that I host that I have members in. I always let all my members come to these things for free.

[C]

Right.

[B]

It's part of the deliverable.

[C]

Right.

[B]

And because a large portion of the audience are already, you know, Swifty. I need a name for Swifty fans, right? Belchy fans. They're already Belchy fans. So they're already f. That helps too, to create an environment where, you know, you may have never seen Taylor Swift before and not know any of her music, but you go into one of her concerts, you're going to fall into that more quickly because there's all those fans there. I think that helps. But there's a lot of reasons probably why it Works. I don't know why, it just that it does right now.

[D]

I'm also curious about, like, things because you're really good about seeing where the puck's going, right? Like seeing the trends that are happening or responding to those and anticipating what's coming next. I'm curious if you have like some ideas on the drug marketing.

[A]

What's coming next? What's coming next? Because we know, you know, you were talking about AI five years before AI was a thing. And then you were talking about robotics when AI came out. You described mindpal to me three years ago in your living room. What's coming, Perry?

[B]

You know what? For the first time, it's harder for me to tell. I think anybody that tells you they know what's going to happen with AI and robotics is full of shit or direct response or. Well, or everything or everything. I can tell you, you know me, where am I putting money right now?

[A]

Okay, that's a better way of asking, where are you putting money right now?

[B]

Where am I putting money right now? I'm investing in septic tank trucks, paving companies, digital publishing companies still. Because digital publishing, I think, is still a thing that hasn't quite matured yet. I'm putting money in places that are going to be least affected by AI. I think that influencers, while I shit all over influencers for the longest time, is the dumbest thing ever. I think influencers are going to continue to be bigger and bigger and bigger because the more selection that you have, right, the greater decision fatigue becomes. Because decision fatigue is a real thing. I mean, when you're trying to buy a car now, it's harder than ever to make a car buying decision because you can go on and analyze every aspect. The heat seeder warmers and the. You know, I was in your car the other day and I was amazed at how cool. It had much better heat sealer warmers than my German car had or whatever.

[A]

So it's not my fault I have a better car than you.

[B]

Yeah, you do not. It's just true. So. But, but the point is it takes longer to make those decisions. So sometimes you just. People just want to be told what to do. They really do.

[A]

I make a lot of money because of that.

[B]

I know you do.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I know I call them a lot of times with the dumbest shit. And I know a lot of times you just pick one. I know you don't have a lot of intelligence in that decision.

[A]

It's actually true the way my brain works. I don't just pick one I don't. I actually, I think, I think of consequences. You don't know that word because your consequences come to me, but I think of consequences and then I think, what am I going to do if I end up with this consequence? And which is the least?

[B]

Well, I know because you got to deal with the consequence. But I used to work with a company that was big in astrology business and they did low end astrology products, but the way they made money was referring those customers off to the miss Clio, you know, fortune telling phone lines. A piece of data that blew my mind was if one of these people that calls a fortune telling line calls twice, ever calls the same fortune teller twice, they'll spend an average of $8,400 in the first year for advice from a storyteller and from, from a storyteller. From a fortune.

[A]

Well, from a storyteller I read the first time.

[B]

But they're like, hey, I'm at the store. Should I get the crunchy or the smooth peanut butter? And all they have to go is the crunchy. Definitely the crunchy. Oh, thanks. They just.

[D]

The cards say the crunchy.

[B]

Well, our. The amount of decisions we have to make in a day now are so much more than they used to be. Yeah, this is off topic. A little off topic, but not really. I did a study one year. I usually used to spend a whole year studying a subculture of people, and I study this whole subculture of weird, like, for lack of a better term, sexual behaviors.

[C]

Right?

[B]

And this lady wrote an article for Rolling Stone that she was an entertainment attorney that represented high end entertainers and sports figures, made millions of dollars a year, and she lived her life as a slave. She was in a slave master relationship and she said that if she got out of it, she would look for a new master tomorrow. Because by the time she got home, I was even seeing you do it. Because I know you make decisions all day long and I've been in your house and you're like, get food. I don't care what it is, just pick. I don't want to decide.

[A]

Nobody wants to, right?

[B]

I don't want to pick the food.

[A]

I don't want to pick $2 million decisions. All day. Yeah, like, all day.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Why am I picking what we're eating?

[B]

That's why you need to be in a slave master relationship. And that's it. That was the lesson. The podcast today, folks, thanks for playing along, but no, no, kid. It's really weird. Like, people just don't want to make sense.

[A]

I Might conform to that. Just do not have to pick what's for dinner. What kind of soap should we buy? What kind of floor?

[B]

I'm exactly the same. I'm exactly the same way. I hate minuscule decisions. I absolutely detest it.

[A]

Absolutely. But I'll make all the big ones comfortably.

[B]

I think helping people to make decisions, helping them to overcome their fears of rejection and failure. Yeah, I think, I think that's where that you're going to see. I think you're going to see a great breakaway. I think you're going to see the like I talked about, the more almost narcissistic, the more charismatic leaders that can really inspire people. You're going to see the gap between them and the rest and the information people. The information people are going to largely fall off or they're going to make a living. And you're going to see, weirdly enough, the Grant Cardone's of the world and the Gary Vee's of the world and hopefully the Mesa the world break away into a different strata.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Where they're. Because you look now like Tony Robbins business, I don't know, is probably doing 100 million or more Grant's business. He's raised over $1 billion in real estate funds, I think. And you like him or hate him, it doesn't matter. The point is they're. They're breaking away from the pack. Alex Hermos is broken away from the package. You got people that are breaking away from the pack. And I think you're going to see those people consolidate fortunes.

[C]

Right.

[B]

While everyone else kind of fights over the scraps. And they'll still always be an industry out there. It just won't be, you know, because information, as more people adopt, you only have adoption. AI really only has considerable adoption of about 5% of the population that know they're using AI.

[C]

Right.

[B]

Maybe 5% of the population, as that hits it around 30%, it'll hit a tipping point and then nobody, you go perplexity and ask them anything.

[A]

You know, you had me plan my whole trip all day long. I didn't have time to plan a trip. And you said go to. I planned an entire four day trip where we were going, what we were going to see, where to fly in, where to fly out, where to stay. Like literally.

[B]

And that can only have one effect on information. It renders it valueless. You know, just like Spotify rendered record albums or CDs or whatever. Valueless. It's going to render that stuff valueless. So. But you still go to concerts and you still want to meet Taylor. But look at what's happened though, in the evening concert space. Like, I love this guy, Dale Watson. He's country singer out of Austin. I love him. And we're moving back to Austin right now. So I'm looking at concerts and we're going to go to all these concerts and that.

[A]

You're never going to go to.

[B]

They. No, I will. You're wrong. We'll see. We'll see. But my friend called me the other night and he said, do you want to go to the Eagles concert?

[A]

You were much younger back then.

[B]

I got.

[D]

Shut up.

[A]

You're so much older now.

[B]

Perry, we're going to the Eagles. Do you want to go with us? We're going to see the Eagles tonight. I said, I don't know. He said, we got tickets. We got. We got great tickets. They're only 600 each. And I'm like, aren't they dead? You know, And. But get this. So the next.

[A]

No, they're your age.

[B]

My driver, I can't flip her off on camera. So they're driving me. My driver's driving the airport at 4 o'clock in the morning to come here. And he was talking. He'd been busy all night running people from the Eagles concert. 18,000 of people paid $600 average a ticket to go see the Eagles. Dale Watson is playing in green for 15 bucks. And I would argue that he is at his state right now a far superior musician.

[C]

Right.

[B]

But it's just amazing that there's that. And I think you're going to see that not just in direct response. I think you're going to see it in. In every industry pretty much, other than maybe septic tanks and pavement and crap like that. Because for every. I do follow macro trends. I look at a lot of macro trends. Like right now, I'm investing in home services and trades. Because for every 10 people retiring from the trades right now, only four people are entering. So there's. That only has one way to go. It's inevitable. You got. There are three giant trends, right? If somebody wants to invest a lot of money in right now, there are so many people going in. The only thing that might save direct response is the amount of people entering entrepreneurship for the first time.

[A]

That is insane.

[B]

Right now we have the largest influx in history. There are 50% more corporations have been filed, small businesses have been opened in 2024. And we're. What month are we in? September.

[A]

October.

[B]

October of 2024. Then we're 50% more than were filed the entire year of 2019. So you're going to be up probably almost double in business license filings. So you got a bunch of ding dongs starting businesses. So they're going to blow through a lot of money. Some are, some are going to make it, most aren't. But regardless, they're all going to blow through a bunch of money.

[A]

They're going to put money into the.

[B]

So there's going to be a lot of. The second one is AI and robotics integration which is going to go on for at least 10 years. So if you want to really get into something you know you can stick to for a while, get in helping people integrate AI and robotics into their business.

[A]

And let's be clear about that. Integrate, not teach them info about. As we've seen the people who are teaching info on AI and robotics, they have hit a wall.

[C]

Exactly.

[A]

A wall already earlier this year.

[B]

Exactly. So it's actually me being one of them.

[C]

Right.

[B]

With it. I had one of the first events on in that space and it's harder and harder and harder every time we sell tickets to that.

[A]

But you've done a really good job of going from this is what AI does to this is how you use AI to make money to this is how you use automations to not spend money on people. Like you've moved with it. Not you didn't try and teach the same thing over and over.

[B]

And now we're teaching independent business models of AI in the next one. So. And I don't know how long that'll go. Third is the Silver Tsunami.

[C]

Right.

[B]

So you've got. Oh yeah, you've got many more people getting old than you have new people being born. You're one of them and being born. And you have far more people that are having to work to pay taxes and Social Security and things like that to support people that are beyond work age.

[C]

Right.

[B]

So this is a big problem in Japan right now. It's enormous in Japan. It's coming here, it's big everywhere. How would Perry really think how do I come up with AI, robotics and automation for entrepreneurs serving the seniors market?

[A]

So good.

[B]

So if you take those three things and you put them together, it would be almost impossible to lose because everything's are smart. And you know I watched this guy, Bill Gross does a talk on ted. He's a venture capitalist that's invested in a bunch of unicorns, but only like 11 unicorns out of a hundred and something investments. Which by the way in Silicon Valley that's rockstar status.

[C]

Right.

[B]

Because you're usually one unicorn out of a thousand investments. That's the going.

[C]

Right?

[B]

He finally figured out later in his career, it wasn't the founder, it wasn't the business model. It wasn't the tech. It wasn't any of those things. It was the timing. If you're riding the wave, you got to work to lose. If you're. If you're. Like when I started on the. On. When I started the Interweb, right? When I started selling things online, it was 1963. I'm just kidding. But it was almost that, right?

[A]

I just love that. What he started with is when I. When I started the Interweb. Like.

[B]

No, when I started. When I started selling things. When I started selling.

[A]

When I started the Interweb, Al and I.

[B]

No, but. But I started selling on the. On the Internet was 1998. Right? Before that, I sold on bulletin board systems that. Nobody knows what that is. BBS. Right. But I sold. I started in 1998. I was dumb as a. As a bag of hammered shit. I can't believe I made any money. But I grew up. I grew up. I grew a thousand percent. But I grew a thousand percent a year for three years because Internet usage was growing, Growing a thousand percent a year, Right? And there were very few people. Everything comes down. I'm beginning to understand really late. I wish I'd understood it sooner. All, almost all success comes down to two simple things. Supply and demand. If you. When the supply is high and the demand is low, there is money flowing in the streets. When supply is high. I go back to that example that I got from Priestley, that in the 1980s, a boob doctor. I knew I'd work boobs into this talk.

[A]

I knew you would, too.

[B]

A boob doctor in Beverly hills could make $200,000 a week in 1980s money, right? Doing $30,000 boob jobs that cost them two grand and they could do two or three a day. Can you imagine? They could do it two or three a day? Today, a breast enhancement doctor in Beverly Hills will struggle to make $200,000 a year. Why? Because a boob job is 3200 bucks. They make about $1200, and there's a thousand boob doctors in Beverly Hills. So when you get down to the real truth of it all, you know, if you can read the tea leaves of kind of where the puck's going.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

And just be smart enough to not ignore that. Some people get an idea and they ride that thing to death, right? They ride it to the grave.

[C]

Right?

[A]

We watched you. We watched you pound that into someone's head here at Driven during the hot seats today.

[B]

That there's an old movie. Danny DeVito somewhere was doing this movie years ago, and he's. He's a corporate raider and he says, you know, I'll bet the guy, the last guy that made buggy whips made the best goddamn bubby buggy whip in the world. But it didn't matter because people started driving cars. Yeah, it doesn't matter. So, you know, not pivoting is a giant mistake. When. When the. When the trend is going against you and the supply and demand curve has hit the bell. Get the hell out. Go do something else.

[D]

You know, don't niche down.

[B]

Yeah, Don't. Don't double down. Right?

[A]

Don't double down.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Wow, Perry, thank you so much. I. I've been picking on you the whole time, but you're one of the great loves of my life.

[B]

I love you, too.

[A]

I know you do. We have a phenomenal work. The sister I never wanted and you should fire me. We have the same conversation every time. Just fire me then. I know I speak for both of us when I say we're so thrilled that you were like, you came and you just crushed it on stage for two days. You still have two more days here and taking the time to sit and feed into us.

[B]

I didn't have a choice.

[A]

No, I know, but I'm just pretending for the cameras. And in all seriousness, thank you so much. I know that you've really. You're burnt. You got to be burnt out. You've been just going and going and going. Everybody wants a piece of your time and you so generously gave yours.

[B]

So happy to do it.

[A]

Yeah. Thank you so much. We. We hope you come back many, many, many times. I mean, we hope you live long enough to come back many, many, many times.

[B]

Yes, I'm sure I'm going to live a long time because I'm miserable with you.

[A]

Oh, well, that makes total, total sense.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

You've got a lot more done, though, haven't you?

[B]

I've got a lot more done. These guys, you know, I can't do it. I can't. She'll. If she told you she. I can't do anything. You know, I.

[A]

That's not true.

[B]

I don't do. I don't do that much.

[A]

You. You don't do. You don't think through things.

[B]

But these guys take my crazy ass ideas and.

[A]

Which are brilliant.

[B]

Turn them into concrete reality, though, and.

[A]

It like concrete companies, it wouldn't.

[B]

Like concrete companies, it wouldn't. You know, you can have the. You can be as smart as you want to be or smart as you think you are regardless, kind of like me. But if you don't execute, you know, I read somebody wrote in a book I was reading not long ago that an operations person with a bad idea can make money.

[A]

Oh, hello. An operations person who tricks a brilliant marketer into paying them every month to teach them all kinds of stuff and give them great ideas makes a lot of money.

[B]

A visionary without the ability to execute lives on a street in a box. You know, it's just true. It's true. Execution is more valuable when you can put the two ideation and execution together. And these guys are the best in the business that I know. Not the commercial for you guys, but you're the best in the business. I know it doing that for a lot of visionaries, not just me, because I didn't. I found you guys by other visionaries going, thank God that I found these guys. Because they weren't making. They weren't making anywhere near their potential for sure.