The Money Pyramid

I first learned about The Money Pyramid from one of my mentors, Dan Kennedy.

He proved that, on average, if you line up 100 people, clients, or companies, you will see the following segmentation:

1% are rich
4% are prosperous
15% are making a good living
60% are struggling financially (living paycheck to paycheck)
20% are broke (barely keeping their head above water)

If you look closely, this is similar to the Pareto Principle, or 80/20 rule, that we have talked about before. But it goes much deeper.

Once you accept that this pyramid is indeed true, it will change your perspective on who you focus your acquisition resources on.

Do you want to attract clients that are living paycheck to paycheck or, even worse, cannot pay for what they want? Of course not….

Your ideal target clients will fall in the top 20% of the triangle.

Which means….. you will serve everyone who comes to your door.
You aren’t a country club, after all.
But you will intentionally go after only the 20 clients out of 100 near the top.

And here’s what’s really interesting…. I have found that, with only a couple of exceptions, the one segment that spends the most on our services is actually the 15% that make a good living but aspire to be in the top 5%.

Why? They value affluence and are willing to spend money to get there, especially if they have not achieved it yet.

So much can be learned from this segmentation. Each segment has different wants, needs, desires, and fears. Start learning as much as you can about the top three segments.

For a deep dive into this subject, one of my favorite books is “No BS Marketing to the Affluent” by Dan Kennedy.

It is a must-read if you cater to affluent clients (which you should).

Make sure to get the audible or kindle version that is the most current, as it contains more information on how these segments act in the digital age. It is hard to get in the actual paperback version, so try audible or kindle first.