Next week Johnny Cash’s sweet 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow will be put up for auction in Las Vegas on September 25th. The car, which has a twin-carburater 412 cid aluminum V8 engine with only 32,000 miles on the odometer and the initials “JRC” in gold on the back doors, was given as a gift to the Man in Black by ABC back in 1970.
Johnny Cash is not the only music industry icon to have his car on the market. In May, Willie Nelson’s 1983 Eagle tour bus sold on Craigslist. The listing price was a cool $29,999, but due to “extremely high demand” the price sky-rocketed to over $80,000. Michael Tashnick and Taylor Perkins, founders of Austin Restaurant Week and Vintage Innovations made the winning bid of $86,000. It might look like they overpaid, but they saw an opportunity and have turned that bit of nostalgia into a business, renting the bus to avid Willie fans. It’s an investment they say that has already doubled!
Great marketers look at all the ways the competition isn’t measuring up and find opportunities where gaps exist. This is really how great brands win. They are constantly saying, “What if?”
Yes, there is risk. There is always the chance you will be criticized, ridiculed, or critiqued.
But dare to see the groundbreaking ideas and opportunities that other automotive dealers are missing because they are so busy doing the “tried and true” that they fail to see the train has passed them.
Consider your opportunities. Relish that this is your time in history. Consider how your competition is failing to measure up. Consider how you could change things. Ask “What if?” What opportunities are there that don’t currently exist that would drive more car sales? Would it improve your life? Would it make a difference to you?
Photo credit: Barrett-Jackson – http://www.barrett-jackson.com/
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