“If you say I copied personality analysis theories from the West, why don’t you say Weibo copied Twitter, Qzone copied Myspace & WeChat copied Facebook?” says Le Jia, a TV personality in Shanghai, “I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong.”
What I have learned from my Shanghai lady:
My wife is a woman from Shanghai. She is a successful businesswoman who agrees with Le Jia 100%. This is what I learned from her: When you are trying to start something new, you should look at a role model or a successful competitor first. Analyze what’s working; “steal” the way they operate and then build something new.
When you are starting a business and selling your products/services, trying to figure out “how” is an exhausting process. But instead of learning how to do it right through trial and error, why don’t directly use someone else’s existing method which has been proven to be correct? A successful competitor has already spent a lot of money and time in order to find the right strategy, so it’s time for you to look at what they are doing and imitate them immediately.
A Shanghai woman’s true story:
Linda is an attractive Shanghai woman who works as a PR agent internationally. Her high-end PR agency promotes A-list celebrities’ work in Shanghai. In general, Linda has to come up with new ideas almost every single day because developing new concepts is an important part of her work as a PR agent. Although it sounds like hard work, Linda has never let her clients down. Here is her secret: She uses a strategy called “stealing and building”.
Whenever a client needs a tagline or a slogan for a big event, Linda always sends them a variety of options to choose within two days, because Linda checks out other similar brands’ slogans/taglines first – she finds out the tricks that were used in those taglines/slogans and then builds something new on that existing model quickly.
Now you are asking, “Wait…how did Linda promote her own PR agency in the first place? Why can she get A-list celebrities as her clients?”
That’s a great question. In fact, this Shanghai woman used the same strategy (“stealing and building”) when she was promoting her own PR agency. She looked at how other successful PR agencies market to the rich and the famous & imitated their marketing strategies directly.
Wisdom from this lady in Shanghai:
- Linda looked at other successful PR agencies’ websites and analyzed their theme colors, where they add “call-to-action” buttons, etc. She realized that the most effective “call-to-action” buttons are at the bottom of a webpage in 2012, but now the most effective “call-to-action” buttons are at upper right corner of a webpage. When she noticed that the most successful PR agency in the world changed the position of that button, she also changed hers. Apparently, the most successful PR agency in the world has already spent millions of dollars in order to learn this, so why not learn it for free?
- Linda helps her clients to promote their profiles on social media, but she doesn’t really hustle on social media 24/7. She just looked at when major competitors post content on social media and she simply does the same. For example, she has noticed that major competitors post the most important content on social media at 8:00pm on Sunday night, and that’s why she does the same thing at 8:00pm on Sunday night, because that’s when most people have the time to sit on the couch and look at their social media timeline.
- Linda has learned that the owner of the most powerful PR agency only hires people who are better than himself, so she is doing the same thing: Always pay up; never pay down. In other words, her assistants are actually better at PR than her. That’s why her employees have added true value to her business and made it work.
Linda says that rich women from Shanghai always know how to find the fast-track to success by using “stealing and building”. Every time I meet her, she is always stylishly dressed and looks extremely hot. “Due to the nature of my work, I have to look very sophisticated,” says Linda, “I know I look like Teresa Teng to some degree, so I just imitate her style – obviously, Teresa Teng consulted with the best personal stylist in Asia & all I need to do is to imitate her makeup and fashion. This saves time and energy.” I’m very impressed because Linda has certainly used “stealing and building” in almost every area of her life.
“Each time when I meet with a new client, I always carry a luxury handbag,” says Linda, the successful beauty from Shanghai, “When my new client sees my expensive bag, they subconsciously associate me with high value – clearly, I already have rich clients who are paying me hefty fees. That’s why I can afford to use a Dior bag, just like my celebrity clients do. I not only imitate my competitors, but also imitate my celebrity client. As my new client sees me carrying an expensive bag, they know I’m not cheap and they already expect to pay me more before I even tell them my fees.”
I would say that’s probably the ultimate example of “stealing and building”.
According to this Shanghai woman, a new brand can be built by “stealing and building”. Now I immediately look at my Colgate toothpaste and my wife’s Crest toothpaste…. What a classic example of “stealing and building”.
How to use “stealing and building” to improve yourself if you are looking to date a Shanghai girl:
Whenever you are reading GQ magazine, remember to notice how those male celebrities dress up & you should imitate their haircut and fashion. Observe how those movie stars use accessories, body language and facial expression to look attractive and you should do that, too!
If you have a higher budget, you can hire a personal stylist who can help you upgrade your wardrobe to the next level. This isn’t expensive because you only need to pay the fashion stylist once and you can use the advice for the rest of your life. I think that’s a pretty good deal, especially when you are wondering which color suits you most and which style is your style.
A bonus tip is to learn some Chinese or Shanghainese. In this way, your Shanghai lady will be impressed by your effort (you don’t have to speak Chinese or Shanghainese fluently or perfectly – as long as you are trying, she will like you more).
Dating a girl from Shanghai is an eye-opening experience. I’m glad that I made it happen.
