They say selling is the oldest profession in history, the first industry for humanity. Let’s not discuss what they were selling… Anyway, you would think after all this time we would be outstanding at it, and we’re not. Even those who go to college for sales and marketing often make this mistake. You see many detailed descriptions that commit the greatest marketing sin of all... They bore the reader. These days, if you bore the reader, they’re gone. Usually, these marketers commit this sin while trying to sell a product, and people do NOT buy products. This may sound counterintuitive, but by the end of this three minute read you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. Let's break it down.
People don’t buy products?
Imagine you’d never heard of a cell phone. You walk into a store, and they begin describing it to you, “selling” you on the product. They say “It's a very nice rectangle shape, made of the world's best plastic, and it has some metal in there. Several microchips that are among the world's best. It can communicate with satellites in geostationary orbit. It has 1000 Gigabytes of storage and 8 Gigabytes of random access memory.” “Do you want one?” You’d say, “What are you even talking about? WHAT DOES IT DO FOR ME?”
W.I.I.F.M.
People don’t buy a product for what it is, they buy it for what it DOES. What need does it solve? Just remember the expression WIIFM or “what's in it for me.” When the pros sell, they do not focus on the product and its technical aspects. Because after hundreds of years of trial and error, they’ve realized... No one cares. Instead, they focus on what need the product solves. How does the product improve the prospects' life? Let me give you a couple of decent examples. First, a protein shake company doesn’t sell the details of the product. They have convinced gym goers that they NEED the protein. Even most coffee shops get this wrong, they sell on price. The best marketing for a coffee shop would be: “Tired? Nice warm coffee inside.” Sell the need, sell the solution.
The greatest example of all time - GEOAT
The greatest example of all time is how parents have to sell vegetables to their kids. Parents do not say “it's full of vitamin C and D, many minerals and fiber, they’re green and round and…” NO. That would never work. Parents instead say, “These will make you BIG AND STRONG, and the carrots will even help your eyesight!” My favorite that I use for my twin boys is “Beans will make you fart!” Take my word for it, with five year old boys, it works. Parents convince the child by explaining what need it will solve.
Selfish Humans…
People only care about their immediate surroundings. This is not mean, it isn’t negative, it's just a fact. People are selfish. No sense in being upset about it, let's just use it to our advantage and sell more of your product.
Sell based on “what's in it for them.” If you try to describe your product in detail like it's eligible for some award, not many people will buy it.
Million Dollar Perspective.
Put yourself in the prospect's shoes, imagine what kind of person they are, what kind of day they had today, what do they value? Then, describe the product benefits to them and their situation. Does it dissolve their back pain? Does it save them time? Make them feel better, give them more energy? Does it impress their friends? Impress their in-laws? Rather than saying “8 inch thick concrete patio, 2,000 PSI for half off!” You could say “Impress your in-laws for life, have the next family barbecue at your house with our premium patio options.” Put yourself in the prospect's shoes, imagine their issue, and position your product in a way that solves their need. Implement this, and your sales will skyrocket. When we work with clients we have a simple goal. Get to the point where every $1 you put in advertising gets you at least $2 in return.
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We do that by testing and tweaking consistently until we reach that goal. If you want to see what we could do with your business, get in touch by clicking here. Free Marketing Analysis
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