I just recently got a speaking request and the way they worded it is they wanted me to teach them how to 5x increase their product sales. That was kind of gimmicky, so I turned it down. Then they re-submitted their request, and what I notice is what they wanted me to do is teach them we short-cut, or what I call, a trick shot. They wanted to learn the “trick shot” of selling their products. I’m not sure if it was for drop shipping or something of that nature, but I’m a fundamental person. Do you want to learn how to play basketball? You don’t learn a Globe Trotter trick shot. Learn how to dribble. You learn how to shoot, shoot a free throw, and play a little bit of defense.
Business is very much the same way. There are fundamentals to it.
I’m going to share with you why customers buy. If you don’t tap into a few of these, you’re not going to sell your customers. You’re going to develop a product and or service that nobody’s interested in. And if you look at these, you’re going to see why they work in companies and brands that use them. Some companies build their whole brand around these key things.
If you’re attempting to sell a product and it’s not selling, I’m willing to bet you it’s because you’re not tapping into a few of these.
You have to know these because sometimes you have to go back to your existing value proposition and see if you’ve missed a key component. If you’re not tapping into one of these nine, you are not selling your product. I’d encourage you to tap into a few.
Does it Work?
I mean, are you selling crap? Does it do what it says it’s going to do? I have purchased things that were supposed to do something and didn’t do it. It just simply failed. Does your product deliver on what it is, you say it’s going to do.
I take melatonin. It helps me sleep. It’s effective. Well, if it didn’t help me to sleep, if I didn’t fall asleep a little faster, sleep a little sounder. If it wasn’t effective I wouldn’t buy it. But I have found it to be effective. I’m could name a million products and some that didn’t do what I thought they would do.
Speed: How Soon Does it Work?
Next, speed. How soon does it work or how soon can you actually receive it to see if it can work? Can you get it right away? I critically important.
For example, I had a massive toothache this week.
Sean, why is this relevant?
A., I spent a lot of money this week taking care of it, but speed was important. Speed dictated many, many decisions in my buying process this week. Speed is why I bought Ambosol Maximum Strength, guaranteed to help immediately. And it did. If there was toothache medicine that says, it works in an hour, I would not have bought it. Speed was imperative.
Next, I went to my dentist, specifically an endodontist, the person who wants to decide if he wants to give you a root canal. Now, if the endodontist would have said, I can see you in a week, they would have lost my business. It was the one that said, We will get you in this afternoon.
Next, they referred me to an oral surgeon who said they would see me in March. How do you think that phone call went over? No, I went to the person who said, we will take care of everything in the next 24 hours.
Speed. Everybody got my business because this week I was in pain and I needed speed.
Is It Reliable?
Can I depend on it? You do what you say you’re going to do. It’s reliable.
Suburu sort of built their business model around that. They try not to be sexy or flashy, but they tell you, hey, 97% of our cars are still on the road 20 years later.
Ease of Use: How Much Effort Does it Require?
Ease of use, turn-key. How much effort does it require?
I bought a bark collar from my dog. I’m going to have to go back to graduate school to learn how to get this thing to work. It’s got more steps than it needs to have. If it’s more than five steps, you lost me. The ease of use is not very good, and that’s why my dog is still barking. I’ll never buy this product again and if I thought I could ship it back easily, I would have already shipped it back, but they even make that difficult.
Ease of use. Make things turn-key. Generally, people are lazy. When I open up like something and it’s like a book of directions, I’m done. Give it to me on a notecard. I want pictures. I need help.
Flexibility: How Many Things Can It Do?
Flexibility. How many things can this product do?
I went to buy a vacuum and the one that had the dustbuster on it I could use to clean out my car is the one that got my business. There was more than one use. There was the flexibility of use there that was very appealing.
Status
Status is a different type of buyer. How does this affect the way others perceive me? Your car, you’re clothing, maybe your house, furniture.
Pottery Barn does not market itself the same way another company would. They market their speed. If you’re selling something and the end user’s number one reason for buying this is status, you don’t have to hit all these other buttons above it, but you better beat the status on to the core.
Aesthetic Appeal: How Good-looking is It?
This is where Apple does so well. Their products look great. They’re very sleek. BMWs look great. I mean, high-end cars look different than lower-end cars.
Have you put some time into your product and the ergonomics of it?
For example, when I look at a counter-top, the first thing I look at in a counter-top is how thick that the countertop is, and the turn on it. How beautiful is it? Is it like a block square, so if a kid ran into it, he’d split his head it wide open? I don’t want that. I want corners to be soft. That is aesthetic appeal, and I pick something like that out right away.
I’m looking at two computer monitors. I have to tell you my Apple monitor, and it’s got that nice Apple logo with the little bite out of it. And then the base of it is nice. Look at their phones. They get it. It’s got a nice, aesthetic appeal.
How Does It Make Me Feel?
People buy based on emotion.
You can have a restaurant, but you could sell an emotion that people feel when they’re in it. Remember Cheers?. The whole TV show was based around a bar. They created an emotion where they wanted you to feel a part of something.
Peloton sells emotion. You feel good. You feel like you’re a part of this fit culture of others who get up really early and ride their bike and have energy. Peloton is absolutely selling emotion and doing a great job at it.
Cost: What Do I have to Give Up to Get This?
At the end of the day, anything that has cost requires me to pay for it. Is it worth it. The cost that I pay, is it worth the sacrifice?
Well, guess what, the endodontist who could get me in the afternoon, I would have paid double for. I did not care about anything else but speed and effectiveness. That was what I was looking for.
When I’m buying a high-end BMW I know it’s going to cost a little bit. I have to kind of weigh some things, but it gives me a great emotion. I do love how I feel when I see it and when I drive it. It has aesthetic appeal. It definitely has status, and because it’s a hardtop, it has flexibility. I can drive it like a typical two-door high-end sports sedan, and I can hit a button and it looks like a convertible. I know that may not seem like a lot to you, but that is a big reason why I bought it. It’s why I buy hardtops. I do think they’re like two cars in one, and that plays into the pricing of it.
Listen, if you’re selling anything, you have to have one of these as your pillar. If you can add a couple that’s even better.
