What are you *really* selling?”

Someone I was mentoring in Drive, the Collaborative Network said they’d been told “You’re trying to sell broccoli when all people want is chocolate”.

It shook their confidence and made them wonder if they needed to change what they were doing.

I thought the remark missed the point.

Chocolate is an easy sell – everybody wants the feel good effect of chocolate – whereas broccoli needs a different approach, but the whole idea of business is to find the people who want what we’re selling and give them a really good reason to buy.

We’re in the results business

Whether we’re selling a service or a product we’re in the business of selling results. Not chocolate or broccoli. Results.

• Buying an exercise bike won’t get anyone fit. A commitment to doing the work will, but nobody buys the idea of hard work. If we’re selling exercise equipment, a fitter body is the result our client wants so that’s what we have to sell.
• Buying a website won’t make anybody any money. They want it to get results so that’s what a website designer has to sell.
• Hiring an accountant is an expense, so accountants have to sell the idea of it being an investment that will save time and money.

If your product is chocolate, you’re selling indulgence, pleasure, fun.
If your product is broccoli, you’re selling health, good nutrition, self-care.

Work out what result your clients want and sell them that.
It won’t be broccoli or chocolate.

If you need help figuring out exactly what you’re selling and how to do it, drop me a line!

I’ve made a handful of really important decisions for my business and working with Ann as a business mentor has been one of the best. She’s great to work with, with a refreshing no-nonsense approach and huge integrity. However small the questions or decisions to be made, she helps with expert advice and makes it fun at the same time! I can’t recommend her highly enough. Jo Twiselton Twist Consultants