When you sell something to a client or customer, you’re not selling just a product or service. It’s much more than that. You need to think about sales on a deeper, more human-desire level.
Your product or service, whatever it may be, is an enabler. I don’t care if you’re selling window cleaner or Winnebagos. You’re selling something that gives humans the ability to solve a problem or achieve a desire. YOU are the answer to their problem. Better yet, your product/service is the answer to their desire. That’s the core of selling and marketing.
Let me explain.
With every piece of marketing material you create a human emotion needs to be tapped. If you create an ad, it should convince demographic X to buy your product/service because it can improve their life or current situation for one of these 6 reasons:
1. It’ll make them smarter
2. It’ll make them look or feel cooler
3. It’ll draw attention to them in a positive way (i.e. make them more attractive to the opposite sex, become a part of something exclusive)
4. It’ll save them time or money
5. It’ll create a memory
6. It’ll provide safety/security
That is the core of successful marketing. In every single piece of marketing material you create you want to make sure it convinces, and clearly demonstrates, how the product/service will accomplish at least one of the 6 desires people have when looking to make a purchase. The more desires you touch in your marketing material the better. Minimum one, but shoot for three if you want guaranteed success…
If you’re selling hair transplants, what are you really selling?
You’re selling point 2 and 3.
How about winter tires?
4 and 6.
Lingerie?
You’re selling point 2, 3 and most definitely 5.
A gym membership, or fitness products?
2, 3, 5 and 6 – now that’s an easy product to sell.
Investment material?
1, 4 and 6.
The above commercial from Harley Davidson is the perfect example of utilizing human desires in marketing. Harley addresses points 2, 3 and 5 in this powerful ad. With marketing like this it is no wonder Harley Davidson is the most successful selling motorbike in the US for the past six years.
Selling Harley Davidson bikes isn’t about selling a mode of transportation. It’s about selling a motorbike that will enable one to cruise the open road with freedom and create memories while turning heads simply by the sound of the bike’s engine.
In the famous words of Zig Ziglar, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”
Remember that when selling and creating your marketing material. People don’t WANT a product/service, they want at least one of the 6 main desires mentioned above to be fulfilled if they buy something from you.
Stay hungry,
Aaron
