What Do You Really Sell?
The Secret Formula All Iconic Brands Use To Win Your Heart
The conversation you're about to read is based on true events during one of Victor's consulting sessions with a business owner who was pitching for investments in her company.
Victor: Imagine that I'm an investor okay? Now, kindly tell me what you do.
CEO: Oh okay, I own a perfume company
Victor: Cool, what do you do exactly though?
Do you sell perfumes? Do you produce? What do you do?
CEO: Obviously, I can't produce. I sell different brands.
Victor: Alright, how do you market your perfumes?
CEO: I tell people that I buy my products from the best sources and our collection is one of the rarest in the continent. We also take pride in the fact that our products are original.
Victor: Oh, I get it. You tell them how good the product is and how scarce it is too?
CEO: Exactly. Create that hunger in them.
Victor: Urhh..hunger? I don't exactly understand what that means but okay. How have sales been going?
CEO: We haven't really been seeing sales as much. We even pitched for funding earlier this year to boost advertising efforts but our pitch was rejected.
Victor: Here's the problem, you don't really know what you're selling.
i. A common problem
This is THE problem. A lot of people know what they do but don't know HOW to tell the story of their business. An understanding of how to communicate the value that you provide is probably the most important thing you'll learn as an entrepreneur or personal brand.
A fundamental understanding of Storytelling is something every entrepreneur should have. You may not necessarily need to be an expert on the subject of brand communications but you need to understand the basic principles of storytelling and effective communication to push your business forward.
ii. The Formula
The good news is that there's a simple formula to it. It's one that has been used by the very best including Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Richard Branson, and several other founders of incredibly successful brands. So, what is this formula?
- Dig deep to the root of the problem your product or service solves and create ALL your communication pieces with that foundational knowledge. In other words, START WITH WHY.
It's easy to say “Start With Why” but I'm sure you want a clearer understanding of how this formula works so let’s test its application.
Using the perfume company as an example, this is how it works:
What product do you sell? perfume
Why do people buy perfumes in the first place?
Well, a couple of reasons...
- to feel confident when they walk into a room
- to appear attractive to people they want to impress.
- to smell good and of course, feel good as well.
There's a consistent denominator showing up in these reasons - people use perfume to shape perception and feel good.
So the question would be this; Is this woman really in the perfume industry or the image business? Is she helping the customers smell good or is she helping them shape perception? Think about it.
Let's see another example using one of our popular guinea pigs - Victor's Public Speaking Coaching Service.
Victor is a public speaking Coach. He's one of the best of the best in the world. In fact he graduated from his Harvard University Rhetoric Class with a perfect project score.
So, how would Victor tell his business story? By talking about how exceptional he is and how he's in the top 10% of coaches in his niche? Nope. That would be a mistake because remember, our focus in business storytelling is to speak to the problem the business solves. So, let's apply the digging formula here as well.
What service does Victor sell?
Public Speaking Coaching services where he helps entrepreneurs and founders master the art of communicating their value to their target audience.
Why do people want to be better public speakers?
They want to be able to tell their stories better.
Oh, cool. Why do they want to tell their stories better?
Because they want to maximize opportunities presented to them! The startup founders want to get that funding, the final year student wants to bag that scholarship, the CEO now wants to be seen as a thought leader in his field so he's accepting more speaking engagements.
Can you see where the communication pieces would get their direction from? Now we know why they even bother to engage his services so we'd be able to appeal to them with it.
With this knowledge, when Victor is trying to get more clients on board, he won't bombard them with messages about his grades or how incredible he is at his job because that’s not what his potential clients care about. They care about themselves and how they can solve their problems.
iii. The Story of Katherine
Katherine has been working on her fintech startup for the past two years. After creating a product read for the market, she finally decides to accept funding to scale her business. There's one problem now ; She hates public speaking because she doesn't know how talk confidently.
At this point, Katherine is constantly thinking about quitting her startup venture and going back to a regular 9-5 job. Well, until she sees a sponsored ad on Instagram.
“One of the saddest sights in the world is seeing untapped potential go to waste. How many brilliant minds have missed out on life changing opportunities just because they couldn’t communicate their value properly? Geniuses missing out on scholarships because they couldn't ace the interview stage, smart entrepreneurs not getting funded because they can’t pitch their ideas…The list is endless. My name is Victor and I am a professional public speaking coach with 4 years of experience working with national and international clients. My job is to help you maximize your opportunities by telling your story. Ready to come on board?”
Katherine is about to follow the link to the landing page but she has four questions in no particular order :
Who on earth is this dude?
Why is he wearing a black turtleneck like fisayo?
How does he know exactly what I need right now
These Instagram ads are becoming too accurate.
There's only one answer we're concerned about in this piece “How does he know exactly what I need?” The answer is simple : He used the formula.
iv. The Result
What this does is that it influences your approach towards what you sell and how you sell it. You're selling perfume products but you're marketing experiences. What should be dominant in all communication pieces of the company should be those experiences like the feeling of confidence
So, instead of doing a post on social media telling the world how your products are the best and are the only remaining scents in the world, talk about what matters - the problem it solves and then position your products as the best solution to that problem.
Your communication may sound like this…
"Whether it's a mentor, a public figure or someone you just admire, sometimes the reason you simply can't walk up to them is lack of confidence because you don't know how they'd perceive you. Well, what a good scent does for you is that it introduces you before you introduce yourself. Let's make that statement for you.”
This is just a tip of the iceberg. There are several communication pieces that can be made from the foundation that has been laid.
A basic understanding of how to tell the story of your business affects everything else you do including all aspects of your content marketing online.
Do you understand this?
If your answer is yes, here's something for you to do:
Kindly go to the comment section of this newsletter, tell us what you do (the product or service you sell), and then tell us how you tell the story of your business.
Can't wait to hear from you.
I particularly like the story of Katherine. So relatable🥺❤️
This was really insightful. Thank you Jali❤️