Have you ever watched one of those TV shows where people buy the contents of abandoned storage lockers base only on a quick look from the doorway, usually seeing just piles of boxes and odd shaped objects covered in tarps? I could never do it but it can be fun to watch others taking those risks!
In most of the shows I have seen, at least one locker turns put to contain some type of object that looks potentially valuable, but which cannot be identified by the new owner. They may be able to determine that it is something to do with printing, or photography, or cooking, but then we see them go to an expert who demonstrates what it is for and tells them how much it is worth, usually just the other side of the commercial break!
It makes great TV, but it is no way to sell products or services in the real world. If people don’t understand what you are selling, there is almost no chance of them buying it.
Imagine the cave person that invented the wheel. It could have been a man or a woman, so to keep things simple, let’s call them Jo. Jo walks into their village holding their new invention, a vaguely circular piece of wood proudly before them and says look what I’ve made! Now Jo was probably the village eccentric and the other residents had seen this performance a fair few times before so are unimpressed.
They pass it round the fire, smiling weakly and muttering about how nice it is. One of them suggests it could be a nice platter for the mammoth steaks they are cooking, while another says it is the perfect size to patch the hole in their roof. They just don’t get it, so they are not interested. They certainly won’t be spending any of their hard-earned groats to buy wheels from Jo’s newly incorporated start up.
But imagine instead that Jo doesn’t carry the wheel into the village, but attaches a few of them to a cart and pushes it into the gathering carrying far more than a single person could ever hope to transport alone without it. Jo wouldn’t even have to say anything, except perhaps the price and to explain that franchise opportunities would be available shortly. Instant retirement plan.
The product had not changed at all. But the connection with customers and their needs had been shown. That’s all you have to do with a great product or service.
Do your potential customers know why they need what you are selling? If not, it’s time to rethink how you are selling i